Magna Carta: The Birth of Liberty

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Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc. This riveting history of an all-too-human ruling House amply confirms the arrival of a formidably gifted historian. It addresses the previously unanswered question of how the charter was published and disseminated to the shires of England and includes a chapter on the charter's scribes and sealing, supplying a truly unique insight into both the creation and afterlife of the most fundamental legal document in British history. Well, the animals had it wrong (I guess wolves and snakes aren’t too sharp when it comes to English history.

Ideas can be beautiful too, and the ideas Peter Linebaugh provokes and maps in this history of liberty are dazzling, reminders of what we have been and who we could be. He did things like stealing a baron’s fiancée, collecting extreme taxes (and then losing the war those taxes paid for), starving his prisoners to death (one of those prisoners was his nephew, who happened to have a claim to the throne), and angering the Pope enough that all of England was placed under Interdict, giving his subjects serious stress about the state of their souls. It lays out the events that led to its creation perfectly that you feel like you’ve just hopped into a DeLorean and time traveled to that era.Jones has produced a rollicking, compelling book produced a rollicking, compelling book about a rollicking, compelling dynasty, one that makes the Tudors who followed them a century later look like ginger pussycats.

The art work displayed in the book helps to bring the story alive, some of the photos were not as clear as they could have been. Dan Jones shows himself a true historian in telling the story leading up to the signing of the charter in Runnymede, explaining the context and providing extensive reading material (e. Nonetheless, it is still important because of what it ultimately represents: rebellion, restriction on the head of government and negotiation.Some historians are quick to downplay her importance or dismiss her altogether, but Jones does not do that. It seems a pity for that one to have slipped through the editorial net when King John is one of the major players.