11.3. Comentario de texto Histórico Carta Magna
INTRODUCTION
The document we are going to deal with today is a part from the Magna Carta. It is then
a judicial document, a charter. It was written in 1215 by king John of England and it is
addressed to the English people in general and to the English barons in particular. King
John was unpopular with his barons and in In 1215 some of the most important barons
engaged in open rebellion against their King.. However, in every previous case there
had been an obvious alternative monarch around whom the rebellion could rally. In
1215, however, John had no obvious replacement, instead of a claimant to the throne,
the barons decided to base their rebellion around John's oppressive government.
EXPLAIN WHAT IS WRITTEN
In this paragraph we it is stated that during king John the barons do not pay military
service with manpower, their own knights but with a cash payment known as `scutage.
In fact thia part of the document belongs to ht introductory note, so it is expected that
they start describing their current situation, something has changed in john’s kingdom
and the barons accomplish their obligations towards the king.
Once we have understood the meaning of the document we have to understand / explain
the whole document.
EXPLAIN THE WHOLE DOCUMENT
•In 1215 the barons forced John to grant a charter, which was the first time
anyone had expected an English king to obey a set of rules.
Conclusión
Precedent. Charter of Liberties of Henry I 1100
.
Fact. El trasfondo histórico que rodeo a lo que se expone en el texto.
Predecessor. Influence for later written constitutions including the American one.
5. Valoración y crítica del texto. Se valora la autenticidad del contenido y la
sinceridad y objetividad del autor. Puede hacerse también una crítica de las ideas
expresadas en el texto y personalizarse ese juicio, indicando en el caso de un
texto que admita polémica, las razones por las que se está de acuerdo o no.
An analytical reading
John went to war twice against the French king. His army was badly beaten
both times. He lost almost all the land that his father had gained in France!
They stated they were paying for that.
