Magna Carta and The Odiham Connection

Magna Carta and the Odiham Connection …

Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter) was the first document imposed upon a King of England by a group of his subjects, the feudal barons, in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their rights.

King John (John Lackland) was an able administrator who modernised the government but exerted his power over the church, Scotland and Ireland and raised taxes for his campaigns against France – wars that he lost.

In 1204, King Philippe invaded Normandy and drove the English out. By 1205, six years into John’s reign, only a fragment of the vast Angevin empire acquired by his father, Henry II remained.

A deciding factor that led to Magna Carta was John’s defeat at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214. King John was determined to retake the French lands he had lost in Normandy and Anjou. His opponent , King Philippe, was equally determined to establish French power and prestige. John had to forge a European alliance as he had alienated most of his English Barons and they refused to fight for him because of the way he extorted money and excluded them from court. So he recruited other enemies of the French crown – the German Holy Roman Emperor Otto and the Counts of Flanders and Boulogne – and devised an attack. The allies had only been together for four days before the battle whereas the French had a unified command. This strength was in their favour at Bouvines in the Fields of Flanders and led to the defeat of the allies.

John was not at the battle. His dreams of re-conquest had been dashed and once again he returned to England without plunder, humiliated and impoverished. He returned to find a discontented baronage. Many of the northern barons had refused to follow him to France and had also refused to pay scutage, the tax levied in lieu of military service. They became increasingly belligerent when asked for yet more money for another campaign and refused and in May 1215, forty barons renounced their feudal ties to the king. With French and Scottish support, they formed an army called ‘the Army of God’ and on 17th May, occupied London with the agreement of its citizens.

King John visits Odiham Castle

Patricia MacGregor’s book about Odiham Castle 1200-1500 explains that John was active at Odiham in the days leading up to the sealing of Magna Carta. On May 29th 1215 he addressed a letter from Odiham to the Pope complaining about the insubordination of the barons. He travelled between Windsor, Winchester and Odiham in early June. On the 9th June he returned to Odiham and met with Peter de Roches, Bishop of Winchester, who accompanied him to Windsor the following day. On the 10th June he met baronial leaders at Runnymede.

The King was forced to agree to the limitations of his power and to consider the 48 articles (paragraphs) in the Articles of the Barons.

The Articles were drawn up in an attempt to avert civil war, and formed the basis for Magna Carta, which was agreed by King John at Runnymede on 15 June following five days of concentrated discussion and negotiation, when many of the Articles of the Barons (which King John had accepted in principle) were amended. Magna Carta finally consisted of 63 clauses but in the charter itself the clauses were not numbered, and the text read continuously. Read more.

The barons – successfully – had said ‘no’ to the King and no king of England would ever have unrestricted power again.

King John returned to Odiham Castle on 26th June on his way to Winchester. The following day, the 27th June 1215, the Anglo Norman (vernacular) translation of the Magna Carta was issued from Odiham, along with the writ addressed to the Sheriff of Hampshire.

Click here to find out more about The Vernacular Magna Carta

In the spring of 1216 John paid his last visit to Odiham. Arriving on 14th April he spent five nights before moving to Guildford.

The attack on Odiham Castle

As the King had sealed the Magna Carta under duress, as soon as hostilities ceased, he received approval from his overlord, the Pope, to break his word. This action provoked the First Barons’ War. They invited Louis the Dauphin, son of Philip II of France, to take the throne. On 21st May, 1216, Louis landed unopposed on the Isle of Thannet in Kent. He was offered little resistance when he entered London and was proclaimed king at St Paul’s Cathedral (but was not crowned).

King John travelled around the country to oppose the rebel forces and on April 14th he made his last visit to Odiham Castle and stayed for five days. On the 14th June Louis took Winchester and then headed for Odiham. Here they encountered their first serious opposition. The occupants of the castle resisted waves of assaults by the French army. On the 3rd day the French brought up siege engines and placed them around the tower and missiles were fired. The occupants – three knights and ten sergeants made a sortie and engaged with an equal number of the enemy before withdrawing. They held out for a further twelve days and on 9th July, 1216, they surrendered having been assured they would retain their freedom, arms and horses. It is recorded that the French were filled with astonishment and admiration for the defenders when only thirteen men rode out!

The attack on Odiham castle is recorded as one of the 24 most significant battlefields and sieges in the story of the fight for Magna Carta by The Battlefields Trust and The Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Commemoration Committee.

King John’s death

Towards the end of 1216 John had retreated around the marshy area of the Wash to avoid East Anglia. Unfortunately his baggage train crossed the marshes and was lost to an incoming tide, along with the crown jewels.

John died in October, 1216. Many of the rebellious barons deserted Louis in favour of King John’s nine-year-old son, Henry III and he succeeded to the throne on October 28th, 1216 under the regency of William Marshall, 1st Earl of Pembroke.

The impact of Magna Carta

Magna Carta limited royal powers, defined feudal obligations between the King and the barons, and guaranteed a number of rights. It was the first formal document insisting that the Sovereign was as much under the rule of law as his people, and that the rights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of the sovereign.

Only three of the 63 promises of Magna Carta remain in force today:

1. That the English Church shall be free from royal interference.
13. To respect the rights and freedoms of the City of London and other towns and ports.
39. That no freeman shall be arrested or imprisoned without a proper trial.

Worldwide impact of Magna Carta

Magna Carta was important in the colonisation of America, as England’s legal system was used as a model for many of the colonies when they were developing their own legal systems.

In practice, Magna Carta did not generally limit the power of kings in the medieval period, but by the time of the English Civil War it had become an important symbol for those who wished to show that the King was bound by the law. It influenced the early settlers in New England and inspired later constitutional documents, including the United States Constitution.

To discover the history and legacy of one of the world’s most celebrated documents, visit The British Library website: www.bl.uk/magna-carta

References for this report

BBC – KS3 Bitesize History
www. Royal.gov.uk: History of the Monarchy – The Angevins
www.bl.uk: Articles of the Barons
Odiham Castle, 1200-1500: Castle and Community, by Patricia Macgregor (Author), Barry Stapleton (Author) January 1, 1984
Magna Carta Project: http://magnacartaresearch.org/
Magna Carta – James Clarke Holt Cambridge University Press, 7 May 1992