Today, I am thankful for those mediators who seek for a resolution in the face of turmoil.
We all can recall the significance of the Ides of March, the day in that third month during which Julius Caesar was brutally backstabbed by the Roman senators. Fittingly, the month of March is named after the Roman god of war, which was essentially the outcome of that fateful day for first Roman Emperor. Most of us are less familiar with the significance of the Ides of June. The month of June is named for the queen of the Roman gods Juno, the patron deity of marriage and childbirth and the protectress of the state. As such, it is only fitting that we celebrate the birth of the modern state on this glorious day. On June 15, 1215, opponents came together on a watery meadow on the south bank of the River Thames to seek peace and prosperity.
What I am so cagily referring to is the Magna Carta, a ‘Great Charter’ negotiated between King John of England and 27 feudal barons who rebelled against his absolute power. King John was not a particularly popular monarch and an ineffectual leader. His repeated clashes against France led to humiliating defeat and the need to pay compensation for the losses. Now, up until this time, most of the kings of England had ruled via the precept of ‘force and will’ (‘vis et voluntas’). During his military campaigns, King John referenced this principle to raise taxes on the barons to help pay for his martial efforts and imprison those who defied him. However, in the face of his shameful defeat and on the brink of monarchial collapse, the rebelling barons organized a staunch resistance against the King.
For a period of 6 months leading up to the Ides of June in 1215, King John attempted to seek reconciliation with the barons through several interactions, but to no avail. Finally, at an impasse, the King turned to the head of Roman Catholic Church, Pope Innocent III, as the supreme arbiter. The rebel barons did not believe some dude in Italy was someone they could trust, but they did feel comfortable with a respected Englishman, named Stephen Langton, who was connected to Rome. As the Archbishop of Canterbury, Langton coordinated a meeting between King John and the baron delegates at Runnymeade, an open field along the Thames River on June 10, 1215. Langton served as a trusted mediator and sage negotiator during their contentious repartee. Over a period of 5 days, the two sides would settle on a set of 63 rights, which they termed the Magna Carta. These rights, which were written in Latin on parchment paper with a quill pen and ratified by the Royal great seal (made of beeswax), prohibited illegal incarceration, mandated swift justice, and protected the rights of the barons and Church via a council of 25 barons. Even more so, it outlined limitations on taxation or other feudal remuneration paid to the English Monarchy.
Sadly, the resolution lasted only 3 months. However, the charter would be reenacted again in 1216, 1217, and 1225. Certain clauses of this stellar manifesto, now translated in English for everyone’s convenience, would be passed down, almost word for word, into the English Petition of 1628 and the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679. Even more so, many of these exact phrases would cross the Atlantic Ocean and reappear in the American Declaration of Independence and the United States Bill of Rights.
These impervious clauses remain alive today. Why mess with a good thing if it’s working?
The Magna Carta reminds us that negotiation is often key to peaceful remediation. An open mind, a hefty dose of perseverance, and a proper balance of flexibility and assertiveness can indeed go a long way to achieving your goals. I’m indebted and grateful that Steven Langton demonstrated these qualities 805 years ago, ultimately leading to some of the most essential gifts ever granted in the modern world – our civil rights.
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