David Carpenter, who has translated the text of Magna Carta and written the text of this edition, is Professor of Medieval History at King's College, London. He is the author of The Struggle for Mastery in Britain, 1066-1284, a volume in the Penguin History of Britain series.
Lively and detailed, Carpenter's elucidations confirm the
commonly held view of King John
("mockery...cruelty...arrogance...fearful suspicions"), while
probing the background to Runnymede. From June 1215, Magna Carta
"asserted the rule of law" and laid the basis for the tax-based
parliamentary state. Yet it also buttressed existing hierarchy -
not good news for women or unfree peasants -- Christopher Hirst *
The Independent *
Of all the books that commemorated the octingentenary of the
signing of Magna Carta, the one that stands out for me is David
Carpenter's new Penguin Classics edition. Not only does
Carpenter vividly re-create the vicious civil war that precipitated
the intense drama at Runnymede, he reminds us of the equally
vicious civil war that followed, leading to the extraordinary
invitation from the rebel barons to Prince Louis of France to
replace John on the throne. No less important, Carpenter settles
the Great Charter into the social and economic life of a growing
nation in which the feudal structures were beginning to erode and a
country of free citizens was soon to emerge. David Carpenter
deserves to replace Sir James Holt as the standard authority, and
an unfailingly readable one too. -- Ferdinand Mount * TLS *
An invaluable new commentary -- Jill Lepore * New Yorker *
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