Chapter 25
In This Chapter
● Pondering political manifestos of the people
● Acting on Acts of Parliament and legal documents
● Revering religious and scientific works
Documents are the life-blood of history. They are the most direct way in which we can communicate with the dead and read into their minds. Of course document is a wide term: A document may be a great legal charter, or it might just be someone’s pocket book. But the important documents don’t just tell us about the people who wrote them: They take on a life of their own and tell us about the people who came after.
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People (731)
Kicking off with a history book may seem strange, but Bede’s History isn’t quite like other history books. Bede was a monk at Jarrow in northeast England, and he set himself the task of describing the story of the English people through their experience of Christianity. And a good story he tells, too. Bede’s been called the Father of English History, and he deserves the title. But he’s more than that - he’s our way into the world and beliefs of Anglo-Saxon England.
The Book of Kells (800)
The Book of Kells is an illustrated copy of the gospels, probably produced in Northumbria and now on view in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. This book shows Celtic art at its finest, with rich colours and intricate patterns, all lovingly created over what must have been many years. You have to remind yourself that these guys were working by hand, and if they made a mistake, they couldn’t just screw the page up and start again. The Book of Kells isn’t just a piece of beautiful craftsmanship, it’s a reminder of the rich Christian heritage that once united Britain and Ireland.
Magna Carta (1215)
Magna Carta (discussed in Chapter 9) is so famous that putting it in perspective can be difficult. Historians like to point out that this document didn’t actually transform England into a medieval democratic republic, and that fact’s true, but so what? The barons who faced King John at Runnymede in 1215 drew up this document, a bill of rights if you like, and they stood over the king until he accepted it. And some of the rights were fundamental, like the right to have a fair trial, or the right not to be taxed without your own consent. But even more important, the barons were forcing King John to accept the principle that the Crown was not above the law: Kings had to obey the law just like anyone else.
The Declaration of Arbroath (1320)
The Declaration of Arbroath is Scotland’s Declaration of Independence. The Scottish nobles under King Robert the Bruce drew the Declaration up and sent it to the Pope. It says that Scotland is an ancient, independent kingdom, with its own people, separate from England and not subject to her. And the Declaration of Arbroath says this in fine, defiant language.
But the Declaration isn’t just about who should rule Scotland, or even about Scotland being a separate nation. This document’s about the right of any people to fight for the freedom to govern themselves. All Scots learn about the Declaration of Arbroath: Not enough English do. Perhaps things might be different if they did.
The Authorised 'King James' Version of the Bible (1611)
The English Bible was the single most important product of those busy printing presses during the Reformation, and of all the many versions, the King James version was the finest and most beautiful.
The King James Bible wasn’t just a work of literature: This book became an integral part of life. Even the poorest family had a family Bible at home and read it. Inside they often kept a copy of their family tree. Phrases from the King James Bible have passed into the language: a wolf in sheep’s clothing, salt of the earth, the apple of his eye, and many more. This Bible became part of the armoury of missionaries, trade unionists, colonists, teachers, and soldiers. A genuine masterpiece.
The Petition of Right (1628)
King Charles I (refer to Chapter 13) had only been on the throne three years, and already he was putting backs up. The Petition of Right was when Parliament first drew up a list of what the king had done wrong and got him to accept it. As with so many documents about rights and freedom, you have to be a bit careful in interpreting its purpose: No one was trying to introduce universal human rights in 1628. But the Petition did lay down a king’s duties towards his subjects, and it did establish that Parliament had a right to discuss these things. The Petition came in very handy when the American colonists were looking for a precedent for their objections to the way King George III was ruling them (see Chapter 17). In that sense, the Petition of Right was sending a warning note out to all monarchs everywhere: You cannot simply do as you please. Not bad for 1628.
Habeas Corpus (1679)
If Britain is not a police state, thank this Act of Parliament, passed back in the reign of King Charles II. Never mind about the funny Latin title, which is all about ‘may you have the body’: This Act defines one of the most important and fundamental of all human rights. If the police in Britain arrest you, they have to say why they are holding you by charging you with a recognised offence, and they have to produce you in person before a magistrate (the bit about ‘having the body’ comes in here) within a couple of days. If you’re thinking ‘So what?’, consider the alternative. Without Habeas Corpus, the police could arrest you for anything at all - your face, your views, your colour - and could keep you for as long as they liked. They could kill you in prison and no one would ever know. Feel a bit different about Habeas Corpus now?
Much of the controversy surrounding the anti-terrorist measures brought in after the London bombings of 2005 was about how far security measures were taking away the ancient right of Habeas Corpus.
Lord Mansfield’s Judgement (1772)
Lord Mansfield was a tough old conservative Lord Chancellor who sat in 1772 in what was known as the Somerset case. A black slave called James Somerset had run away from his master, who was now demanding him back. Thousands of African slaves were in Britain at the time, but that didn’t stop Mansfield coming up with a truly remarkable judgement. He decided that Somerset had to go free, because slavery was illegal in England. Not in British colonies overseas, mind, but in England. Instantly, all those thousands of other slaves were free. Thinking of a legal verdict that has ever had such an immediate impact since is difficult. Lord Mansfield’s Judgement began the long legal battle for racial equality that continued through the fight against slavery, through Martin Luther King’s fight for black civil rights, and into today. One of the great legal judgements of all time.
The People's Charter (1838)
In 1838 a group of London working men led by a joiner called William Lovett met together to produce one of the most remarkable documents in British history: The People’s Charter. The People’s Charter was a manifesto calling for working people to be given the vote. But this document’s a lot more than that. Lovett and his fellow Chartists had very carefully thought out just how universal suffrage should work: Having the vote without a secret ballot or if the electoral boundaries are unfair is useless. So instead of just demanding the vote, the Chartists put forward a whole political programme, almost a philosophy. In short, they’d worked out how to turn the Victorian political system into a democracy. Did it get them the vote? Well, no. But it should have done. You can find out more about the People’s Charter in Chapter 18.
Darwin's The Origin of Species (1859)
Darwin nearly didn’t publish The Origin of Species because he was afraid it might provoke a fuss (turns out he was right). Darwin didn’t get his ideas about natural selection and survival of the fittest out of the blue: Plenty of other scientists were thinking along the same lines, but no one put the ideas together quite as coherently as Darwin. The Origin of Species sold: People knew it was an important book, one they needed to get their head round. The Church of England was outraged, as Darwin had expected, but the tide of opinion in Britain was strongly in Darwin’s favour. Darwin’s ideas didn’t break the Church by any means, but it broke the very literal way of understanding religion, and in that sense, the world was never quite the same again.