Magna Carta [Paperback]

J. C. Holt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521277787 | ISBN-13: 978-0521277785 | Publication Date: May 29, 1992 | Edition: 2

This is a fully revised and extended edition of Sir James Holt's classic study of Magna Carta, the Great Charter, which sets the events of 1215 and the Charter itself in the context of the law, politics and administration of England and Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The book is now published with many corrections and additions, including a new chapter on justice and jurisdiction that provides a fresh approach to the legal provisions of the Charter that were to prove so enduring, along with new appendices on matters as varied as vernacular translations of the Charter and grants of liberties in perpetuity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Students of medieval English history and government will welcome the second edition of Sir James Holt's Magna Carta. They will have the comfortable feeling that some consumers had when a long-beloved product, once thought discontinued, returned to the shelves. This is Classic Holt: clearly written, tightly argued, scrupulously documented and commendably thorough, with a concession that Coke was not so bad after all." Albion

"...the best book on the Great Charter of 1215...a stellar performance, combining impeccable and far-reaching scholarship with a graceful style not many medievalists can match." Canadian Journal of History

"It will remain one of the most exciting books to be written on a well-worn theme." History

"...the first full-scale work to place Magna Carta firmly in its historical setting. This scholarly and well-written book will survive to celebrate many an anniversary of its own." The Sunday Telegraph

"[Holt] has an unrivalled command of the forms of action and the machinery of government. He treads this ground as a master and no-one can read his work without a deep respect for the care and accuracy with which he has assembled the details which give a fresh look to one of the most familiar stretches of English history." English Historical Review

"In the quarter of a century since this classic study first appeared, Sir James Holt has continued to advance our understanding of the legal and historical content of the Magna Carta....Holt exponds subtle ideas with a wit and a clarity that only Maitland could rival. Though by no means an easy book, few others could provide so keen an insight into the political and legal preoccupations of medieval England." Times Literary Supplement

Book Description

An expanded edition of a classic study of the Magna Carta interprets the events of 1215 and the Charter itself in the context of the law, politics and administration of England and Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

Product Details

• Paperback: 588 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (May 29, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521277787
• ISBN-13: 978-0521277785
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #604,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Last Word on Magna Carta (1215), March 9, 2004

By 

David I Caplan (Delray Beach, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magna Carta (Paperback)

Many Magna Carta scholars, including A. E. Dick Howard and Ralph V. Turner, rate this book as THE definitive work on the historical background and events leading up to the Great Charter, as well as its immediate consequences. No serious student of Magna Carta (1215) can afford not to read this book, and to read it carefully.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Profoundly authoritative, November 27, 2008

By 

reader 451 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magna Carta (Paperback)

J.C. Holt's book on Magna Carta is the most authoritative up-to-date work on the subject. It concentrates on the negotiation of the great charter of 1215, not its reissue or its role in British history thereafter, although that is covered in the introduction. Holt reviews the events and circumstances of the immediate run-up to the negotiations at Runnymede, provides an analysis of the political context and contemporary meaning of the document, and comments on the charter's main terms. The appendix provides the charter's full text, in translation, as well as the "barons' charter" and Henry I's coronation oath (both in Latin, though).

What Holt's book is not is a history of Magna Carta through the ages, a legal analysis, or a layman's guide to the charter's articles. Holt demystifies the dispute between John and his barons and indeed peers a little further into the 1215-17 civil war, and he sheds light on the document's main terms, but it helps if the reader already knows what `scutage' or `relief' were, and what Henry II's legal reforms did. For further background, Warren's `King John' is useful, apart from being short, clear, and devoid of jargon. The first Angevin king's legal reforms are quite clearly explained in `Henry II', also by Warren.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars magna carta, June 23, 2000

By 

Carolyn C. (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magna Carta (Paperback)

Holt's Magna Carta is an interesting study of the politics behind the formation of Magna Carta. The author's exploration of the political and legal crises in medieval times conveys how this charta was a result of war and injustice. The author connects many legal principles, such as individual rights, of the modern era and roots them in their medieval past. This book is detailed and long, but worthwhile to students of legal, medieval, or English history.