Expert: Mark Smith - 9/12/2006

Question
Hi! How you doing? Here's my question....How Magna Carta brought about a "balancing act" that ended the rebellion and promoted an ideal feudal goverment?

Answer
Hello Jay.
The signing of the Magna Carta did not end the Baron's Revolt, it merely halted it for a few months. King John spent the summer of 1215 trying to find ways to get out of his obligations, whilst some of the more militant Barons spent it arguing the document wasn't strong enough. The civil war resumed in the autumn. In fact the situation was far worse the following year than it had ever been.
The Magna Carta was essentially a document enshrining feudal law, it's significance as a charter of liberties was not recognised at the time. As the Baron's had the upper hand that summer it was a document that defined their rights and responsibilities more so than the foundation stone of modern society.
I assume you're writing an essay ? If you want to be really controversial look into the 1225 reissue of the Magna Carta under Henry III. It was almost a complete rewrite and it is that document that is the basis of the modern idea of liberty, not the famous 1215 charter.
Mark