Great Charter of Ireland
Encyclopedia
The Great Charter of Ireland (also known as the Magna Charta Hiberniae) was an issue of the English
Magna Carta, or Great Charter of Liberties
in Ireland
. King Henry III of England
's Charter of 1216 was issued for Ireland on 12 November 1216 but not transmitted to Ireland until February 1217; it secured rights for the Anglo-Norman
magnates in Ireland but not the Irish. The Charter was reissued in 1217 as in England.
Although it was in effect the application of the Magna Carta to Ireland, with appropriate substitutions (such as "Dublin" for "London", and "Irish Church" for "Church of England"). In 1985 the singer Tommy Makem
claimed that the English Magna Carta (and by implication the Great Charter of Ireland) also incorporated aspects of Brehon Law
.
The only known copy of the Charter was once to be found in the Red Book of the Dublin Court of Exchequer, an MS volume compiled in the fourteenth century. The Red Book was destroyed in the explosion at the Four Courts in Dublin, in 1922, but the Charter had been recorded by H. F. Berry in Early Statutes of Ireland (1907). The Great Charter of Ireland 1216 (1 Hen. 3) is now a retained statute under the Statute Law Revision Act 2007, s2.2(a) Schedule 1.
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
Magna Carta, or Great Charter of Liberties
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. King Henry III of England
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
's Charter of 1216 was issued for Ireland on 12 November 1216 but not transmitted to Ireland until February 1217; it secured rights for the Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
magnates in Ireland but not the Irish. The Charter was reissued in 1217 as in England.
Although it was in effect the application of the Magna Carta to Ireland, with appropriate substitutions (such as "Dublin" for "London", and "Irish Church" for "Church of England"). In 1985 the singer Tommy Makem
Tommy Makem
Thomas "Tommy" Makem was an internationally celebrated Irish folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo, guitar, tin whistle, and bagpipes, and sang in a distinctive baritone...
claimed that the English Magna Carta (and by implication the Great Charter of Ireland) also incorporated aspects of Brehon Law
Brehon Laws
Early Irish law refers to the statutes that governed everyday life and politics in Early Medieval Ireland. They were partially eclipsed by the Norman invasion of 1169, but underwent a resurgence in the 13th century, and survived into Early Modern Ireland in parallel with English law over the...
.
The only known copy of the Charter was once to be found in the Red Book of the Dublin Court of Exchequer, an MS volume compiled in the fourteenth century. The Red Book was destroyed in the explosion at the Four Courts in Dublin, in 1922, but the Charter had been recorded by H. F. Berry in Early Statutes of Ireland (1907). The Great Charter of Ireland 1216 (1 Hen. 3) is now a retained statute under the Statute Law Revision Act 2007, s2.2(a) Schedule 1.
Further reading
- Early Statutes of Ireland H. F. Berry, 1907
- Magna Charta Hiberniae, pp. 31–33, H.G. Richardson, Irish Historical Studies