Making Magna Carta Personal

Introduction

This activity was originally designed for Y7 but with GCSE changes it could be used for the Edexcel British Depth unit on Richard and John – and could be an introduction at A level although deeper knowledge would need to be built on its framework. This discussion and activity description is a composite of a plenary session I led at the SHP Conference in London in 2015 and a short article published in Teaching History, also in 2015.

I designed this activity to try to overcome one core problem with teaching about Magna Carta – it doesn’t seem to make anyone’s heart skip with excitement! Magna Carta may be an important part of the long-term story of royal power but at KS3 still often gets just a brief mention in a lesson sequence built around a question on John’s reputation. The trouble is that ‘was John really a villain?’ is a non-question. The overwhelming academic verdict is that John was a disaster as king. He was violent, untrustworthy, a complete failure.Why waste time on such a non-question when curriculum time at KS3 is at a premium?

The problem I’ve tried to tackle is how to help students care about Magna Carta and how to help you look forward to teaching about it. The answer, of course, lies with people. History works best when it engages both brain and heart. Find a way to make students care and they will engage their brains. Heart before brain – I am not sure the other way round works for many students.

The individual people in this activity are the barons – that anonymous group who rarely rise in textbooks above the level of cardboard cut-out characters intent on rebellion. The purpose is to get students to become the barons, ready to ‘think from the inside’ about the situations they, as barons, face. Historians might quibble – we actually know little about individuals’ motives but there is enough to make this work without becoming fictional.

The outline below is divided into three parts – these may be individual lessons but that obviously depends on how long your lessons are. The description must also be seen as a set of suggestions, not a ‘this will work in any circumstances’ edict. Like any activity on this site you have to adapt it to each individual class you teach.

I haven’t started by identifying an enquiry question for KS3 – be patient. It appears at the end, along with the objectives of this activity. Lesson Objectives (while important to have in your mind and to bring out at some stage of the lesson) are a sure-fire way of killing enthusiasm if introduced too soon.

Resources

Information sheets:

1.What matters to you as barons?

2. Character cards for 13 individual barons

3. The story of William de Briouze

4. King John’s actions

A PowerPoint sequence to support the activities

Part 1: What’s made the barons angry?

I have identified where you might use the PowerPoint screens in the description below - some are just background, identifying the issue being discussed. Screen 1 is the overall title screen which can be visible at the beginning.

‘Create’ John as a presence by using a chair wearing a crown (or large uncuddly toy) to symbolise the king and to give you a presence to which to refer. Don’t have a student as John as he or she would have nothing to do.

Explain that the events you are going to take part in happened during the reign of King John but he will not appear in person - he’s represented by chair and crown over there

Screen 2

Divide the class into groups of 2 or 3. Each group has a leader, a baron - ‘one of the richest and most important’ people in England. The others are the barons’ knights and advisers.

There are 13 character cards for individual barons with varying amounts of detail provided. You can obviously use as many or as few of them as you wish. And in case you’re wondering, yes they are all real barons from the early 13th century.

(Note that all the barons in the activity are opponents of John. There is no one such as William Marshal who did not rebel. Although this means the activity does not represent the full range of baronial views, in terms of the activity it means everyone can be engaged – and nobody gets picked on for supporting John. At GCSE you might wish to build in a greater variety of baronial actions.)

Give each baron a character card to create a sense of identity – then announce each one individually – stand up and bow!

If you wish you can identify

a)the group of northern barons

b) individuals who are related, friendly or took part in the 1212 plot against John.

You could, for example, place the northern barons near to each other represent the links.

Explain that the activity will ask you as the barons, to ‘think from the inside’ about the situations you, as barons, face.

Screen 3

Give out the Information Sheet - ‘what’s important to you as barons’ – and explain it!

Show your fascination with each point! Students will need to keep using this list.

One major point is needed as the outcome:

YOU ARE NOT REBELS IN WAITING – YOU WANT TO SERVE KING

Next ask each baron and his knights to look at their character card – identify who is unhappy or angry with John and why they are angry? Use the Information sheet about what’s important to them as well.

Sum up the reasons for anger with the King.

Screen 4

Now tell the story of William de Briouze– the information sheet provides the details. This is not intended for students.

Ideally use 3 students as William, his wife and eldest son – so there’s a physical link, not just ‘names in the air’ – and you can ask them questions at key moments (see information sheet)

Screen 5

Ask the barons and their knights–what are you reactions to the story of William de Briouze? You could pick out the individualsclose to Briouze–Fitzwalter, de Clare.

Get them to look at Information sheet sections‘what’s important to you/ what would make you angry?’ for precise reasons.

The aim is to get reactions of shock, fear, it could happen to us next.

Screen 6

Time to look at some of the other things John has done –

The most important thing that’s happened is that John lost lands in France in 1204 and desperately wants to win them back – to do this he needs money, lots of it.

How has got that money? And what else has he done?

Prompt the barons to link John’s need for money to the information on the character cards – can they see why many of them have been paying large sums to the King?

Now use the information sheet headed King John’s actions– go through the details of John’s actions, asking, for example:

Who’s paid a high tax called a relief to inherit lands? De Vere, Lacy, Stuteville

Who’s had to give child as hostage?D’Aubigny, Lacy, de Clare– ref Briouze

Who has to pay huge sums of money to the King? Mowbray, Percy, Gant, Mandeville, de Clare, Cressy

Ask the barons -What words describe your attitude to John? Furious?Rebellious?

Screen 7

If so – why haven’t you rebelled before? Any suggestions?

Possible answers from class:

a) events already mentioned - Arthur, William de Briouze. Do these events make you rebel or play safe?

b) God’s support for kings? Do you really want to rebel against god?

c) Events? – see screen8– would you rebel if John seems successful?

John had enough successes in the middle of his reign to make rebellion difficult – no wonder barons slow to act.

Ask barons- what do you need to rebel successfully? (allies, confidence, signs that John is weak).

Screen 9 has answers

So it’s not so surprising that the barons hadn’t done this before.

End of Part 1 – the barons are angry and feeling rebellious but they haven’t dared to do anything yet!

Part 2: Didthe barons get what they wanted?

Screen 10

Briefly recap the key points from part 1

Then Screen 11

King John has been trying to win back his lands in France. News has just arrived that his allies have been beaten at the Battle of Bouvines. John’s hopes of winning back his lands have been crushed.

Screen 12

Think back to what you need to rebel – how does this news encourage you to rebel?

John is vulnerable – and you support each other – remind barons of links (northerners, friendship links)

Screen 13 – Decision time

So John is vulnerable – maybe God judged him with defeat of his allies?

What will you do?

Hands up if you favour each one – start with d, the most easily rejected

a) Murder

b) Depose

c) Negotiate rules for government

d) Accept John as he is

Why choose ‘negotiate’ [ref to previous charters – kings have done this at beginnings of reigns and NOT a and b?

Manoeuvre students to choose negotiate – then set them the task on screen 14:

Task: to pick 4 things you want John to agree to in negotiations.

How long you give them to do this will obviously depend on the class.

Feedback - Have pupils list the points that they, as barons, want. Then compare them with a summary of Magna Carta [not provided here]. Did you (as barons) get what you wanted? .

Reinforce points in Magna Carta and emphasise screen 15 – the security clause. What does this mean? Why do you as barons want this clause?Is King really the King any more?

So they all lived happily …

Screen 16

News arrives that John is arming for war - broken his agreement. He will not accept clause 61.

Screen 17Decision time

What will you do?

a) Accept John

b) Fight and ….make Louis of France king?

After the decision you can do one of two things:

a) finish the story quickly with some enjoyable and straightforward story-telling - Prince Louis’s invasion, the civil war, John’s use of the fat pigs in the siege of Rochester castle, the

loss of crown jewels, death of John –and barons’ support for 9 year-old King Henry.

b) Leave that decision hanging andgo straight into Part 3, picking up that story as you move on to the rest of the thirteenth century in a later lesson sequence.

Debriefing - Part 3: What can Magna Carta tell us about the Middle Ages?

Although the question above is the theme for this debriefing I would not reveal it to students immediately. A more open-ended beginning would be simply, So what have you learned?

This encourages puzzlement and thinking – ‘what have we learned?’ – it’s a difficult question that needs to be grappled with.

In practice it’s an indirect way of leading up to something really difficult and important, which is: What can the barons’ actions and Magna Carta tell us about the Middle Ages?

Screen 18

This requires a good, detailed debriefing, something easily rushed through in haste to get to the next topic but therefore risking throwing away the value of what’s been studied.

Screen 19 lists some of the ideas we’d hope students would take away from this lesson sequence.We could focus on something more detailed – why the barons rebelled is an obvious focus - but there are plenty of opportunities for that kind of closely-focussed enquiry.I suspect we do them too much so that students only see the details of mosaic but not the big picture, in this case the big picture of what was expected of kings in the Middle Ages, about the attitudes of barons, about how hard was it to decide to depose a king (extremely hard), about what place ‘ordinary’ people had in these big events? (none). You could also draw out something on the importance of religion in attitudes to kings (note the clauses relating to the Church in Magna Carta).

Conclusion

The more uninviting the topic the more you have to follow two rules:

1. focus on the people

2. getstudents ‘thinking from the inside’ of situations – so they appreciate the complexity.

These 2 rules are about helping students to care about the history, the people and the events they were part of. Find a way to make students care and they’ll engage their brains.

Which brings us to the importance of memorability.If we want to re-use what we’ve covered before – and we should – it has to be memorable or it can’t be recalled and re-used. One of key phrases in history teaching is

Do you remember when we did …

Much of memory relates to emotional response – enjoyment, involvement, intellectual engagement – nobody learned anything when they’re bored. Hopefully this activity on Magna Carta will be less boring than most!

And finally – and especially if you are new to teaching – please remember that the description above is a framework, not a script to be followed verbatim. No activity on a website can be used without you first thinking the details through and then adapting and tailoring the activity to each class.

Other Resources

This activity links to a wider discussion in my article in Teaching History, 159, June 2015.

See also on the HA website Rachel Foster’s scheme of work and activities:

Why was Magna Carta not forgotten?

For GCSE Edexcel see overleaf:

For GCSE Edexcelsee

Dale Banham, The Reigns of King Richard I and King John 1189-1216, published by Hodder Education, spring 2016.

and for further information on that series see