[P2P-F] The Charter of the Forest

[ideasinc at ee.net]

this article would seem to be a basic piece relative to providing a  
historical context for the the principle of the commons

first paragraph: The charter was designed to complement Magna Carta, which  
had been signed in 1215 by Henry’s predecessor and father, King John, in  
which he promised his subjects that England would be governed, and his  
barons dealt with, according to the customs of feudal law. Almost  
immediately, Magna Carta was nullified by Pope Innocent III, who agreed  
with John that the agreement had been extorted by force. The barons  
rebelled (see Barons’ War), and in October 1216 John died and was  
succeeded by his nine-year-old son, Henry. A council of barons loyal to  
John, and led by William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, was created to rule on  
Henry’s behalf. To end the rebellion, it decided to reissue Magna Carta.  
This document had never satisfactorily dealt with the issue of forest law,  
which was a cause of widespread resentment.




http://www.economics.arawakcity.org/node/78