My girlfriend is doing an exam on the Magna Carta and she is struggling to understand the meaning behind articles 47 and 48 of the Magna Carta.
Could someone give a brief explanation of them both?
Articles 47
And all the forests which have been afforested by the king during his reign are to be disafforested, and let the same be done with regard to the rivers which are game reserves by this king’s doing.
Does this mean the forests are to be removed? Or does it mean that the king is to be stripped away from the rights to his forests?
Articles 48
What is more, all these customs and liberties which the king has granted to the realm, to be observed on his own account with regard to his own men, all the men of the realm, both clergy and laity, will observe on their own account with regard to their own men.
Thanks!
Both articles are generally seen as medieval peculiarity; due to the fact that their purpose was to alter forest law at the time. The first article was to be interpreted as the deforestation of the forests created during the king's rule- not any other king's forests; and the second was to investigate the so-called 'king's sole right' in forest law and abolish it. These, however, are not even the only articles of the Magna Carta designed for altering forest law; for instance, 44, 47, 48, and 52 were designed to, as previously stated, abolish the king's sole right in the forests in the previous forest law before the Magna Carta.
If you'd like a broader explanation of the two articles, feel free to PM or reply to me or another person who replies. However, I wanted to keep it short and concise as you asked.
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