Monday, June 16, 2008

Thirteenth Century Dope

An interesting conjunction struck me---the Magna Charta of England was
first signed in 1215, and the Golden Bull of Hungary in 1222. This
latter document is a bit obscure now, but it was very similar to the
Magna Charta. Both bound a king to a rule of law. The Hungarian
document was more extreme---it included clauses exempting all nobility
from taxes, or enforced military service outside the country. Neither
document was very effective for the next few centuries, but both are
rightly considered legal cornerstones in history. What got me was how
they both were signed so close together, and I still suspect we are
looking at evidence of larger transhuman changes. Then an answer
though occurred----the Pope. Though I have not a shred of evidence
that he communicated the English events to the Hungarians, I do
understand the Pope was in communication with both countries. What we
are looking at is the nervous system of Europe some centuries ago,
with the Pope as the apex. (Of course there was also commerce between
countries---as an avenue of communication, but I like my picture of
the Pope as the brain of a nervous system.)

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