 A certain German once said Don't stop England! And a certain Frenchman said A nation of shopkibles And an Italian added In England there are 60 different religions and only one source And finally an Englishman This fortress built by nature for herself against infection and the hand of war This happy breed of men This little world, this precious stone Set in the Silver Sea Which serves it in the office of a wall or as a moat defensive to a house Against the envy of less happy lands This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England There you have it, soldier from the States, four views of England What will you have, soldier? Well, I take a beer, but in England the beer is warm They like it that way They drive to the left An English custom They're coffee Yes? Well, it ain't coffee I admire your restraint Of course, our tea isn't tea Granted, I'll tell you another thing Confidentially, this place is lousy with tradition I see, like Westminster Abbey? That's a ticket Or the Tower of London? Uh-huh Or Magna Carta? Um, I don't know about that Better leave Magna Carta alone I see, you're a scholar Ah, plumber's helper Sure, that's what I was Do you ever hear of the plumber's code? Well, Section 26 is the Magna Carta of the plumbing business Let me say it to you Not now, soldier I'm going to tell you something of the first Magna Carta Is that so? Ain't you gonna wear fancy clothes? Not even a ruffle Oh, will you tell it like in the moon pictures? Gadzooks and foresuit and stuff like that? Not if I want to get paid, I won't Just sit back and listen, soldier For no matter your name and accent or where your father was born In a sense, England is your ancestral home This is your tongue and this your habit and your beginning You and I, soldier We came this way The NBC University of the Air presents We Came This Way A new historical series for home and overseas With John W. Vander Cook as the narrator We present chapter one, a story of Magna Carta In We Came This Way On the outermost verge of Europe Sundered from the mainland by the running Channel Sea Float the islands of Britain There was a time once, perhaps in the year 2000 Before the Christian era When Britain was a part of the continent And the Thames was tributary to the river Rhine The land lay naked and frost-bitten Under the polar ice cap Till there came a melting of snows And a rising of seas Which inundated the shallows of Dover And perhaps in the year 700 before Christ There came upon Britain a second inundation An inundation of men, fair of hair And big of born The Celts And the Celts remained as conquerors Over the primitive inhabitants Till they too, in the first century of the modern era Yielded before The Romans In the angry tumultuous years that followed The invader continued to come Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Frigians Vikings, the Norsemen and the Danes And 1066, the Normans, under William the Conqueror Thus an Englishman, a complex of races An amalgam, a melting of fusion And yet also a breed apart It was this blending of Gaelic speaking, Anglo-Saxons speaking French-speaking people When the reign of King John planted a seed of liberty Which men call Magna Cotta Some men stumbled into evil Some are forced into evil unwillingly Some have a talent for it In the year of our lord 1203 The throne of England was occupied by a man With a talent for evil It may be said with truth That he was the worst king in the history of England Therefore, John, a man of genius But all it happened that many nobles looked upon John as usurper For young Arthur, the son of John's elder brother Was still alive And this became a cause for brooding and discontent Until in the month of April of the year 1203 Arthur fell prisoner to John and was seized And laid in a dungeon Who is it? Who's there? What do you want? King John Uncle John, is it you? In the name of God, light a candle, let me see your face No candles, Arthur What is you, John? A candle, Sire Nephew Yes? What is it? Your candle is out John, no No, please Not a dagger Not while I'm unarmed Most of the father I'm unarmed Uncle, uncle If the nobles knew they held their tongues For John was absolute ruler over England Besides, there was greater cause for murmuring in the next few years For the French possessions of the crown fell to Philip Augustus Normandy, Anjou, Poitou Fallen and forever lost to England While John raged and the people grew witness Under the burden of his taxes I have sold to sell Fine salt, good wife Indeed it is, Chapman And the herring? Taken from the North Sea before Mickelmas a week He's taken good wifey, it's cheap I haven't even the half of a fathering, good sir Taxes? Taxes Good wife, can you tell me what's come over England? Haven't you heard, sir? John's come over us Like a plague and a corruption The king's man watches I have fish to sell I have corn to sell I have salt It's Walter, that's an uncommon, surly face you wear this morning Your Majesty should go among his subjects more He will see it's not so uncommon A surly face and a surly tongue I see Someday, sire, more than tongues will speak It's Walter, my friend Your speech exceeds discretion My monarch is not noted for his discretion Like a good retort So you've heard about the wench Which one, Your Majesty? Which one? You speak like the queen I speak like myself, sire Then you speak too bold, Fitzwater Even a king may be too bold, Your Majesty Truly? How, my friend? You have text each baron for the hire of mercenary soldiers So I did There are no mercenary soldiers Come to think of it, you're quite right I wish the return of their money, Your Majesty Look outside, Fitzwater What do you see? Cemetery, Your Majesty Excellent Tell the barons that when the cemetery gives back So also will King John Thus marry England and the reign of King John The hostility and the fear Lay like a sleeping thing While John levied assessments An extorted payment from his subjects Then it came about The archbishop of Canterbury died And the monks disputed the bishops As to his successor The candidates of the rival factions Went before the pope An innocent the third Being an astute man rule for neither But named Stephen Langton instead And King John grew mightily in sense I do not meddle in the affairs of Rome Let Rome not meddle in the affairs of England Hembroke Yes, Your Majesty You know this Langton Know him, Sire? No, except that he is a cardinal of the church In the new archbishop of Canterbury Perhaps a cardinal in Rome But not an archbishop in Canterbury Hembroke my orders Yes, Sire Langton is refused admission to England Am I understood? Very well, Sire Good Now, we shall teach his holiness That John will bear no trifling Hembroke order your men to seize Church property throughout London At once, Hembroke Hembroke, Hembroke Does he think to frighten me? I am John of England I am the king Oh, be still, you fool The pope has placed England Under an interdict I see through it, Hembroke He seeks to turn the people against me It won't work to you here It won't work Friar, admit us to the church No The doors of the churches of England are closed It is the interdict What are you waiting for, woman? For the bells, Friar No church bells ring in England, woman It is the interdict Confess a dying old man of his sins, father I cannot The last sacrament is forbidden under the interdict Oh, Friar There was none to strive him Let him at least be buried in consecrated ground I cannot help you My heart bleeds for you, but I cannot help you It is forbidden by the interdict This is your doing, John Thera, I am your king You know how to address a king Yes, your majesty I have no liking for your tone, Fitzwalter Are you quibble with me, Sire? A time when the church is withdrawn from the kingdom? I ask you, Fitzwalter Where is your loyalty? To the pope or to your king? All England punders that question, your majesty Answer, you traitor It is for you to answer, your majesty Do you want my answer? Yes Very well Since you seem to be concerned for the church I give you leave to inform the pope of Rome The plans of the bishops are hereby declared forfeits You do not know what you are saying, Sire Don't I? The emissaries of his holiness are on their way with messages Tell them to turn back Your majesty To turn back, Fitzwalter For if they set foot in this palace on my honor as a Christian I shall have their eyes torn from their heads In the year 1209 Innocent the third declared King John excommunicated At once the men of Wales rose in rebellion And John summoned his barons to go to war And many barons refused You are their leader, Fitzwalter You have no proof of that, Sire Good for you that I do not Your head would be in the executioner's basket I do not doubt you, Sire Leader or no leader, Fitzwalter Inform my barons that those who stay at home Must remain loyal And I shall take measures to assure their loyalty My lord Pembroke Go among our good barons, my lord And take from each a child For what purpose, your majesty? I speak to Pembroke, sir, not to you But since you ask, Fitzwalter I shall tell you The children shall be my hostages You think I am without wit, Fitzwalter I know how to command loyalty Yes, the barons will be loyal Even to an excommunicated king You shall have none of my children, John I see Your husband trembles at the knee And so he sends his lady, Matilda Well, Matilda, return to your castle And order your husband here No, John, I do not return And you take no child of mine as hostage And pray, why not? Because once you took your own nephew Arthur as hostage And you killed him with your own murderous hand Go on, Caesar Will you murder me also? No, Matilda, I am a gentleman You will murder yourself Yes Take her to the dungeon guards And the first man who gives her water to drink Or bread to eat will answer to me Would you, would you starve me, John? Come, Matilda You will starve quite well by yourself Quite so Drink your own tears And feed on your own fat Take her away It is not the pain But the cause which makes martyrs And perhaps somewhere in England There is a monument to the lady Matilda de Brogues Who died a martyr's death And also perhaps to Geoffrey Archdeacon of Westminster Who suffered a leaden collar To be tightened around his neck Because he would permit no priest To accompany the armies of an excommunicated And evil king There were many martyrs in England Some were hanged And some were suffocated And some were starved And whether through fear of God Or because he learned that innocent the third Had authorized the king of France To lead a holy crusade against England John yielded the pope And met with the papal legate To Dover Do you, John, Submit to his holiness And do him homage? Why do you think I summoned do you fool? Do you, John, or do you not? Very well I do Do you accept Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury? Call Philip of France off To himself Do you, John, or do you not? I do, I do, I do, I do Be quick, man, be quick You promised to make full restitution to the church And the bishops, monks, clerks And all those at the church And you have wrongfully deprived the property and rights Oh, what a dull, dull fellow, my lords I do, man You seem to show no contrition, my son Contrition is your business, not mine Now send this accursed Stephen Langton To me and let's be done with the mummery So you're Langton Sire, I am the Archbishop of Canterbury Good, I'm the King of England Remember that I'm instructed, Sire, to lift The sentence of excommunication Fine, it's just in time In time, Your Majesty To be candid, I have founded a slight inconvenience I dare say, Your Majesty I think I like you, Langton I'll tell you something There are some grudges I do not forget No, no, not you Philip Philip Augustus of France He might do not forget And he will not soon forget me I prepare for war, Archbishop War for the glory of England Our good day, sir Our war chests are somewhat depleted We must take steps to replenish them Be silent, gentlemen Thank you, sirs Which of you is Giles the barber? I, sir I am he Excellent. Do you pull teeth, Giles? As quick as any barber in England, sir Never mind that Can you pull teeth slowly, eh? Slowly, sir Very slowly, Giles Can you break a tooth in the socket? Oh, it happens sometimes, sir But it's not a good thing For my needs, it is a sovereign good There are some usurers in Bristol Who say they have no money Pull their teeth, Giles Slow, sir Exactly One tooth each day Until they yield their money Suppose I pull all their teeth And they have no money No doubt they will be dead by then The barons are not bound To serve you abroad, Sire Speak for yourself, Fitzwalter Gladly, my knights and I Do not follow you to France And if you try to compel us, Sire Finish, my good Fitzwalter You're about to say if I try to compel you I should first have to fight a war at home Yes For decent men, there is no comfort No counsel No consolation Except in resistance to you I think I dislike you less When you do not make speeches It is no idle speech, Your Majesty You're a dull fellow, Fitzwalter Better to kill you someday But not now, Your Majesty No, not now First I have a score to settle With the King of France Your turn will come later, Fitzwalter Archbishop There are some in England Who wish to know whether they can count on you And you among the some, Fitzwalter I among them, Archbishop I am a servant of the church, sir Rebellion is not for the church I am sworn to uphold John John fights an evil war in France Do you also uphold that? Do you ask me to be disloyal to my country? I am an Englishman In times like this Archbishop The best Englishman is one who speaks against his king Are you with us, sir? I cannot be with you, Fitzwalter Wait No, I cannot be with you But I will not be against you The pattern shapes John and France fighting In a doomed cause The noble, the middle class In the church at home waiting for him to fail And in France King John failed And signed the humiliating peace of September 18th 1214 And John and his bedraggled armies Returned to England And instead of showing a face of humility John spoke arrogantly Fitzwalter, I demand a tax from you Indeed, sir From you and from every baron You follow me to France Do you force the issue, sire? Force? Exactly, Fitzwalter The word is force I shall communicate your wish to the baron, sire Demand is a better word, Fitzwalter Yes, your majesty Demand Is a better word In solemn convocation On November 20th, 1214 The barons of England met With Robert Fitzwalter and Stephen Langton Archbishop of Canterbury They spoke of their common humiliation And of the corruption that beset the land But they spoke wearily And with fear of John And some counseled moderation No, I say no You cannot resist moderately For he will not compel you moderately You counsel rebellion, Fitzwalter Yes, my lord I'm not afraid of the word I am King, our peasants in time will resist us They will, my lord, if you give them cause for resistance And it will not be such a bad thing Come, come, Fitzwalter You don't mean that Why not? You betray your class, sir You do, if your peasants resist you for good cause My lord Let us not find disagreement among ourselves The king is treacherous And a tyrant We serve him well by our divisions If you wish liberty from tyranny Show John the point Of your daggers Do you also counsel rebellion Archbishop Langton I counsel justice, my lord I see Fitzwalter would show the point of his dagger And the archbishop Would show the point of his scriptures The two go well together, my lord Very well I say fight The king will surely resist What shall we do then? Force him to comply Will you take a oath on it? Wage war against the king of England If he refuses our conditions Yes, fight, fight And what say you, Archbishop? God bless you gentlemen It is a good day and a good deed Langton Do you address me, sir? I address you, Archbishop Your majesty Excommunicate them No, no rebels, your majesty You lie Excommunicate them, I say It is our order How dare you, sir? I dare many things, your majesty Even to threaten you with excommunication I'll have you broken Save your breath, sire There is nothing you can do, but sign the charter I'll see them rot first You will sign, your majesty May God bless him, your name, Stephen Langton I marvel that one man can be so wicked The war they'll have How will your majesty wage war? Who stands allied to John? My loyal subjects They march against your castles even now My people They would see you die like an animal in a ditch And raise no finger to help you My nobles, I say There are still some who are not rebels Who? Which, sire? My lord, them broke Well, sir Get out of my sight Church, people, nobles All stand against John of England Get out of my sight, you traitor But you will sign But you will sign Yes, I I will sign I'll get out In the year of our lord, 1215 On the 15th day of June King John of England stood humbly On the south side of the Thames And faced Stephen Langton And the nobles of the realm Standing in the marshy flat before John By the grace of God King of England Lord of Ireland Duke of Normandy in Aquitaine And Earl of Anjou To the archbishops Bishops Abbots, pearls, barons, justices And John was humble And also bitter They have given me 25 over kings And he cursed Stephen Langton And Robert Fitzwalter But he put his seal of beeswax To the charter This is the seed of liberty The seed of English freedom And the American Bill of Rights Yet if you look closely into the charter You will find no word of trial by jury No single reference To the basic right of habeas corpus And yet there was much Within the 62 provisions Of the charter For today The church is to be free And to hold its rights entire And its liberties uninjured No freemen shall be taken Or imprisoned Or dispossessed Or outlawed Or banished Or in any way destroyed Nor will we go upon them Nor send upon them except by legal judgment of his peers Or by the law of the land To no one will we sell To no one will we deny or delay Right or justice In short A government of laws and not of men Yes there is much in Magna Carta Which was not new even in the year 1215 And much that was feudal And unprogressive Yet Magna Carta is a tradition, a legend Sometimes a legend can be More sovereign than a fact I shall say it in another way Magna Carta is by Interpretation The pillar of our freedom The shield of our liberties And the way we came Thanks bud I'm glad they gave him the works He didn't sign it soldier But he put his seal to it A seal of beeswax as big as a saucer Now let me tell you about the Magna Carta Of the plumbing industry Section 26 of the code Whereas in pursuant of section 24 Clause 1 subsection 3 It's very nice soldier But I ain't even begun I get the point though All sorts of people have Magna Carta Workers, businessmen, women Children, everybody has Soldier I guess so It sure got around didn't it Yes soldier It sure got around The NBC University of the Air Has brought you chapter 1 Of the new historical series This Way Next week, We Came This Way Will present a story of a feudal revolution In the 14th century A handbook containing background information With suggestions for further reading Is now in publication We shall be happy to send you at cost This valuable We Came This Way Handbook, especially written For the current series Send 25 cents to cover the cost Of printing and mailing to We Came This Way This program is presented by The NBC University of the Air Not only for the listeners in this country But also for our servicemen and women Overseas to be transmitted to them Wherever they are stationed Through the armed forces radio service Tonight's script was written By Morton Wishingrad And directed by Ira Avery The music was conducted by Milton Catems Members of the cast were Gilbert Mack Bartlett Robinson Cecil Roy Humphrey Davis Joe DeSantis Louis Van Rooten John Merlin and Lawn Clark The narrator was John W. Vandercook This is the national Broadcasting Company