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Magna Carta: Mortality Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Clause.Sentence)

Quote #4

If a free man dies intestate, his movable goods are to be distributed by his next-of-kin and friends, under the supervision of the Church. The rights of his debtors are to be preserved. (27.1-2)

Surely the church won't try to steal from dead people, right? You can tell that the Magna Carta crowd trusted the church a lot more than they trusted King John's government.

Quote #5

We will not have the guardianship of a man's heir, or of land that he holds of someone else, by reason of any small property that he may hold of the Crown for a service of knives, arrows, or the like. (37.2)

The king must have been going around and rounding up all the rich heirs he could find so that he could be their "guardian" and steal their inheritances.