On September 27, 1312, the

Duke of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...

signed the Charter of

Kortenberg Kortenberg (; french: Cortenbergh) is a Belgian municipality located in the province of Flemish Brabant, about halfway between the cities of Brussels and Leuven. The municipality comprises the subdivisions or deelgemeenten of Erps-Kwerps, Everbe ...

that should better be referred to as a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

. It was valid for the entire

duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Neth ...

. From this charter originated a kind of "Parliament of Kortenberg" or a "Council of Kortenberg" or what was called an assembly of "The Lords of Kortenberg". The control organ, a precursor of the later "Estate assembly" (namely, the first estate was the clergy, the second estate was the nobility, and the third estate was the municipalities) gathered in the

Kortenberg Abbey Kortenberg Abbey, sometimes referred to as Cortemberg Abbey (founded 1095; suppressed 1798), was a monastery of Benedictine nuns at Kortenberg in the Duchy of Brabant. It is now a diocesan retreat centre under the name OAK: Old Abbey of Kortenberg ...

and elsewhere with ups and downs until 1375. From 1332 on the council was extended by two more members, so that there were 16 Lords;

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

got a second member and the

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant (french: Brabant wallon ; nl, Waals-Brabant ; wa, Roman Payis) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and ...

town of

Nivelles Nivelles (; nl, Nijvel, ; wa, Nivele; vls, Neyvel) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstre ...

( nl, Nijvel) also got a member. In 1340 documents were sealed with a special seal on which a tree was planted on a little hill (the "short" or "sharp"?). The seal bore the words "SIGILUM COMMUNE : CONSILII DE CORTENBERGHE" (the common or usual seal of the Council of Kortenberg).

''Magna Carta'' and the Charter of Kortenberg

Although ''

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...

'' is commonly regarded as the very first charter giving rise to medieval European constitutionalism, the Charter of

appears to have been far more democratic in nature. This mainly because the beneficiaries of ''Magna Carta'' were only the

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

s while the beneficiaries of the Charter of

included all citizens, expressly 'the rich and the poor' (''riken ende armen''). Reinforcing this view is the composition of the Council of

which clearly marks a difference with the more 'elitist' ''Magna Carta''. Whilst ''Magna Carta'' was to be implemented by a council of 25

s, the Council of

counted four

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s and ten townsmen. In the financial commission of August 1314 the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

were only two against the representatives of eight towns. Because of the historical continuity from the Charter of

to the Joyous Entries of many monarchs or their governors into Flemish and Brabantian towns, the migration of many educated citizens in the 16th & 17th century from these towns to the

Seven United Provinces The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

as a result of the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

and the stay of the

Pilgrim Fathers The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were the English settlers who came to North America on the ''Mayflower'' and established the Plymouth Colony in what is today Plymouth, Massachusetts, named after the final departure port of Plymo ...

into those Provinces (in the Dutch city of

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

) prior to their departure for America, coupled with the enduring influence of New Netherlander society upon the early American political life, the emphasis placed by American historians and the general public opinion upon the constitutive nature of ''Magna Carta'' for the

American constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

and the American Dream seems too narrow if no mention is made from the Charter of

or other Brabantian charters.

Modern version of the charter of Kortenberg

We, duke

John II of Brabant John II (27 September 1275 – 27 October 1312), also called John the Peaceful, was Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg (1294–1312). He was the son of John I of Brabant and Margaret of Flanders. John II succeeded his father in 1294 ...

, agree # That no other demands or taxes be levied than those which are known as the three feudal cases: #* at the knighthood of my son #* the wedding of my daughter #* and if I should be taken captive #:The taxes will be reasonable (fiscal prerogative). # An honourable jurisdiction for rich and poor. (judicial prerogative). # To recognise the freedom of our good towns. (municipal prerogative). # To establish a council which shall be comprised (sic) of: #* 4 knights or nobles. #* 10 representatives from the 5 cities as follows: #** 3 from

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

#** 3 from

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

#** 1 from

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

#** 1 from

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

(nowadays in

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the we ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) #** 1 from

Tienen Tienen (; french: Tirlemont ) is a city and municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises Tienen itself and the towns of Bost, Goetsenhoven, Hakendover, Kumtich, Oorbeek, Oplinter, Sint-Marg ...

#** 1 from

Zoutleeuw Zoutleeuw (; french: Léau ) is a municipality and city in the Hageland, in the extreme east of the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. On 1 January 2018 the municipality had 8,498 inhabitants. The total area is 46.73 km2, giving a populatio ...

# This council be allowed to meet at

in the Abbey. It will meet every 3 weeks to monitor whether the financial, judicial and municipal prerogatives are observed. # That in the future improvements are introduced to the administration of the land by the council. # That upon the death of members of the Council of Kortenberg, new members be designated. # That the members of the Council take an oath on the Holy Gospel that they will pursue the best interests of the public. # That the people have the

right to resist The right to resist is a nearly universally acknowledged human right, although its scope and content are controversial. The right to resist, depending on how it is defined, can take the form of civil disobedience or armed resistance against a tyra ...

should the Duke or his descendants refuse to observe the Charter of Kortenberg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charter Of Kortenberg 14th century in the duchy of Brabant 1312 in Europe Kortenberg 1310s in the Holy Roman Empire History of Flemish Brabant