From The King’s Body To The National Dignity

As the origin of the world constitutionalism, the development of the law andpolitics in the UK has been seen as a special field different from other parts in Europeduring the same period. By choosing the treason that is closely related to thedevelopment of the constitutionalism in the UK as a research point, this paper hasmade a study of the growth of UK constitutionalism from the perspective of thewrestle of power between the parliament and king. As a matter of fact, the positionthat the king and parliament will hold in the national politics should be decided bywhatever side the sovereignty lies with. Hence, it has become quite an important topicfor the both sides to apply the legal system prevailing in the ancient England tocovering up for their own political behaviors and also justifying themselves as thesymbol of sovereignty.The first chapter will be concerned with the beginning of the treason lawestablished in English, which is also known as the Treason Law in1352. It should benoted that it is a merely unclear definition that aims to protect the power of the kingduring the period from the6th century and13th century. In order to gain the financialsupport from the parliament, Edward III fully engaging in the war with France had torespond to legislative requirement of the parliament for giving clear confines of thetreason in1352. This effort was also perceived as a constraint upon the king so as toseparate the high treason from the petty treason based on the specific behavior. However, the terms in the Treason Law of1352also foreshadowed the expansion ofcrown and the abuse of the law in generations to come.The second chapter will focus on the period of Henry Ⅷ, during which thetreason law had reached its prime. In order to protect the royal supremacy of the kingand also safeguard the succession to the crown, Henry Ⅷ had tried to frequentlymodify the law according to his own will and also bind the crown with the treasonclosely. It can be said that the establishment of the treason law had raised his power tothe highest level. On the other hand, the aggressive king also took advantage of thelaw to crack down on the opposition at will. As a matter of fact, the case of SirThomas More is just a typical example of the king seeking to underline the royalsupremacy and protect the succession to the throne.The third chapter will regard the period of Puritan Revolution. The17th centuryis also featured by the most violent and changing wrestle between the king andparliament, leading to a radical change in the constitutionalism within a mere century.In the wake of the outbreak of the civil war and the trial of Charles I, the mind of thepublic had embraced a huge tide of transformation. A series of concepts such as theking, parliament, sovereignty and subject had been redefined, with the relationship inbetween also going through a major change. The trial of Thomas Wentworth hadforeseen the end of Charles I while his being guillotined had also marked the declineof royal power.Based on the study of the development and evolution of treason law in the firstthree chapters, the fourth chapter will summarize the change in the concept ofsovereignty reflected in the law. In the middle of the wrestle between the king andparliament, the sovereignty has been gradually detached from the king while thesubject of the treason has become the national pride in the abstract sense. Hence, ithas also laid a solid foundation for the development of the constitutionalism and theestablishment of the constitutional monarchy in the UK.