the welfare of those whom he ruled.… The Ten Commandments and a portion of the Law of Moses were prefixed to his code, and thus became part of the law of the land.” The “germinal idea” of the Anglo-Saxon polity was self-government in which the body of the inhabitants had a voice in managing their own affairs. This principle had travelled westward with the Germanic tribes. “Where the law was administered, the law was made.” MAGNA CHARTA Individual liberty received its first real guarantee in 1215 A.D.