natural law provided the basis for a theory of rights in the middle ages; however, in the rougher world of medieval political practice, rights had rather different connotations. here a right was a concession one extracted from a nominal superior, probably by force. the magna carta (1215) is a case in point. the barons of england obiged king john to grant to them and their heirs in perpetuity a series of liberties which are, for most party very specific and related