Context
King John of England had alienated his barons through heavy taxation, arbitrary imprisonment, and military failures, including the loss of Normandy to France. The barons, supported by Archbishop Stephen Langton, organized a rebellion. By May 1215, they had captured London and forced John to negotiate.
The Deed
At Runnymede, a meadow along the Thames, the barons presented John with a charter of demands. On June 15, 1215, John affixed his seal to the Magna Carta. Key provisions included: no taxation without consent, the right to a fair trial by jury, protection from arbitrary imprisonment, and the principle that the king himself was subject to law. Though John repudiated it within weeks and Pope Innocent III annulled it, the charter was reissued in modified form in 1216, 1217, and 1225.
Why It Matters
The Magna Carta established the revolutionary principle that power is not absolute. Its clauses were invoked during the English Civil War, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution. The Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution echoes Magna Carta's due process protections. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights draws directly on its principles.
Brutal Truth
The Magna Carta was not a democratic document. It protected the feudal rights of wealthy barons, not common people. Most of its 63 clauses dealt with arcane feudal property disputes. Its legacy as a symbol of universal liberty was largely constructed centuries later by lawyers and revolutionaries who needed a historical precedent for their own causes.
By the Numbers
- 63 clauses in the original document
- Only 4 original 1215 copies survive
- Annulled within 10 weeks of signing
- A 1297 copy sold for $21.3 million in 2007