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Magna Carta
Magna Carta
	One of only four surviving exemplifications of the 1215 text, Cotton MS. Augustus II. 106, held by the British Library
Created	1215
Location	Various copies
Author(s)	Barons of King John of England

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Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter),^[1] also called Magna Carta Libertatum or The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, is an Angevin charter originally issued in Latin in June 1215. It was sealed under oath by King John at Runnymede, on the bank of the River Thames near Windsor, England at June 15, 1215.^[2]

Magna Carta was the first document forced onto a King of England by a group of his subjects, the feudal barons, in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their rights.

The charter is widely known throughout the English speaking world as an important part of the protracted historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law in England and beyond.

The 1215 charter required King John to proclaim certain liberties and accept that his will was not arbitrary—for example by explicitly accepting that no "freeman" (in the sense of non-serf) could be punished except through the law of the land, a right that still exists. The name Runnymede may be derived from the Anglo-Saxon 'runieg' (regular meeting) and 'mede' (mead or meadow), describing a place in the meadows used to hold regular meetings. The Witan, Witenagemot or Council of the Anglo-Saxon kings of the 7th to 11th centuries was held from time to time at Runnymede during the reign of Alfred the Great. The Council met usually in the open air. This political organ was transformed in succeeding years, influencing the creation of England's 13th century parliament.

The water-meadow at Runnymede is the most likely location at which, on June 15 1215,^[2] King John sealed the Magna Carta, and is the site of the Magna Carta Memorial. Magna Carta Island on the opposite bank of the river is another possible site. The charter indicates Runnymede by name. The Magna Carta had an impact on common and constitutional law as well as political representation also affecting the development of parliament. The charter's association with ideals of democracy, limitation of power, equality and freedom under law has attracted placement at Runnymede of monuments and commemorative symbols.

It was preceded and directly influenced by the Charter of Liberties in 1100, in which King Henry I had specified particular areas wherein his powers would be limited. Magna Carta was important in the colonization of America as England's legal system was used as a model for many of the colonies as they were developing their own legal systems.

It was translated into vernacular French as early as 1219,^[3] and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions. The later versions excluded the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority that had been present in the 1215 charter. The charter first passed into law in 1225; the 1297 version, with the long title (originally in Latin) "The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, and of the Liberties of the Forest," still remains on the statute books of England and Wales. ^[4]

Despite its recognised importance, by the second half of the 19th century nearly all of its clauses had been repealed in their original form. Three clauses currently remain part of the law of England and Wales, however, and it is generally considered part of the uncodified constitution. Lord Denning described it as "the greatest constitutional document of all times – the foundation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot".^[5] In a 2005 speech, Lord Woolf described it as the "first of a series of instruments that now are recognised as having a special constitutional status",^[6] the others being the Habeas Corpus Act (1679), the Petition of Right (1628), the Bill of Rights (1689), and the Act of Settlement (1701).

It was Magna Carta, over other early concessions by the monarch, which survived to become a "sacred text".^[7] In practice, Magna Carta did not generally limit the power of kings in the medieval period, but by the time of the English Civil War it had become an important symbol for those who wished to show that the King was bound by the law. It influenced the early settlers in New England^[8] and inspired later constitutional documents, including the United States Constitution.^[9]

Great Charter of 1215

Rebellion and creation of the document

Some barons began to conspire against King John in 1209 and 1212; promises made to the northern barons and John's submission to universal rule of the papacy in 1213 delayed a French invasion.^[10] Over the course of his reign a combination of higher taxes, unsuccessful wars that resulted in the loss of English barons' titled possessions in Normandy following the Battle of Bouvines (1214), and the conflict with Pope Innocent III (ending with John's submission in 1213) had made King John unpopular with many of his barons.

In 1215 some of the most important barons engaged in open rebellion against their king. Such rebellions were not particularly unusual in this period. Every king since William the Conqueror had faced rebellions. What was unusual about the 1215 rebellion was that the rebels had no obvious replacement for John; in every previous case there had been an alternative monarch around whom the rebellion could rally. Arthur of Brittany would have been a possibility, if he had not disappeared years earlier while he was John's prisoner; Arthur was widely believed to have been murdered by John. The next closest alternative was Prince Louis of France, but as the husband of Henry II's granddaughter, his claim was tenuous, and the English had been at war with the French for thirty years. Instead of a claimant to the throne, the barons decided to base their rebellion around John's oppressive government. In January 1215, the barons made an oath that they would "stand fast for the liberty of the church and the realm", and they demanded that King John confirm the Charter of Liberties, from what they viewed as a golden age.^[11]

John attempted to use the lengthy negotiations to avoid a confrontation while he waited for support from the Pope and hired mercenaries, adopting various measures to weaken the rebels' position and improve his own, including taking the cross as a crusader in March 1215 (which the Pope applauded but most other observers considered insincere), demanding a new oath of allegiance, and confirming London's city charter in May 1215.^[12] During negotiations between January and June 1215, a document was produced, which historians have termed 'The Unknown Charter of Liberties',^[13] seven of the articles of which later appeared in the 'Articles of the Barons' and the Runnymede Charter.^[14] In May, King John offered to submit issues to a committee of arbitration with Pope Innocent III as the supreme arbiter,^[15] but the barons continued in their defiance. With the support of Prince Louis the French Heir and of King Alexander II of the Scots, they entered London in force on 10 June 1215,^[16] with the city showing its sympathy with their cause by opening its gates to them. They, and many of the moderates not in overt rebellion, forced King John to agree to a document later known as the 'Articles of the Barons', to which his Great Seal was attached in the meadow at Runnymede on 15 June 1215. In return, the barons renewed their oaths of fealty to King John on 19 June 1215, which is when the document Magna Carta was created.

In return for King John's submission to his papal and universal authority, Innocent III declared Magna Carta annulled, though many English Barons did not accept this action.

The contemporary, but unreliable^[17] chronicler, Roger of Wendover, recorded the events in his Flores Historiarum.^[18] A formal document to record the agreement was created by the royal chancery on 15 July: this was the original Magna Carta, though it was not known by that name at the time. An unknown number of copies of it were sent out to officials, such as royal sheriffs and bishops.

Clause 61

The 1215 document contained a large section that is now called clause 61 (the clauses were not originally numbered). This section established a committee of 25 barons who could at any time meet and overrule the will of the King if he defied the provisions of the Charter, seizing his castles and possessions if it was considered necessary.^[19] This was based on a medieval legal practice known as distraint, but it was the first time it had been applied to a monarch.

Distrust between the two sides was overwhelming. What the barons really sought was the overthrow of the King; the demand for a charter was "mere subterfuge."^[20] Clause 61 was a serious challenge to John's authority as a ruling monarch. He renounced it as soon as the barons left London; Pope Innocent III also annulled the "shameful and demeaning agreement, forced upon the King by violence and fear." He rejected any call for restraints on the King, saying it impaired John's dignity. He saw it as an affront to the Church's authority over the King and the 'papal territories' of England and Ireland, and he released John from his oath to obey it. The rebels knew that King John could never be restrained by Magna Carta and so they sought a new King.^[21]

England was plunged into a civil war, known as the First Barons' War. With the failure of Magna Carta to achieve peace or restrain John, the barons reverted to the more traditional type of rebellion by trying to replace the monarch they disliked with an alternative. In a measure of some desperation, despite the tenuousness of his claim and despite the fact that he was French, they offered the crown of England to Prince Louis of France.^[22]

As a means of preventing war, Magna Carta was a failure, rejected by most of the barons,^[23] and was legally valid for no more than three months.^[24] The death of King John in 1216, however, secured the future of Magna Carta.^[25]

List of participants

Barons, Bishops and Abbots who were party to Magna Carta.^[26]

^ http://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/history.magnacarta.php
^ ^a ^b "This Day in History — 6/15/1215: Magna Carta sealed". American History. American History. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
^ "Magna Carta 1215, French translation (MC 1215 Fr)". Holt, J.C.‚ 'A Vernacular-French Text of Magna Carta 1215', English Historical Review, 89 (1974), 346–64.
^ "Magna Carta". Magna Carta. 1297. Retrieved 2014-01-15. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Danny Danziger & John Gillingham, "1215: The Year of Magna Carta"(2004 paperback edition) p278
^ "Magna Carta: a precedent for recent constitutional change". Judiciary of England and Wales Speeches. 15 June 2005. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
^ Holt, J.C. Magna Carta (1965) p.21
^ Clanchy, M.T. Early Medieval England Folio Society (1997) p.139
^ "United States Constitution Q + A". The Charters of Freedom. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
^ Thomas, Ralph V. Magna Carta Pearson 2003 pp39–40 & pp53–54
^ Danziger & Gillingham (2004) pp.256–258
^ Danziger & Gillingham (2004) pp.258–259
^ Poole, A.L. From Domesday Book to Magna Carta, 1087–1216 Oxford University Press 2nd edition (1963) p471-472
^ Holt, J.C. The Northerners: A Study in the Reign of King John Oxford University Press New edition (1992) p115
^ Holt, J.C. The Northerners: A Study in the Reign of King John Oxford University Press New edition (1992) p112
^ Within this article dates before 14 September 1752 are in the Julian calendar, later dates are in the Gregorian calendar.
^ Holt, J.C. The Northerners: A Study in the Reign of King John Oxford University Press New edition (1992) p107
^ "Roger of Wendover". Britannia.com. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
^ Leeming, John Robert (1915). Stephen Langton: Hero of Magna Charta (1215 A.D.), septingentenary (700th anniversary), 1915 A.D. London: Skeffington & Son. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
^ Poole, A.L. From Domesday Book to Magna Carta, 1087–1216 Oxford University Press 2nd edition (1963) p479
^ Carpenter, David A. The Minority of Henry III University of California Press (1992) p12
^ Danziger & Gillingham (2004) p. 264
^ Crouch, David William Marshal Longman (1996) p114
^ Holt, J.C. Magna Carta Cambridge University Press 2nd Edition (1992) p1
^ Clanchy, M.T. A History Of England: Early Medieval England Folio Edition (1997) p141
^ Magna Charta translation, Barons at Runnymede, Magna Charta Period Feudal Estates, h2g2, King John and the Magna Carta

[1] ttp://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/history.magnacarta.php

[HCMagnaSealing-2] "This Day in History — 6/15/1215: Magna Carta sealed". American History. American History. Retrieved March 2, 2014.

[3] "Magna Carta 1215, French translation (MC 1215 Fr)". Holt, J.C.‚ 'A Vernacular-French Text of Magna Carta 1215', English Historical Review, 89 (1974), 346–64.

[4] "Magna Carta". Magna Carta. 1297. Retrieved 2014-01-15. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[1215:_The_Year-5] Danny Danziger & John Gillingham, "1215: The Year of Magna Carta"(2004 paperback edition) p278

[6] "Magna Carta: a precedent for recent constitutional change". Judiciary of England and Wales Speeches. 15 June 2005. Retrieved 7 September 2010.

[7] Holt, J.C. Magna Carta (1965) p.21

[Clanchy,_M.T._1997_p139-8] Clanchy, M.T. Early Medieval England Folio Society (1997) p.139

[ChartersOfFreedom-9] "United States Constitution Q + A". The Charters of Freedom. Retrieved 16 February 2009.

[10] Thomas, Ralph V. Magna Carta Pearson 2003 pp39–40 & pp53–54

[11] Danziger & Gillingham (2004) pp.256–258

[12] Danziger & Gillingham (2004) pp.258–259

[13] Poole, A.L. From Domesday Book to Magna Carta, 1087–1216 Oxford University Press 2nd edition (1963) p471-472

[14] Holt, J.C. The Northerners: A Study in the Reign of King John Oxford University Press New edition (1992) p115

[15] Holt, J.C. The Northerners: A Study in the Reign of King John Oxford University Press New edition (1992) p112

[16] Within this article dates before 14 September 1752 are in the Julian calendar, later dates are in the Gregorian calendar.

[17] Holt, J.C. The Northerners: A Study in the Reign of King John Oxford University Press New edition (1992) p107

[18] "Roger of Wendover". Britannia.com. Retrieved 30 August 2010.

[19] Leeming, John Robert (1915). Stephen Langton: Hero of Magna Charta (1215 A.D.), septingentenary (700th anniversary), 1915 A.D. London: Skeffington & Son. Retrieved 1 November 2009.

[Poole,_A.L._1963_p479-20] Poole, A.L. From Domesday Book to Magna Carta, 1087–1216 Oxford University Press 2nd edition (1963) p479

[21] Carpenter, David A. The Minority of Henry III University of California Press (1992) p12

[22] Danziger & Gillingham (2004) p. 264

[23] Crouch, David William Marshal Longman (1996) p114

[24] Holt, J.C. Magna Carta Cambridge University Press 2nd Edition (1992) p1

[25] Clanchy, M.T. A History Of England: Early Medieval England Folio Edition (1997) p141

[26] Magna Charta translation, Barons at Runnymede, Magna Charta Period Feudal Estates, h2g2, King John and the Magna Carta

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