Magna Carta

MAGNA CARTA was a charter of liberties, both personal and political, granted to the barons by King John of England on the island of Runnymede in the Thames in June 1215.

A draft document was presented to him on 15 June to which the King was forced to put his seal. After negotiations the final form was fixed and sealed, “freely granted”, on 19 June, 1215.

The Magna Carta concludes with the words: "for the salvation of our souls, and the souls of all our ... heirs, and unto the honor of God."

This was a negotiated peace between King John and his barons following a period of conflict. Many of the clauses protected the barons’ demands for redress for recent erosion of their rights. But most importantly, the document established fundamental liberties for all, including habeas corpus and of trial by one’s peers. It also banned the selling, denial, or delay of justice to anyone. Hence the Magna Carta is famous for establishing personal liberty for the first time.

King John did not intend to honor it. But within a year or so he was dead, and it was reissued with some changes under the seal of his son, the 9 year old King Henry III. Other amended versions were issued in 1217 and 1225, and this last version became part of English Statute Law. Many of its clauses remaining there through the centuries to become integral parts of the legal systems of the English speaking world and indeed much of the world.

A modern translation of the 1215 document can be found here.