The Magna Carta: June 1215

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The Magna Carta was signed on June 15, 1215, when King John met with the Barons at Runnymede, a meadow on the south bank of the River Thames, just outside London. It is considered one of the most important and amazing documents in human history. The date of its signing is still celebrated each year in England.

Also called the Great Charter, the Magna Carta continues to be a main source of constitutional law around the world, with parts of the document still quoted to this day. Written in both Latin and prose, the first words read: “Firstly we have granted to God and confirmed by this our present charter, for us and our heirs in perpetuity, that the English Church shall be free.”

The Magna Carta deals with political, legal, economic, ecclesiastical, and feudal matters, and promises people liberties and protection from arbitrary actions of the government. It includes clauses that deal with justice, freedom from unlawful imprisonment, and freedom of the church.

The charter, however, was not given freely by King John and includes a series of promises extorted from him. These promises dealt with problems of the 13th century aristocracy — problems that included fees, customs, and land law. The role of the Magna Carta in 1215 was not so much to grant freedoms to the citizens of the English Kingdom. It was a tool to pin down King John and deter him from using excessive power to tax his own people or seize baronial possessions.

The following are significant, innovative creations included in the document:

In the second article, King John agreed that he would limit the royal inheritance fee to 100 marks, and it would be equal for all earls, barons, and other great men.

Clause 3 states that young men would not be forced to pay the king’s fee for an inheritance.

Clause 21 provides that barons and earls could be fined only by their peers and in accordance with the offense.

Under Clause 37, young men were protected from the King’s will to seize them and claim them as his wards.

Clause 39 states: “No free man is to be arrested, or imprisoned or disseized or outlawed or, exiled or in any way ruined, nor will we go or against him except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.”

Clause 40 states in part: “To no one will we deny the right to justice.”

Clause 44 concerned the people who lived outside the forest lands, and it protected them from being judged by forest law.

Clause 45 provides that judges, sheriffs, and other royal officials are to be competent.

Clauses 49, 50, and 51 relate to King John’s pledge to release all hostages and give charters to the people of England as security.

Clause 61 established a panel of 25 Barons to observe peace and liberties granted in the Magna Carta.

Nevertheless, the greatness of the document notwithstanding, the Barons and King John were still at odds. The so-called Great Charter was an immediate failure. In fact, it stimulated the hostilities between the Barons and King John.

After the Magna Carter was ratified, a council of the Barons took it upon themselves to correct the King’s wrongs prior to the Magna Carta, e.g., imposing high taxes, confiscation of land and castles, etc.

The Barons insulted King John by ignoring the mandate that they come to King John to resolve disputes. Rather, they compelled the King to travel to them. On one occasion, King John was ill but still traveled to the Barons.

In the end, the Magna Carta failed to provide for the Barons the means to enforce the King to fulfill his obligations pursuant to what he agreed and which was set forth in the document. At the request of King John, Pope Innocent III annulled the document just months after its passage.

There remained differences in agreement on privileges, and a civil war erupted between the Barons and King John. By the fall, King John had resumed seizing baronial estates as he did before.

King John was very weak after the signing of the Magna Carta. His health was declining. He failed to attend a scheduled meeting in London scheduled with the Barons to resolve differences. This significantly displeased the Barons.

Although the Magna Carta endeavored to resolve differences between the Barons and King John, it did not. It did, however, establish a foundation around the world for individual rights and liberties, making it one of the most valued documents in English history. But it took years before it was so recognized.

(Source: “Magna Carta: A Captivating Guide to the History of the Great Charter and its Influence on Medieval England and the Rest of the World” (Captivating History, 2020))