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History > UK, British empire, England
13th century > England
Early medieval Britain
Timeline in articles, pictures and podcasts
King John (1167-1216) r. 1199-1216
Magna Carta 1215
Magna Carta 1215
The Great Charter of Freedoms, signed reluctantly by King John in 1215, is the foundation of constitutional law across the globe, enshrining what became the writ of habeas corpus and protecting individuals from unlawful imprisonment.
English barons, enraged by John's arrogance, forced the document upon him to rein in his powers and shelter their own privileges.
Among a widevariety of provisions, such as the removal of all weirs and a ban on men being imprisoned on the testimony of a woman, it established the supremacy of the law over the king's will, allowed for a fixed law court, later the chancellery, and created an independent council that became a prototype parliament.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/apr/15/
Magna Carta – the great charter – was endorsed by King John to resolve an uprising by nobles angered by the monarch's despotic behavior and extortionate taxes.
The four original copies are written records of an oral agreement made between the king and his barons at Runnymede, west of London.
The agreement outlined limits on the power of the crown, establishing that the king was subject to the law, rather than above it.
Its most famous passage has been interpreted as laying the foundations of trial by jury:
"No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, nor will we proceed with force against him, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land."
Breay said it was a historic landmark that was almost killed off straight after its birth.
"It was only valid for less than 10 weeks," she said.
"The barons, knowing what King John was like, put in a clause making him say he would not seek to have it annulled.
Almost the first thing he did was send someone off to Rome to Pope Innocent III to seek to have it revoked."
The pope did annul it, and England was plunged back into civil war.
But John died the next year, leaving his nine-year-old son on the throne as Henry III.
The regent who ruled for young Henry reissued Magna Carta.
Although many of its clauses were subsequently ignored, overturned or rewritten, the document is considered the basis of British law.
It was reissued several times in the 13th century and 17 of these later copies survive.
Fifteen are in Britain, one is displayed at Australia's parliament and one, dating from 1297, is in the US national archives.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/jul/15/
Lincoln Cathedral is where Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton studied as a young cleric.
He played a major role in building concepts of a just monarchy into the historic charter, which attempted to settle the bitter feud between the tyrannical King John and his nobles.
After its signing, copies were distributed to places of worship throughout the kingdom.
Lincoln’s is the best preserved of the four that survive.
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/feb/14/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/john.shtml
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/ng-interactive/2015/jun/15/ http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/15/magna-carta-legal-significance
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/ng-interactive/2015/jun/15/
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/06/15/414616460/
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/15/
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/06/15/world/europe/15magna-carta-quiz.html
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/15/
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/15/magna-carta-legal-significance
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/15/
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jun/15/
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/14/magna-carta-study-reveals-church-role
https://www.npr.org/2015/04/13/
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/mar/12/
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/12/
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/feb/14/800-years-english-history-20-day-trips
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk-news/2013/jul/15/four-copies-magna-carta-united-anniversary
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/video/2010/nov/12/human-rights-uk-civil-liberties
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/apr/15/ten-of-the-best-political-documents
Magna Carta: explore the document in full
Find out for yourself what Magna Carta says by consulting the original document, with English translation, Latin transcription, and expert commentary from the AHRC’s Magna Carta Project
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/ng-interactive/2015/jun/15/
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/ng-interactive/2015/jun/15/
King John (1167-1216) r. 1199-1216
John was born around Christmas in 1166 or 1167 in Oxford, the youngest and favourite son of Henry II.
On his father's death in 1189 his brother, Richard, became king.
John received titles, lands and money, but this was not enough.
In October 1190, Richard recognised his nephew, Arthur, as his heir.
Three years later, when Richard was imprisoned in Germany, John tried to seize control.
He was unsuccessful and, when Richard returned in early 1194, was banished.
The two were soon reconciled and, when Arthur was captured by Philip II in 1196, Richard named John heir.
In 1199, Richard died and John became king.
War with France was renewed, triggered by John's second marriage.
While asked to mediate between the rival families of Lusignan and Angoulâme, he married the Angoulâme heiress Isabella, who had been betrothed to Hugh de Lusignan.
A rebellion broke out and John was ordered to appear before his overlord, Philip II of France.
His failure to do so resulted in war.
By 1206, John had lost Normandy, Anjou, Maine and parts of Poitou.
These failures were a damaging blow to his prestige and he was determined to win them back.
This required money, so his government became increasingly ruthless and efficient in its financial administration.
Taxes soared and he began to exploit his feudal rights ever more harshly.
This bred increasing baronial discontent.
Negotiations between John and his barons failed and civil war broke out in May 1215.
When the rebels seized London, John was compelled to negotiate further and, on 19 June at Runnymede on the River Thames, he accepted the baronial terms embodied in the Magna Carta, which limited royal power, ensured feudal rights and restated English law.
It was the first formal document stating that the monarch was as much under the rule of law as his people, and that the rights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of the sovereign.
This settlement was soon rendered impractical when John claimed it was signed under duress.
Pope Innocent took his side and in the ensuing civil war John laid waste to the northern counties and the Scottish border.
Prince Louis of France then invaded at the barons' request.
John continued to wage war vigorously, but his death in October 1216 enabled a compromise peace and the succession of his son Henry III. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/john.shtml
https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Related > Anglonautes > History
Ancient Britain - Early 21st century England, United Kingdom, British Empire
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