Magna Carta

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This article is about the charter issued on 15 June 1215, and later modified. For the Irish law, see Great Charter of Ireland. For other uses, see Magna Carta (disambiguation).
Magna Carta
Magna Carta (British Library Cotton MS Augustus II.106).jpg
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 John, King of England
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Magna Carta (Latin; "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. It was sealed under oath by King John at Runnymede, on the bank of the River Thames near Windsor, England, on 15 June 1215.[2]

Magna Carta was the first document imposed upon 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.[3] 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 under English law today. The water-meadow at Runnymede is the most likely location where, on 15 June 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 influenced common and constitutional law, as well as political representation and the development of parliament. The charter's ideals of democracy, limitation of power, equality, and freedom under law is marked by monuments and commemorative symbols at Runnymede.

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 colonisation of America, as England's legal system was used as a model for many of the colonies when they were developing their own legal systems. It was translated into the vernacular Norman French as early as 1219,[4] 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 1297; the 1225 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.[5]

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".[6] 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",[7] 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".[8] 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[9] and inspired later constitutional documents, including the United States Constitution.[10]

History[edit]

13th century[edit]

Background[edit]

Main article: John, King of England
An illuminated picture of King John riding a white horse and accompanied by four hounds. The king is chasing a stag, and several rabbits can be seen at the bottom of the picture.
King John on a stag hunt

The origins of Magna Carta were as a potential peace treaty between royalist and rebel factions in 1215 shortly before the outbreak of the First Barons' War. England was ruled by King John, the third of the Angevin kings, but although the kingdom had a robust administrative system, the nature of government under the Angevin monarchs was ill-defined and uncertain.[11][12] John and his predecessors had ruled using the principle of vis et voluntas, or "force and will", taking executive and sometimes arbitrary decisions, often justified on the basis that a king was above the law.[12] Many contemporary writers believed that monarchs should rule in accordance with the custom and the law, and take counsel of the leading members of the realm, but there was no model for what should happen if a king refused to do so.[12]

John had lost most of his ancestral lands in France to King Philip II in 1204 and had struggled to regain them for many years, raising extensive taxes on the barons in a concerted effort that culminated in an expensive, but unsuccessful, military expedition in 1214.[13] John was also personally unpopular with many of the barons, many of whom owed money to the Crown, and little trust existed between the two sides.[14][15][16] In the face of this defeat and distrust, rebel barons in the north and east of England organised resistance to his rule within a few months of John's return.[17][18] They took an oath that they would "stand fast for the liberty of the church and the realm", and demanded that the King confirm the Charter of Liberties that had been declared by Henry I in the previous century, and which was perceived as protecting the rights of the barons.[19][18][20] The rebel leadership was unimpressive by the standards of the time, even disreputable, but were united by their hatred of John.[21]

Contemporary mural of Pope Innocent III

John held a council in London in January 1215 to discuss potential reforms, and sponsored discussions in Oxford between his agents and the rebels during the spring.[22] Both sides appealed to the Pope for assistance in the dispute.[23] During the negotiations, an initial document was produced by the rebellious barons, which historians have termed "the Unknown Charter of Liberties", seven of the articles of which later appeared in the "Articles of the Barons" and the subsequent charter.[24][25] John hoped that Pope Innocent III would give him valuable legal and moral support and accordingly played for time; the King had declared himself to be a Papal vassal in 1213 and correctly believed he could count on the Papacy for help.[26][23] In the meantime, John began to recruit mercenary forces from France, although some were later sent back to avoid giving the impression that the King was escalating the conflict.[22] John took an oath to become a crusader, a move which gave him additional political protection under church law, even if many felt the promise was insincere.[27][28]

Letters of support from the Pope arrived in April but by then the rebel barons had organised into a military faction. They congregated at Northampton in May and renounced their feudal ties to John, marching on London, Lincoln and Exeter.[29] John's efforts to appear moderate and conciliatory had been largely successful, but once the rebels held London they attracted a fresh wave of defectors from the royalists.[30] The King offered to submit the problem to a committee of arbitration with Pope Innocent III as the supreme arbiter, but this was not attractive to the rebels.[31] Instead, John instructed Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who had been working with the rebel barons on their "Articles" or demands, to organise peace talks.[30][32]

Great Charter of 1215[edit]

Runnymede water-meadow

John met the rebel leaders at Runnymede, near both the royal fortress of Windsor Castle and the rebel base at Staines, on 10 June 1215, where they presented him with their draft demands for reform, the "Articles of the Barons".[30][32][33] Stephen Langton's pragamatic efforts at mediation over the next ten days turned these incomplete demands into a charter capturing the proposed peace agreement; a few years later, this was later renamed Magna Carta, meaning "Great Charter".[34][35][33] By 15 June, general agreement had been made on a text, and on 19 June, the rebels renewed their oaths of loyalty to John and copies of the charter were formally issued.[33][32]

Although, as the historian David Carpenter has noted, the charter "wasted no time on political theory", it went beyond simply addressing individual baronial complaints, and formed a wider proposal for political reform.[30][36] It promised the protection of church rights, protection from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, new taxation only with baronial consent and, most importantly, limitations on taxation and other feudal payments to the Crown.[37][17] It focused on the rights of free men - in particular the barons - and not serfs and unfree labour.[36] Under what was later labelled "clause 61" by historians, a council of 25 neutral barons would be created to monitor and ensure John's future adherence to the charter, while the rebel army would stand down and London would be surrendered to the King.[38]

John and the rebel barons did not trust each other, however, and neither side seriously attempted to implement the peace accord.[38][39] The rebel barons suspected that the proposed baronial council would be unacceptable to John and that he would challenge the legality of the charter; they packed the baronial council with their own hardliners and refused to demobilise their forces or surrender London as agreed.[40][41] Disputes began to emerge between those rebels who had expected the charter to return lands that had been confiscated and the royalist faction.[42] Despite his promises to the contrary, John appealed to Pope Innocent for help, observing that the charter compromised the Pope's rights as John's feudal lord.[43] Innocent obliged; a letter from Rome arriving that September declared the charter "not only shameful and demeaning, but illegal and unjust" and excommunicated the rebel barons.[43][42]

By then violence had broken out between the two sides, and, less than three months after it had been agreed, John and the loyalist barons firmly repudiated the failed charter: the First Barons' War erupted.[44][45][42] The rebel barons concluded that peace with John was impossible, and turned to Philip II's son for help, the future Louis VIII, who claimed the English throne for himself.[46][42] The war soon settled into a stalemate, with neither side able to claim victory. The King became ill and died on the night of 18 October, leaving the nine-year-old Henry III as his heir.[47]

List of participants in 1215[edit]

Chester[edit]

The Runnymede Charter of Liberties did not apply to Chester, which at the time was a separate feudal domain. Earl Ranulf granted his own Magna Carta.[50] Some of its articles were similar to the Runnymede Charter.[51]

Great Charter of 1216[edit]

Effigy of William Marshal, the regent responsible for the Charter of 1216

Although the Charter of 1215 was a failure as a peace treaty, it was resurrected under the new government of the young Henry III as a way of drawing support away from the rebel faction. On his deathbed, King John appointed a council of thirteen executors to help Henry reclaim the kingdom, and requested that his son be placed into the guardianship of William Marshal, one of the most famous knights in England.[52] William knighted the boy, and Cardinal Guala Bicchieri, the papal legate to England, then oversaw his coronation at Gloucester Cathedral on 28 October.[53][54][55]

The young King inherited a difficult situation, with over half of England occupied by the rebels.[56][57] He had substantial support, however, from Guala who intended to win the civil war for Henry and punish the rebels.[58] Guala set about strengthening the ties between England and the Papacy, starting with the coronation itself, where Henry gave homage to the Papacy, recognising the Pope as his feudal lord.[59][53] Pope Honorius declared that Henry was the Pope's vassal and ward, and that the legate had complete authority to protect Henry and his kingdom.[53] As an additional measure, Henry took the cross, declaring himself a crusader and so entitled to special protection from Rome.[53]

The war was not going well for the loyalists, but Prince Louis and the rebel barons were also finding it difficult to make further progress.[60][61] John's death had defused some of the rebel concerns, and the royal castles were still holding out in the occupied parts of the country.[62][61] In a bid to take advantage of this, Henry's government encouraged the rebel barons to come back to his cause in exchange for the return of their lands, and reissued a version of the 1215 Charter, albeit having first removed some of the clauses, including those unfavourable to the Papacy and Clause 61, which had set up the council of barons.[63][64] The move was not successful and opposition to Henry's new government hardened.[65]

Great Charter of 1217[edit]

See also: Charter of the Forest and English land law

At the end of the civil war in 1217, the content of the charters of 1215 and 1216 were used to produce a peace treaty between the warring factions. In February 1217, Louis set sail for France to gather reinforcements.[66] In his absence, arguments broke out between Louis's French and English followers, and Cardinal Guala declared that Henry's war against the rebels was the equivalent of a religious crusade.[67] This resulted in a series of defections from the rebel movement, and the tide of the conflict swung in Henry's favour.[68] Louis returned at the end of April, but his northern forces were defeated by William at the Battle of Lincoln in May.[69][70]

Meanwhile, support for Louis's campaign was diminishing in France and he concluded that the war in England was lost.[71] The French prince negotiated terms with Cardinal Guala, under which he would renounce his claim to the English throne; in return, his followers would be given back their lands, any sentences of excommunication would be lifted and Henry's government would promise to enforce the charter of the previous year.[72] The proposed agreement soon began to unravel amid claims from some loyalists that it was too generous towards the rebels, particularly the clergy who had joined the rebellion.[73]

The Battle of Sandwich in 1217, showing the capture of the French flagship and the execution of Eustace the Monk (r) and the support of the English bishops (l), by Matthew Paris[74]

In the absence of a settlement, Louis remained in London with his remaining forces, hoping for the arrival of reinforcements from France.[73] When the expected fleet did arrive that August, it was intercepted and defeated by the loyalists at the Battle of Sandwich.[75] Louis entered into fresh peace negotiations, and the factions came to agreement on the final Treaty of Lambeth, also known as the Treaty of Kingston, on the 12 and 13 September 1217.[75] The treaty was similar to the first peace offer, but excluded the rebel clergy, whose lands and appointments remained forfeit; it included a promise, however, that Louis's followers would be allowed to enjoy their traditional liberties and customs, referring back to the Charter of 1216.[76] Louis left England as agreed and joined the Albigensian Crusade in the south of France, bringing the war to an end.[71]

A great council was called in October and November to take stock of the post-war situation, when the Charter of 1217 was probably formulated and issued.[77] The charter resembled that of 1216, although some additional clauses were added to protect the rights of the barons over their feudal subjects and the restrictions on the Crown's ability to levy taxation were watered down.[78] There remained a range of issues around the management of the royal forests, which involved a special legal system that had formed a source of considerable royal revenue; complaints existed over both the implementation of these courts, and the limits of the royal forests.[79] A complementary charter was created, the Charter of the Forest, pardoning existing forest offences, imposing new controls over the forest courts and establishing a review of the forest boundaries.[79] To distinguish the two charters, the term magna carta libertatum, "the great charter of liberties", was used by the scribes to refer to the larger document, which in time became known simply as Magna Carta.[80][81]

Great Charter 1225[edit]

The 1225 version of Magna Carta issued by Henry III

Having reached the age of majority, King Henry III was called upon to confirm the Charters. Henry reissued Magna Carta in a shorter version with only 37 articles, as a concession of liberties in return for a fifteenth part of moveable goods.[9] This was the first version of the Charter to enter English law.[82] The Charter of Liberties included a new statement that the Charter had been issued spontaneously and of the King's own free will. In 1227, Henry III declared all future charters had to be issued under his own seal and state under what warrant they were claimed; this proclamation questioned the validity of all previous acts done in his name or his predecessors.[83] It was not until 1237, and the "Little Charter" (Carta Parva), that both of the 1225 Charters were confirmed and granted in perpetuity.[84]

Great Charter 1297: Statute[edit]

1297 version of Great Charter

Edward I of England reissued the Charters of 1225 in 1297 in return for a new tax.[85] "Constitutionally, the Magna Carta of Edward I is the most important".[86] This version remains in Statute today (albeit with most articles now repealed—see below).[87][88]

The Confirmatio Cartarum (Confirmation of Charters) was issued in Norman French by Edward I in 1297,[89] and was similar to the parva carta issued by Henry III in 1237. A translation to English can be found in Pickering's Statutes at Large.[90] In the Confirmation, Edward reaffirmed Magna Carta and the Forest Charter,[91] as a concession for tax money. A passage mandates that copies shall be distributed in cathedral churches throughout our realm, there to remain, and shall be read before the people two times by the year, hence the presence during the month of May 2014 at St Edmundsbury Cathedral,[92][93] and the permanence of a copy in Salisbury Cathedral. The second article is where it is confirmed that

AND we will, That if any judgement be given from henceforth contrary to the points of the charters aforesaid by the justices, or by any other our ministers that hold plea before them against the points of the charters, it shall be undone, and holden for nought.

As part of the Remonstrances the nobles sought to add another document the De Tallagio to the Charters but without success.[85] The principle of taxation by consent was reinforced; however the precise manner of that consent was not laid down.[94]

Pope Clement V annulled the Confirmatio Cartarum in 1305.[95]

As part of the reconfirmation of the Charters in 1300 an additional document was granted, the Articuli super Cartas (The Articles upon the Charters).[96] It was composed of 20 articles and sought in part to deal with the problem of enforcing the Charters.[97] In 1305 Edward I took Clement V's Papal bull annulling the Confirmatio Cartarum to effectively apply to the Articuli super Cartas though it was not specifically mentioned.[98]

14th - 16th centuries[edit]

Magna carta cum statutis angliae, (Great Charter with English Statutes) page 1 of manuscript, early 14th century

During the reign of Edward III, six measures were passed between 1331 and 1369, which were later known as the Six Statutes. They sought to clarify certain parts of the Charters. In particular, the third statute, of 1354, redefined clause 29, with free man becoming no man, of whatever estate or condition he may be, and introduced the phrase due process of law for lawful judgement of his peers or the law of the land.[99]

The impermanence of the Charter required successive generations to petition the King to reconfirm his Charter, and hopefully abide by it. Between the 13th and 15th centuries Magna Carta would have a history of being reconfirmed, 32 times according to Sir Edward Coke, but possibly as many as 45 times.[100] Often the first item of parliamentary business was a public reading and reaffirmation of the Charter, and as in the previous century, parliaments often exacted confirmation of it from the monarch, resulting in over forty reconfirmations by the early fifteenth century.[3] The Charter was confirmed in 1423 by Henry VI.[101][102][103]

The judgement of 1387 confirmed the supremacy of the Royal Prerogative within the constitution.[104] By the mid 15th century Magna Carta ceased to occupy a central role in English political life.[99] In part this was also due to the rise of an early version of Parliament and to further statutes, some based on the principle of Magna Carta. The Charter, however remained a text for scholars of law. The Charter in the statute books was correctly thought to have arisen from the reign of Henry III and was seen as no more special than any other statute, and could be amended and removed. It was not seen (as it was later) as an entrenched set of liberties guaranteed for the people against the Government. Rather, it was an ordinary statute that defined a certain level of liberties, most of which could not be relied on—least of all against the king. Therefore the Charter had little effect on the governance of the early Tudor period.

Francis Bacon argued that the 1215 Charter formed the basis of the jury system and due process in English trials

The Tudor period would see a growing interest in history. Tudor historians would rediscover the Barnwell chronicler who was more favourable to King John than other contemporary texts. John Bale and Shakespeare would both write plays on King John. Tudor historians were not inclined to regard rebellion as anything but a crime. Those who supported Henry VIII's break with Rome “viewed King John in a positive light as a hero struggling against the papacy, they showed little sympathy for the Great Charter or the rebel barons”.[105]

The first printed edition of Magna Carta was probably the Magna Carta cum aliis Antiquis Statutis of 1508 by Richard Pynson.[106] George Ferrers would publish the first unabridged English language edition of Magna Carta in 1534, and effectively established the numbering of the Charter into 37 chapters; an abridged English language edition had previously been published by John Rastell in 1527.[107] By the end of the 16th century editions of the 1215 Charter would also be printed.

The Charter had no real effect until the Elizabethan era (1558–1603). Magna Carta again began to occupy legal minds, and it again began to shape how that government was run, but in a manner entirely different from that of earlier ages. William Lambarde published “what he thought were law codes of the Anglo-Saxon kings and William the conqueror”.[108] Lambarde would begin the process of misinterpreting English history, soon taken up by others, incorrectly dating documents and giving parliament a false antiquity. Francis Bacon would claim that Clause 39 of the 1215 Charter was the basis of the jury system and due process in a trial. Robert Beale, James Morice, Richard Cosin and the Puritans[109] began to misperceive Magna Carta as a 'statement of liberty', a 'fundamental law' above all law and government. In 1581 Arthur Hall, MP would be one of the first to suffer under this emerging new ideology, when he correctly questioned the antiquity of the House of Commons[110][111] and was without precedent expelled from Parliament.

17th - 18th centuries[edit]

Jurist Edward Coke interpreted Magna Carta to apply not only to the protection of nobles but to all subjects of the crown equally.

Among the first of respected jurists to write seriously about the great charter was Edward Coke, who influenced how Magna Carta was perceived throughout the Tudor and Stuart periods, though his views were challenged during his lifetime by Lord Ellesmere, and later in the same century by Robert Brady. Coke used the 1225 issue of the Charter. Coke "reinterpreted or misinterpreted" Magna Carta "misconstruing its clauses anachronistically and uncritically".[112] He would interpret liberties to be much the same as individual liberty.[113] The historian J.C. Holt excused Coke on the grounds that the Charter and its history had itself become 'distorted'.[114] Coke was instrumental in framing the Petition of Right, which became a substantial supplement to Magna Carta's liberties. During the debates on the matter, Coke famously sought to deny the King's sovereign rights with the claim that "Magna Carta is such a fellow, that he will have no 'sovereign'"; he believed the statutes (not the King) were absolute.[115]

Whilst Sir Edward Coke took the lead in reinterpreting Magna Carta, he was soon joined by others with a similar ideological stance, resulting in the concept of an ancient constitution—which entailed belief in fundamental laws that supposedly existed since time immemorial, and a belief in the antiquity of Parliament.[116] These beliefs were used to challenge the constitution as it existed under the Stuart Kings.

John Selden would link habeas corpus to Magna Carta[117] during Darnell's Case. Sir Henry Spelman, who can be largely credited with first formulating a concept of feudalism (which would ironically be later used to attack the idea of an ancient constitution, notably by Robert Brady), sought to place the origins of Common Law in Anglo-Saxon laws.[118] Antiquarians would seek out documents to support the views of their compatriots, such as Sir Robert Cotton, whose collection of manuscripts would later form the basis for the British Library, and who discovered two original copies of King John's Charter.

The Petition of Right of 1628 sought to add to Magna Carta in the manner of the Articuli super Cartas or the Six Statutes. Charles I however, did not grant it as law and he was under no legal restriction.[119] The problem as before in history was that the King was not bound by the law as adherents of Magna Carta believed. As before in history armed force would be used, first during the English Civil War in 1642–49 and again in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 which led to the Bill of Rights 1689.

With the advent of the republic it was questionable whether Magna Carta still applied. John Milton called for “great actions, above the form of law and custom”.[120] Whilst Oliver Cromwell had much disdain for Magna Carta, at one point describing it as "Magna Farta" to a defendant who sought to rely on it,[121] he agreed to rule with the advice and consent of his council.[122]

Different radical groups held differing opinions of Magna Carta. The Levellers rejected history and law as presented by their contemporaries, holding instead to an 'anti-Normanism' viewpoint.[123] John Lilburne regarded Magna Carta as being less than the freedoms that supposedly existed under the Anglo-Saxons before being crushed by the Norman yoke. Richard Overton would describe Magna Carta as “a beggarly thing containing many marks of intolerable bondage”.[124] Both however saw Magna Carta as a valuable declaration of liberties that could be used against governments they disagreed with. Lilburne said "the ground of my freedom, I build upon the Grand Charter of England", while Overton said that when arrested, he hung on to his copy of Coke on Magna Carta, shouting "murder, murder, murder" as they wrested "the Great Charter of England's Liberties and Freedoms from me".[125] Gerrard Winstanley leader of the more extreme Diggers stated “The best lawes that England hath, [viz., the Magna Carta] were got by our Forefathers importunate petitioning unto the kings that still were their Task-masters; and yet these best laws are yoaks and manicles, tying one sort of people to be slaves to another; Clergy and Gentry have got their freedom, but the common people still are, and have been left servants to work for them.”[126][127]

Sir William Blackstone designed the current numbering system for Magna Carta in 1759

The first attempt at a proper Historiography was undertaken by Robert Brady[128] who refuted the supposed antiquity of parliament and the belief in the immutable continuity of the law, and realised the liberties of the Charter were limited and were effective only because it was the grant of the King; by putting Magna Carta in historical context he questioned its contemporary political relevance.[129] However, Brady's history would not survive the Glorious Revolution, which “...marked a setback for the course of English historiography.”[130]

The Glorious Revolution reinforced the century's ideological interpretations of history, which would later become known as the Whig interpretation of history. Reinforced with Lockean concepts the Whigs believed England's constitution to be a Social contract, based on documents such as Magna Carta, the Petition of Right and The Bill of Rights.[131] Ideas about the nature of law in general were beginning to change. In 1716 the Septennial Act was passed, which had a number of consequences. Firstly, it showed that Parliament no longer considered its previous statutes unassailable, as this act provided that the parliamentary term was seven years, whereas fewer than twenty-five years had passed since the Triennial Act (1694), which provided that a parliamentary term was three years. It also greatly extended the powers of Parliament. Under this new constitution Monarchal absolutism was replaced by Parliamentary supremacy. It was quickly realised that Magna Carta stood in the same relation to the King-in-Parliament as it had to the King without Parliament. This supremacy would be challenged by the likes of Granville Sharp. Sharp regarded Magna Carta to be a fundamental part of the constitution, and that it would be treason to repeal any part of it. Sharp also held that the Charter prohibited slavery.[132]

Sir William Blackstone published a critical edition of the 1215 Charter in 1759, and gave it the numbering system still used today.[133] In 1763 an MP, John Wilkes, was arrested for writing an inflammatory pamphlet, No. 45, 23 April 1763; he cited Magna Carta incessantly. Lord Camden denounced the treatment of Wilkes as a contravention of Magna Carta. Prophet of a new revolutionary age, Thomas Paine in his Rights of Man would disregard Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights on the grounds they were not a written constitution devised by elected representatives.[citation needed]

United States[edit]

Magna Carta replica and display in the rotunda of the United States Capitol, Washington, DC

When Englishmen left their homeland for the new world, they brought with them charters establishing the colonies. The Massachusetts Bay Company charter for example stated the colonists would "have and enjoy all liberties and immunities of free and natural subjects." The Virginia Charter of 1606 (which was largely drafted by Sir Edward Coke) stated the colonists would have all "liberties, franchises and immunities" as if they had been born in England. The Massachusetts Body of Liberties contained similarities to clause 29 of Magna Carta, and the Massachusetts General Court in drawing it up viewed Magna Carta as the chief embodiment of English common law.[134] The other colonies would follow their example. In 1638 Maryland sought to recognise Magna Carta as part of the law of the province but it was not granted by the King.[135]

In 1687 William Penn published The Excellent Privilege of Liberty and Property: being the birth-right of the Free-Born Subjects of England, which contained the first copy of Magna Carta printed on American soil. Penn's comments reflected Coke's, indicating a belief that Magna Carta was a fundamental law.[136] The colonists drew on English lawbooks leading them to an anachronistic interpretation of Magna Carta, believing it guaranteed trial by jury and habeas corpus.[137]

The development of Parliamentary sovereignty in the British Isles did not constitutionally affect the Thirteen Colonies, which retained an adherence to English common law, but it would come to directly affect the relationship between Britain and the colonies.[138] When American colonists raised arms against Britain, they were fighting not so much for new freedom, but to preserve liberties and rights, as believed to be enshrined in Magna Carta and as later included in the Bill of Rights.[139]

The American Constitution is the supreme law of the land, recalling the manner in which Magna Carta had come to be regarded as fundamental law. In comparing Magna Carta with the Bill of Rights: the Fifth Amendment guarantees: "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law." In addition, the United States Constitution included a similar writ in the Suspension Clause, article 1, section 9: "The privilege of the writ habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it." Each of these proclaim no person may be imprisoned or detained without proof that he or she did wrong. The Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that, "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." The framers of the United States Constitution wished to ensure that rights they already held, such as those provided by Magna Carta, were not lost unless explicitly curtailed in the new United States Constitution.[140][141]

The United States Supreme Court has explicitly referenced Lord Coke's analysis of Magna Carta as an antecedent of the Sixth Amendment's right to a speedy trial.[142]

19th - 21st centuries[edit]

Repeal of articles[edit]

Whilst radicals such as Sir Francis Burdett believed that Magna Carta could not be repealed, the 19th century would see the beginning of the repeal of many of the clauses of Magna Carta. The clauses were either obsolete and/or had been replaced by later legislation.

The repeal of clause 26 in 1829, by the Offences against the Person Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4 c. 31 s. 1),[143] was the first time a clause of Magna Carta was repealed. With the document's perceived inviolability broken, in the next 140 years nearly the whole charter was repealed,[144][145][146] leaving just Clauses 1, 9, and 29 still in force after 1969. Most of it was repealed in England and Wales by the Statute Law Revision Act 1863, and in Ireland by the Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872.[143]

Interpretation[edit]

Romanticised 19th-century recreation of King John signing Magna Carta

William Stubbs's Constitutional History of England would be the high-water mark of the Whig interpretation of history. Stubbs believed that Magna Carta had been a major step in the shaping of the English people and he believed that the Barons at Runnymede were not just the Barons but the people.[147]

This view of history however, was passing. At the popular level William Howitt in Cassell's Illustrated history of England would note that it was fiction that King John's Charter was the same Magna Carta as was on the statute books and stated that "The Barons, in fact, were amongst the greatest traitors that England ever produced”.[148] Frederic William Maitland provided a more academic history in History of English Law before the Time of Edward I, which began to move Magna Carta from the myth that had grown up around it back to its historical roots. In many literary representations of the medieval past, however, Magna Carta remained the foundation for many diverse constructions of English national identity. Some authors instrumentalised the medieval roots of the document to preserve the social status quo while others utilized the precious national inheritance to change perceived economic injustice.[149]

In 1904 Edward Jenks published in the Independent Review an article entitled The Myth of Magna Carta, which undermined the traditionally accepted view of Magna Carta.[150] Historians like A. F. Pollard would agree with Jenks in considering Coke to have 'invented' Magna Carta, noting that the Charter at Runnymede had not meant popular liberty at all.[151]

Sellar and Yeatman, in their parody 1066 and All That published in 1930, played on the supposed importance of Magna Carta and its supposed universal liberty: "Magna Charter was therefore the chief cause of Democracy in England, and thus a Good Thing for everyone (except the Common People)".[152]

Influences on later constitutions[edit]

Many attempts to draft constitutional forms of government, including the United States Constitution, trace their lineage back to Magna Carta.

The British dominions, Australia and New Zealand,[153] Canada[154] (except Quebec), and formerly Union of South Africa and Southern Rhodesia, reflected influence of Magna Carta in their law, and the Charter impacted generally on the states that evolved from the British Empire.[155]

Perception in America[edit]

The Magna Carta Memorial at Runnymede erected by the American Bar Association in 1957

The document is also honoured in the United States as an antecedent of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. In 1957, the American Bar Association erected the Magna Carta Memorial at Runnymede.[156] In 1976, the UK lent one of four surviving originals of the 1215 Magna Carta to the United States for their bicentennial celebrations, and also donated an ornate case to display it. The original was returned after one year, but a replica and its case are still on display in the U.S. Capitol Crypt in Washington, D.C.[157]

Perception in 21st-century Britain[edit]

In 2006, BBC History held a poll to recommend a date for a proposed "Britain Day". 15 June, which was the date of the original 1215 Magna Carta, received most votes, above other suggestions such as D-Day, VE Day, and Remembrance Day.[158] It was used as the name for an anti-surveillance movement in the 2008 BBC series The Last Enemy.[citation needed] According to a poll carried out by YouGov in 2008, 45% of the British public did not know what Magna Carta was.[159] However, its perceived guarantee of trial by jury and other civil liberties led to Tony Benn referring to the debate over whether to increase the maximum time terrorist suspects could be held without charge from 28 to 42 days as "the day Magna Carta was repealed".[160]

Content[edit]

Magna Carta was originally written in Latin. A large part of the Charter at Runnymede was copied, nearly word for word, from the Charter of Liberties of Henry I, issued when Henry became king in 1100, in which he said he would respect certain rights of the Church and the barons, for example not forcing heirs to purchase their inheritances.

As the Charter went through various issues many of the clauses included in the Runnymede charter were removed. Some clauses would form a supplementary Charter in 1217, the Charter of the Forest.

It is worth emphasising that the 1215 charter was not numbered and was not divided into paragraphs or separate clauses. The numbering system used today was created by Sir William Blackstone in 1759,[133] and therefore should not be used to draw any conclusions regarding the intentions of the original creators of the charter.

Popular perception is that King John and the barons signed Magna Carta. There were no signatures on the original document, however, only a single seal placed by the king. The words of the charter—Data per manum nostrum—signify that the document was personally given by the king's hand (manus in classical Latin meant 'legal power'). By placing his seal on the document, the King and the barons followed common law that a seal was sufficient to authenticate a deed, though it had to be done in front of witnesses. John's seal was the only one, and he did not sign the charter. The barons neither signed nor attached their seals to it.[161]

Clauses still in force[edit]

The clauses of the 1297 Magna Carta still on statute (in Great Britain; New Zealand, for example, retains the preamble and clause 29 only) are:

  • Clause 1, the freedom of the English Church
  • Clause 9 (clause 13 in the 1215 charter), the "ancient liberties" of the City of London
  • Clause 29 (clause 39 in the 1215 charter), a right to due process
  • 1. FIRST, We have granted to God, and by this our present Charter have confirmed, for Us and our Heirs for ever, that the Church of England shall be free, and shall have all her whole Rights and Liberties inviolable. We have granted also, and given to all the Freemen of our Realm, for Us and our Heirs for ever, these Liberties under-written, to have and to hold to them and their Heirs, of Us and our Heirs for ever.
  • 9. THE City of London shall have all the old Liberties and Customs which it hath been used to have. Moreover We will and grant, that all other Cities, Boroughs, Towns, and the Barons of the Five Ports, as with all other Ports, shall have all their Liberties and free Customs.
  • 29. NO Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the land. We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right.[143]


The last sentence of Clause 29 deals with the administration of justice. "We will sell to no man" was intended to abolish the fines demanded by King John in order to obtain justice. "Will not deny" referred to the stopping of suits and the denial of writs. "Defer to any man" meant the delays caused either by the counter-fines of defendants, or by the prerogative of the King.[162]

Clauses in Runnymede Charter but not in later Charters[edit]

  • Clauses 10 and 11 related to money lending and Jews in England. Jews were particularly involved in money lending, as they were not bound by Christian teachings on usury. Clause 10 said that children would not pay interest on a debt they had inherited while they were under age. Clause 11 said that the widow and children should be provided for before paying an inherited debt. The charter concludes this section with the words "Debts owing to other than Jews shall be dealt with likewise", so it is debatable to what extent the Jews were being singled out by these clauses.
  • Clauses 12 and 14 state that taxes (in the language of the time, "scutage or aid") can only be levied and assessed by the common counsel of the realm. See Challenges to the King's power for more detail.
  • Clause 15 stated that the King would not grant anyone the right to take an aid (i.e. money) from his free men
  • Clauses 25 and 26 dealt with debt and taxes
  • Clause 27 dealt with intestacy.
  • Clause 42 stated that it was lawful for subjects to leave the kingdom without prejudicing their allegiance (except for outlaws and during war)
  • Clause 45 said that the King should only appoint as "justices, constables, sheriffs, or bailiffs" those who knew the law and would keep it well. In the United States, the Supreme Court of California interpreted clause 45 in 1974 as establishing a requirement at common law that a defendant faced with the potential of incarceration is entitled to a trial overseen by a legally trained judge.[163]
  • Clause 48 stated that all evil customs connected with forests were to be abolished
  • Clause 49 provided for the return of hostages held by the King. (John held hostages from the families of important nobles he wished to ensure remained loyal, as other English monarchs had before him.)
  • Clause 50 stated that no member of the d'Athée family could be a royal officer.
  • Clause 51 called for all foreign knights and mercenaries to leave the realm.
  • Clause 52 dealt with restoration of those "disseised" (i.e. those dispossessed of property. See (for example) Assize of novel disseisin )
  • Clause 53 was similar to 52 but relating to forests
  • Clause 55 regarded remittance of unjust fines
  • Clauses 57 concerned restoration of disseised Welshmen
  • Clauses 58 and 59 provided for the return of Welsh and Scottish hostages
  • Clauses 61 provided for the application and observation of the Charter by twenty-five of the rebellious barons. See Challenges to the King's power for more on clause 61.
  • Clause 62 pardoned those who had rebelled against the king
  • Clause 63 said that the charter was binding on King John and his heirs. However this version of the charter was renounced by John, with the support of the Pope. The smaller 1225/1297 charters (which actually became law) contain similar text, stating that the monarch and their heirs would not seek to infringe or damage the liberties in the charter, and that the charter is to be observed "in perpetuity".

Clauses in Runnymede Charter and in 1216/1217 Charter but not in 1225/1297 Charter[edit]

  • Clauses 2 to 3 refer to feudal relief, specifically the regulation of the charging of excessive relief, in effect a form of "succession duty" or "death duty" payable by an heir.
  • Clauses 4 to 5 refer to the duties of wardship, specifically forbidding the practice of the over-exploitation of a ward's property by his warder (or guardian).
  • Clause 6 refers to a warder's power over the marriage of his ward. He was forbidden from forcing a marriage to a partner of lower social standing (possibly therefore to one such who may have been willing to pay a higher price for it).
  • Clause 7 refers to the rights of a widow to receive promptly her dowry and inheritance.
  • Clause 8 stated that a widow could not be compelled to marry.
  • Clause 9 stated that a debtor should not have his lands seized as long as he had other means to pay the debt.
  • Clause 16 was regarding a knight's fee.
  • Clauses 17 to 19 allowed for a fixed law court, which became the chancellery, and defined the scope and frequency of county assizes.
  • Clause 44 (1216 only) relating to forest law
  • Clause 56 (1216 only) relating to disseised Welshmen

Clauses in Runnymede Charter and 1225/1297 Charter but since repealed[edit]

All remaining parts of the 1215 charter appear substantially unchanged in the 1225/1297 charter, which became law and is still on the statute book. All except the three clauses still in force today were eventually repealed however, most in the 19th century. Many provisions have no bearing in the world today, since they deal with feudal liberties. Some clauses remained relevant but were replaced by later legislation that provided similar rights. Using the 1215 clause numbers:

  • Clause 20 stated that fines ("amercements", in the language of the day), should be proportionate to the offence, but even for a serious offence the fine should not be so heavy as to deprive a man of his livelihood. No fines should be imposed except by the oath of honest local men.
  • Clause 21 stated that earls and barons should only be fined by their peers, i.e. other earls and barons. Until 1948 this meant that members of the House of Lords had the right to a criminal trial in the House of Lords at first instance.
  • Clause 22 stated that fines should not be influenced by ecclesiastical property in clergy trials.
  • Clause 23 provided that no town or person should be forced to build a bridge across a river.
  • Clause 24 stated that crown officials (such as sheriffs) must not try a crime in place of a judge.
  • Clauses 28 to 32 stated that no royal officer might take any commodity such as grain, wood or transport without payment or consent or force a knight to pay for something the knight could do himself, and that the king must return any lands confiscated from a felon within a year and a day to the felon's feudal lord ("the lords of the fees concerned").
  • Clause 33 required the removal of all fish weirs.
  • Clause 34 forbade repossession without a "writ precipe".
  • Clause 35 set out a list of standard measures
  • Clause 36 stated that writs for loss of life or limb were to be free
  • Clause 37 concerns inheritance when a "fee-farm" (fee as in knight's fee) was involved.
  • Clause 38 stated that no-one could be put on trial based solely on the unsupported word of an official.
  • Clause 40 disallowed the selling of justice, or its denial or delay.
  • Clauses 41 and 42 guaranteed the safety and right of entry and exit of foreign merchants.
  • Clause 43 gave special provision for tax on reverted estates
  • Clause 46 provided for the guardianship of monasteries.
  • Clauses 47 and 48 abolished most of Forest Law (these clauses were split out of the main charter and formed part of a separate charter, the Charter of the Forest).[164]
  • Clause 54 said that no man may be imprisoned on the testimony of a woman except on the death of her husband.

Clauses in the 1225/1297 Charter but not in the Runnymede Charter[edit]

A few clauses are in the 1225/1297 charter but not in the 1215 charter. These have also since been repealed. Using the 1297 clause numbers:

  • Clause 13 concerned the Assize of darrein presentment.
  • Clause 32 said that a free man should not give away or sell so much of his land that he would not be able to meet his feudal obligations to his lord.
  • Clause 35 concerned the county court, the frankpledge and tithes.
  • Clause 36 said that it was not permitted to give land to a religious house and then receive it back; in such a case the land would revert to the feudal lord.

Exemplifications[edit]

1297 copy of Magna Carta, owned by the Australian Government and on display in the Members' Hall of Parliament House, Canberra.

Numerous copies, known as exemplifications, were made each time it was issued, so all of the participants would each have one – in the case of the 1215 copy, one for the royal archives, one for the Barons of the Cinque Ports, and one for each of the 40 counties of the time. If there ever was one single 'master copy' of Magna Carta sealed by King John in 1215, it has not survived. Four exemplifications of the original 1215 text remain, all of which are located in England, some on permanent display:

  • The 'burnt copy', was found in the archives of Dover Castle in 1630 by Sir Edward Dering and sent to the antiquarian Sir Robert Cotton and is assumed to be the copy sent to the Cinque Ports on or after 24 June 1215. It was damaged in a fire in 1731 at Ashburnham House where the Cotton Library was housed, and is now virtually illegible. It is the only one of the four to have its seal surviving, which remains however as a lump of shapeless wax. It is currently held by the British Library (Cotton Charter XIII.31a).[165]

In 2014, the 'burnt copy' was read for the first time since the fire in 1731 using multispectral imaging. The four surviving copies are planned to be shown side by side for the first time on 3 February 2015 at the British Library.[166]

  • Another 1215 exemplification is held by the British Library (Cotton MS. Augustus II.106).
  • One owned by Lincoln Cathedral, normally on display at Lincoln Castle. It has an unbroken attested history at Lincoln since 1216. We hear of it in 1800 when the Chapter Clerk of the Cathedral reported that he held it in the Common Chamber, and then nothing until 1846 when the Chapter Clerk of that time moved it from within the Cathedral to a property just outside. In 1848, Magna Carta was shown to a visiting group who reported it as "hanging on the wall in an oak frame in beautiful preservation". It went to the New York World Fair in 1939. In 1941, after war broke out with Japan, Magna Carta was sent to Fort Knox, along with the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution, until 1944, when it was deemed safe to return them.[167] Having returned to Lincoln, it has been back to the United States on various occasions since then.[168] It was taken out of display for a time to undergo conservation in preparation for its visit to the United States, where it was exhibited at the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia from 30 March to 18 June 2007 in recognition of the Jamestown quadricentennial.[169][170] From 4 to 25 July 2007, the document was displayed at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia,[171] returning to Lincoln Castle afterwards. The document returned to New York to be displayed at the Fraunces Tavern Museum from 15 September to 15 December 2009 and has since returned to Lincoln.[172]
  • One owned by and displayed at Salisbury Cathedral. It is the best preserved of the four.[173]

Other early versions of Magna Carta survive. Durham Cathedral possesses 1216, 1217, and 1225 copies.[174]

A near-perfect 1217 copy is held by Hereford Cathedral and is occasionally displayed alongside the Mappa Mundi in the cathedral's chained library. Remarkably, the Hereford Magna Carta is the only one known to survive along with an early version of a Magna Carta 'user’s manual', a small document that was sent along with Magna Carta telling the Sheriff of the county to observe the conditions outlined in the document.[175]

Four copies are held by the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Three of these are 1217 issues and one a 1225 issue. On 10 December 2007, these were put on public display for the first time.[176] One of the Bodleian exemplifications from 1217 (once possibly held by Gloucester Cathedral) was displayed at San Francisco's California Palace of the Legion of Honor 7 May – 6 June 2011.

Magna Carta Place, within Canberra, Australia's Parliamentary Triangle, opened in 2003

In 1952 the Australian Government purchased a 1297 copy of Magna Carta for £12,500 from King's School, Bruton, England.[177] This copy is now on display in the Members' Hall of Parliament House, Canberra. In January 2006, it was announced by the Department of Parliamentary Services that the document had been revalued down from A$40m to A$15m.[178]

Only one copy (a 1297 copy in cursiva anglicana handwriting with the royal seal of Edward I) is in private hands. It was held by the Brudenell family, earls of Cardigan, who owned it for five centuries before they sold it to the Perot Foundation in 1984. This copy, having been on long-term loan to the US National Archives, was auctioned at Sotheby's New York on 18 December 2007. The Perot Foundation sold it to "...have funds available for medical research, for improving public education and for assisting wounded soldiers and their families."[179] It fetched US$21.3 million.[180] It was bought by David Rubenstein of The Carlyle Group,[181] who after the auction said, "I thought it was very important that the Magna Carta stay in the United States and I was concerned that the only copy in the United States might escape as a result of this auction." Rubenstein's copy is on permanent loan to the National Archives in Washington, D.C.[182]

The Rubenstein Magna Carta was removed from display on 2 March 2011 for conservation treatment and re-encasement in an anoxic environment provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the government agency responsible for the 1950s encasement of the Charters of Freedom. After treatment and encasement by National Archives conservators, Magna Carta was put back on display for the public on 17 February 2012.[183]

Usage of the definite article, spelling "Magna Carta"[edit]

Since there is no direct, consistent correlate of the English definite article in Latin, the usual academic convention is to refer to the document in English without the article as "Magna Carta" rather than "the Magna Carta". According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first written appearance of the term was in 1218: "Concesserimus libertates quasdam scripts in magna carta nostra de libertatibus" (Latin: "We shall have conceded certain liberties here written in our great charter concerning liberties").[citation needed] However, "the Magna Carta" is frequently used in both academic and non-academic speech.

Especially in the past, the document has also been referred to as "Magna Charta", but the pronunciation was the same. "Magna Charta" is still an acceptable variant spelling recorded in many dictionaries due to continued use in some reputable sources. From the 13th to the 17th centuries, only the spelling "Magna Carta" was used. The spelling "Magna Charta" began to be used in the 18th century but never became more common despite also being used by some reputable writers.[184][185]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  • ^A Within this article dates before 14 September 1752 are in the Julian calendar, later dates are in the Gregorian calendar.

References[edit]

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Bibliography[edit]

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  • Black, Charles (1999). A New Birth of Freedom: Human Rights, Named and Unnamed. New Haven, US: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300077346. 
  • Carpenter, David A. (1990). The Minority of Henry III. Berkeley, US and Los Angeles, US: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0413623607. 
  • Carpenter, David A. (2004). Struggle for Mastery: The Penguin History of Britain 1066–1284. London, UK: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-014824-4. 
  • Clanchy, M.T. (1997). Early Medieval England. The Folio Society. 
  • Clark, David (2000). "The Icon of Liberty: The Status and Role of Magna Carta in Australian and New Zealand Law". Melbourne University Law Review 24 (3). 
  • Crouch, David (1996). William Marshal: Court, Career and Chivalry in the Angevin Empire 1147-1219. Longman. ISBN 9780582037861. 
  • Danziger, Danny; Gillingham, John (2004). 1215: The Year of Magna Carta. Hodder Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0340824757. 
  • Davis, G.R.C. (1963). Magna Carta. The British Library Publishing Division. ISBN 978-0712300148. 
  • Drew, Katherine F. (2004). Magna Carta. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0313325908. 
  • Edwards, J.G. (1943). "Confirmatio Cartarum and Baronial Grievances in 1297". The English Historical Review 58 (231): 273–300. 
  • Fritze, Ronald; Robison, William (2002). Historical Dictionary of Late Medieval England 1272-1485. Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313291241. 
  • Galef, David (1998). Second Thoughts: Focus on Rereading. Detroit, US: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0814326473. 
  • Greenberg, Janelle (2006). The Radical Face of the Ancient Constitution: St Edward's 'Laws' in Early Modern Political Thought. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521024884. 
  • Hallam, Elizabeth M.; Everard, Judith A. (2001). Capetian France, 987–1328 (2nd ed.). Harlow, UK: Longman. ISBN 978-0-582-40428-1. 
  • Hazeltine, H.D. (1917). "The influence of Magna Carta on American Constitutional Development". In Malden, Henry Elliot. Magna Carta commemoration essays. BiblioBazaar. ISBN 978-1116447477. 
  • Hewit, H.J. (1929). Mediaeval Cheshire. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press. 
  • Holt, John C. (1992b). Magna Carta. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-27778-7. 
  • Holt, John C. (1992a). The Northerners: A Study in the Reign of King John. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198203094. 
  • Howard, A.E. Dick (2008). "Magna Carta Comes To America". Fourscore 58 (4). 
  • Kennedy, Wiiliam Paul McClure (1922). The Constitution of Canada. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. 
  • Kewes, Paulina (2006). The Uses of History in Early Modern England. Berkeley, US: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0873282192. 
  • Linebaugh, Peter (2009). The Magna Carta Manifesto: Liberties and Commons for All. Berkeley, US: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520260009. 
  • Mayr-Harting, Henry (2011). Religion, Politics and Society in Britain, 1066–1272. Harlow, UK: Longman. ISBN 978-0-582-41413-6. 
  • McGlynn, Sean (2013). Blood Cries Afar: The Forgotten Invasion of England, 1216. London, UK: Spellmount. ISBN 9780752488318. 
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Further reading[edit]

  • Butterfield, Herbert (1969). Magna Carta in the Historiography of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. University of Reading. ISBN 978-0901024015. 
  • Burton, Adams George (2013). Constitutional History of England. HardPress Publishing. ISBN 978-1313408707. 
  • Dickinson, J.C. (1965). The Great Charter. Historical Association. 
  • Jennings, Ivor (1965). Magna Carta: And Its Influence In The World Today. Private Publication. 
  • Lyon, Ann (2003). Constitutional History of the UK. Routledge-Cavendish. ISBN 978-1859417461. 
  • Williams, G; Ramsden, J. (1990). Ruling Britannia: Political History of Britain, 1688-1988. Longman. ISBN 978-0582490734. 
  • Royal letter promulgating the text of Magna Carta (1215), treasure 3 of the British Library displayed via The European Library
  • Magna Carta in Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
  • W. S. McKechnie; Magna Carta: A Commentary (2d ed. 1914, repr. 1960)
  • A. Pallister; Magna Carta the Legacy of Liberty

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