WHAT DID THE MAGNA CARTA MEAN TO THE ENGLISH IN 1215?
1215 will surely be defined by Magna Carta, when on the 15th
June of that fateful year, King John reluctantly agreed to seal a great charter
in the meadow of Runnymede, beside the river Thames, he put his name on a
document that had done more than any other to champion the cause of the rule of
law over absolute power. That fact alone
makes 1215 a hugely significant year in English history.
The Great Charter 1215, the nobles and the Church were
against the King : Scotland and Wales promised aid and the powerful city of
London was hot in the cause of freedom. With 7 horsemen in his train John found
himself face to face with a nation in arms.
King and barons met at Runnymede on Thames, between Staines and Window
on the 13th of June 1215 and the MAGNA CARTA or the GREAT CHARTER
was discussed, passed and signed in one day. This priceless document was not
couched as others had been in vague language which could be interpreted almost
anyhow, but it definitely provided that the King should not raise money from
his subjects without his subjects’ consent and that justice should not be
delayed, denied or sold to any man.
There were many other provisions in the Charter but that is the subject
of the chief theme and that foundation has built the whole fabric of English
liberties. King John solemnly swore
before Laughton and the assembled nobles to observe this Charter, and in token he
set his royal seal thereto.
A copy of the MAGNA CARTA, brown and shriveled with age may
be seen at the British Museum.
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