Latin for "Great Charter," it was a document delineating a series of laws establishing
the rights of English barons and major landowners and limiting the absolute authority
of the King of England. It became the basis for the rights of English citizens.
It was signed reluctantly by King John on June 15, 1215, at Runnymede, at a table
set up in a field under a canopy surrounded by the armed gentry. The Magna Carta
was confirmed by John's son, Henry III, and in turn by Henry's son, Edward I. As
John Cowell would write four centuries later "although this charter consists of
not above thirty seven Charters or Lawes yet it is of such extent, as all the Law
wee have, is thought in some form to depend on it. " Essentially a document for
the nobility, it became the basis of individual rights as a part of the English
Constitution, which is generally more custom than written documents. It is also
spelled Magna Charta.
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