The barons compelling King John to ratify Magna Carta
2015 is the 800th anniversary of King John’s agreement to accept Magna Carta — the Great Charter forced on him by the most important landholders in England. Why does this long document in Latin matter particularly? Many of its clauses seem to have little connection to us today.
Actually, Magna Carta is about the way in which a country should be governed: about making the head of state take notice of the law and the obligations it gives him. It continued to be used in arguments about the rule of law for hundreds of years, so it is important for everyone studying political histor y, or the rights of men and women, to understand it.
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