Impact of the Magna Carta

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Impact of the Magna Carta

The Magna Carta is Latin for “Great Charter”. It still remains one of the most important documents of Medieval England. The document was signed in June 1215 and marked a treaty between the barons of Medieval England and King John. It was signed by King John’s royal seal at Runnymede near Windsor Castle. The Magna Carta was basically a series of written promises between the king and his subjects which showed that the king would govern Medieval England justly and treat its people as dictated by the feudal law (Drew, 4).

The times preceding the signing of the Magna Carta had been those of bad rule by King John. Looking back through history, England had owned land in France for several years. Through the barons, the king always had both money and men to protect his territory. The king therefore had to consult with the barons before any rises in taxation and before demanding more manpower for the military. All this was provided for in the Feudal law. This goes to say that as long as the kings enjoyed military success abroad, their relationship with the barons remained cordial. King John, unfortunately, did not enjoy as much military success abroad. This made him keep demanding for more money and manpower for the military which angered the barons. By 1204, King John had lost the land in North France to his enemies (Drew, 16).

King John also erred in other areas. For instance, he angered the Roman Catholic Church, a move that angered the pope so much that he banned all church services in England in 1207. At the time, religion and the fear of hell were important beliefs among the people of Medieval England including the barons. There was a general belief that entry into heaven depended solely on approval by the Roman Catholic Church that one was good enough to go to heaven. With the banning of church services, the people were agitated as this would jeopardize their chances of getting to heaven. This caused a bit of unrest until King John gave in to the pressure giving the Roman Catholic Church power and many privileges in 1214 (Drew, 20).

1214 was not a good year for King John. He once again suffered military defeat as the sought to reclaim his territory in North France. As usual, he returned to London demanding for more money and military men and this time it did not go well with the barons. They rebelled against him and captured London. They however did not conquer King John entirely. By the spring of 1215, there was so much unrest that both sides were more than willing to hold talks over the issues at hand and arrive at a consensus. This bore the Magna Carta.

The Magna Carta was made up of 63 clauses which were divided into three. The fist clauses were on the position of the Roman Catholic Church in England, the