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Top 10 Facts about The Sealing Of Magna Carta

Described as the greatest constitutional document of all times and the foundation of people鈥檚 freedom against tyranny, The Magna Carta, which means 鈥済reat charter鈥� in Latin, was an agreement between King John and a group of English barons in response to years of the king鈥檚 misrule and excessive taxation.

First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the charter was adopted and sealed by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. The document contained 63 chapters that guaranteed the civil rights of the English people and also promised to protect the freedom of the Church.

Although the Magna Carta was not initially successful and needed to be reissued with alterations in 1216, 1217, and 1225, it still served as the foundation for English law. Today, the charter is celebrated as a symbol of freedom and the battle against oppression by unjust rulers.

Let鈥檚 look at the top 10 Facts about The Sealing of the Magna Carta

1. The First Charter did not last long

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Although intended to bring peace between the King and the barons, the first Magna Carta never took full effect as both sides failed to keep their part of the bargain. This led to the annulment of the document by Pope Innocent III, who termed it as “not only shameful and demeaning but also illegal and unjust” since John had been “forced to accept” it.

Less than three months after the charter had been sealed, the war between the two sides broke out. The war quickly turned into a dynastic war for the throne of England after the rebel barons turned to Philip II’s son, the future Louis VIII, for help, offering him the English throne.

However, the war dragged on for almost one year before it finally settled into a stalemate. The King became ill and died on the night of 18 October 1216, leaving his nine-year-old son, Henry III, as his heir.

2. Only Three Clauses of the Original are still in use

While the Magda Carta served as the foundation for civil liberties that are still enjoyed today, the document also contained a bunch of other clauses that addressed specific concerns which are now obsolete.

Most of these laws had remained unchanged (except for minor adjustments) for centuries until the 19th century when British parliamentarians set out to repel some of these obsolete laws from the British statutes.

Today, out of the original 63 clauses sealed by King John on 15 June 1215, only three still remain on the statute of England and Wales. They are the freedom of the English Church, the “ancient liberties” of the City of London, and a right to due legal process.

3. Only four Copies of the original Remain

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After the first sealing of the Magna Carta by King John on 15 June 1215, multiple copies of the original document were prepared and distributed to individual county courts. At least thirteen original copies were issued and sent to county sheriffs and bishops, who were probably charged for the privilege.

However, of these copies, only four survive, all held in England: two now at the British Library, one at Salisbury Cathedral, and one, the property of Lincoln Cathedral, on permanent loan to Lincoln Castle.

Each of them is slightly different in size and text, and each is considered by historians to be equally authoritative. The four copies were displayed together at the British Library for one day, on 3 February 2015, to mark the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.

4. Magna Carta was originally written in Latin

Perhaps one should ask why the Magda Carta, a document written by Englishmen for English citizens was written in the Latin language rather than in the English language. The answer is for the same reason that modern-day international treaties are written in English rather than other languages.

In medieval Europe, Latin was the Language of the educated and the church elite, and for that reason, any important document at that time was written in it. At that time English was rated very poorly, even behind French, and was considered to be the language of uncivilized commoners.

It took many centuries before English became an acceptable language among the elites, and even longer before it became the formal lingua franca of the world.

5. The Charter was sealed on Neutral Grounds

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After successful peace negotiations led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, King John met the rebel barons at Runnymede, a water meadow on the south bank of the River Thames, on 15 June 1215 for the signing of the Magda Carta.

Runnymede was a traditional place for assemblies, but it was also located on neutral ground between the royal fortress of Windsor Castle and the rebel base at Staines and offered both sides the security of a rendezvous where they were unlikely to find themselves at a military disadvantage.

In 1957, a monument to commemorate the signing of the Magna Carta was built at the same spot where King John sealed the charter. The site is of great historical value to English people and it attracts thousands of visitors every year.

 6. It was written on a Parchment made from Goatskin

Magna Carta was written on parchment, not on paper. This was the standard writing material in England until the end of the Middle Ages. The parchment was made from sheepskin which was soaked in a bath of lime, then stretched on a frame to dry under tension.

It was written with a swan or goose quill and the ink made of oak galls and iron salts. In addition, it was written in a style like the one used today by college girls for SMSes and WhatsApp messages, where long words were abbreviated with dashes so as to condense the legal charter of 63 articles or clauses (3,600 Latin words) in one parchment.

7. The Charter was re-issued after King John鈥檚 death

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Representing a would-be peace treaty between the king and rebellious nobles, the 1215 Charter did not survive its year of issue. Pope Innocent III, who King John had accepted as his feudal over颅lord, annulled the charter within 10 weeks of its issue. In the midst of a vir颅tual civil war, the king suddenly died in October 2016.

The charter was reissued the following month and sealed by the Pope鈥檚 legate and royal regents acting on behalf of the new king, John鈥檚 nine-year-old son, Henry III. This issue was shortened to about 2,500 words and revised from the 1215 issue.

Based on the revised 1216 Charter, a second reissue was made in 1217 and a third in 1225, when Henry III reached the age of maturity. The 1225 issue was the version incorporated into English law in 1297 when Henry III鈥檚 son Edward I became king and again reissued the Magna Carta.

8. It was sealed to end Rebellion

The Magna Carta was signed by King John in order to end a rebellion against the king by many of the powerful barons who owned land. King John was already an unpopular king because he had been defeated by France and lost many lands that had been part of England since The Battle of Hastings in 1066, including Normandy.

King John lost a lot of money during the war against France, so he increased taxes on the barons to pay for these losses. This angered the barons and caused them to rebel against the king, and a group of 40 barons took over London in May 1215. This forced King John to negotiate with the barons, and consequently the sealing of the Magna Carta in June 1215.

9. It laid the ground for the Bill of Rights we enjoy today

In perhaps its most enduring legacy, the Magna Carta mandated that no man be imprisoned, stripped of his possessions, or exiled 鈥渆xcept by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.鈥� Basically, it said the king can鈥檛 arbitrarily imprison someone just because he鈥檚 in a bad mood.

The government must act according to its own laws. That was a huge step toward establishing the modern legal and justice system. In 1297, the charter was counted as part of England鈥檚 statute law, and it鈥檚 now seen as the basis for the American Constitution and Bill of Rights.

10. The Original Charter was not numbered

 At the time of its signing, the original charter clauses were not numbered, and the text reads continuously. The text of the Magna Carta of 1215 bears many traces of haste, as it was a product of much bargaining.

Most of its clauses dealt with specific, and often long-standing, grievances rather than with general principles of law. Some of the grievances are clear; others can be understood only in the context of the feudal society in which they arose.