Magna Carta Drafted
June 15, 1215 · Medieval
On June 15, 1215, the Magna Carta was drafted by Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton to resolve conflict between King John of England and a group of rebel barons. It promised protection of church rights, safeguards against unlawful imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, enforced through a council of 25 barons. Though annulled within months, revised versions were reissued and became foundational to English constitutional law.
Key Figures
King John of EnglandCardinal Stephen LangtonRobert FitzWalterWilliam Marshal, Earl of Pembroke
Locations
RunnymedeWindsor Castle
Topics
feudal paymentsillegal imprisonmenthuman rightsswift justicechurch rightsMagna CartaKing John of England
Connected Events — 3 Connections
Established constitutional precedent expanded by English Bill of Rights Passed
Applied Roman legal principle from Twelve Tables that rulers must be bound by written law, channeling this concept through medieval feudalism into English constitutional tradition Law of the Twelve Tables
The Norman political order depicted in the tapestry produced the baronial tensions that led to Magna Carta Bayeux Tapestry Commissioned
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