English barons forced King John to approve the charter in June 1215 at Runnymede, southwest of London. In the charter, the king granted many rights to the English aristocracy. The ordinary English people gained little. But many years later, Magna Carta became a model for those who demanded democratic government and individual rights for all. In its own time, the greatest value of Magna Carta was that it limited royal power and made it clear that even the king had to obey the law.

Reasons for the charter. From the Norman invasion of England in 1066 through the 1100's, most of the kings who ruled England were able and strong. They usually tried to govern justly and respected feudal law. Under feudal law, nobles called barons received land in return for military and other services to the king. La

w and custom established the barons' duties and what was expected of the king. But there was no actual control over the king's power. When John became king in 1199, he exercised his power even more forcefully than earlier kings. He demanded more military service than they did. He sold royal positions to the highest bidders. He demanded larger amounts of money without consulting the barons, which was contrary to feudal custom. He decided cases according to his wishes, and people who lost cases in his court had to pay crushing penalties.

John (1167?-1216), often called John Lackland, is remembered as one of England's worst kings and as the king who granted Magna Carta, the famous charter of liberties. John was unpredictable and often cruel, but he showed administrative ability. He improved methods of tax collection and financial recordkeeping, and strengthened the courts of law.

English barons and church leaders began to express dissatisfaction with John's rule early in his reign. Their unhappiness grew when he lost most of the English possessions in France in warfare lasting from 1202 to 1206. In 1213, a group met at St. Albans, near London, and drew up a list of demands based in part on the coronation charter of Henry I, who had been king from 1100 to 1135. After John lost an important battle against France at Bouvines (in what is now western Belgium) in 1214, civil war broke out in England. John saw that he could not defeat his opponents' army, and so he agreed to a set of articles on June 15, 1215. Four days later, the articles were engrossed (written out in legal form) as a royal charter. Copies of the charter were distributed throughout the kingdom.

John was the youngest son of King Henry II. In 1177, Henry made John Lord of Ireland. In 1199, John succeeded his brother Richard the Lion-Hearted as king of England, and, in Fra

Some topics in this essay:
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