Magna Carta

The Magna Carta is charter or document of rights written by King John of England on 15th June 1215. It was drafted to make peace between King John and rebel Barons. It had many promises like the protection of the Church's rights, justice and limitations to payments made to the Crown (legal government). It wasn't long before both feuding sides stopped abiding by this document so the charter was annulled by the pope. This led to the first Barons war. After King Johns death his son Henry III rewrote the document and deleted some of its more radical rules. This was supposed to build support for their cause. At the end of the Barons war in 1217 it formed part of a peace treaty. It is here the document was given the name 'Magna Carta'. The document went on to be rewritten several times after this and eventually became part of Englands statue law.

Magna Carter and its protection of ancient personal liberties influenced the early American colonists and the formation of the American Constitution.

n the 21st century four copies of the original 1215 charter remain.They are held by the British Library and the cathedrals of Lincoln and Salisbury. There are also some of the subsequent charters in public and private ownership, including copies of the 1297 charter in both the United States and Australia. The original charters were written on parchment sheets using quill pens, in heavily abbreviated medieval Latin, which was the language for legal documents at that time. Each was sealed with the royal great seal (made of beeswax and resin sealing wax).