MAGNA CARTA, 1215-2015
The Making of Magna Carta
October 1214 the meeting at Bury St Edmunds
17 May 1215 the take-over of London by the barons
15 June 1215 the king’s agreement to Magna Carta at Runnymede
19 June 1215 the proclamation of peace and renewal of the rebel barons’ homage to the king
28 October 1216 the death of King John at Newark
12 November 1216 first reissue of Magna Carta
6 November 1217 issue of Magna Carta and Charter of the Forest
11 February 1225 definitive reissue of Magna Carta
Magna Carta and the rule of law: key clauses (1215 version of the Charter)
Cl 39 No free man shall be imprisoned or disseised save by lawful judgement of his peers and the law of the land
Cl 40 To no one shall we sell delay or deny right or justice
Cl 45 Justices, sheriffs and constable should know the law of the land
Cl 61 Enforcement clause – appointment of the Twenty Five Barons
Magna Carta and the origins of parliament: key clauses (1215 version of Charter)
Cl 12 No scutage or aid will be levied without common counsel
Cl 14 To obtain common counsel for an aid, we will have archbishops, bishops, abbots and earls summoned individually by our letters, and we will summon by our sheriffs and bailiffs all those who hold of us in chief, giving forty days’ notice
Note – 2015 will also see marking the 750th anniversary of the parliament to which Simon de Montfort summoned the burgesses from the towns (January 1265)
Celebration of the anniversary
A major exhibition about Magna Carta and its history will be held at the British Library, 12 March-1 September 2015. For a few days at the beginning this will bring together the four surviving ‘originals’ of the 1215 Magna Carta, those held at the BL itself and at Salisbury and Lincoln Cathedrals. There will also be exhibitions at Lincoln and Salisbury themselves and at the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
There will be a ceremony of rededication to the principles of the Charter at Runnymede on 15 June 2015. For full details of the celebrations across the country, for teaching resources, and for essays and speeches on the Charter and the history of liberty, see the MC800 website.