what was the magna carta?

Answer 1

When King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta,it was indeed a historic event.This document forever done away with"the Divine Right of Kings"The king could not be held accountable for his actions.
It forced him to set up a council of nobles to pass laws and raise taxes.The king picked 6 of the council,the nobles the other 6.When this group met it was called a Parley(french for talk)and it's from this word we get Parliament.
The Magna Carta was the first document in Europe to take the matters of state out of the hands of a King

Answer 2

Magna Carta


Latin ` great charter ´

In English history, the charter granted by King John (I) Lackland in 1215, traditionally seen as guaranteeing human rights against the excessive use of royal power. As a reply to the king's demands for feudal dues and attacks on the privileges of the medieval church, Archbishop Stephen Langton proposed to the barons the drawing - up of a binding document in 1213. John was forced to accept this at Runnymede (now in Surrey) on 15 June 1215.

Magna Carta begins by reaffirming the rights of the medieval church. Certain clauses guard against infringements of feudal custom : for example, Clause 2 limits the relief payable by an heir to inherit his father's barony. Others are designed to check extortions or maladministration of justice by royal officials. The privileges of London and the cities were also guaranteed.

As feudalism declined, Magna Carta lost its significance, and under the Tudors was almost forgotten. During the 17th century it was rediscovered and reinterpreted by the Parliamentary party as a document of democracy, guaranteeing the rights of the people. Such rights were particularly seen to be enshrined in Clause 12, which appeared to forbid taxation without consent, and Clause 39, which states that ` no freeman shall be...imprisoned...except by lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land ´ . In this way, a direct link has been claimed from Magna Carta through to the UK Bill of Rights (1689), US Declaration of Independence (1776), and the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).

Four original copies of Magna Carta exist, one each in Salisbury and Lincoln cathedrals and two in the British Library

Answer 3

The Magna Carta was the first British constitution, setting down the relationship between citizens and state. It was forced upon the king by his uncontrollable barons who had had enough of his high taxation and arbitrary decisions.

Answer 4

There are a lot of sites on this, but briefly
it was a document signed at Runnymede England in 1215 by King John and the nobility that limited the power of the King of England and required a rule of law for everyone, including the king. It limited his power. It also gave the right to a fair jury to suspected criminals.