Magna Carta

Magna Carta

 

Magna Carta - 1215

 

 

Magna Carta is one of the most famous documents in the world. Explore its 800-year legacy with unique collection items, newly-commissioned articles by leading experts, videos and animations and a range of teaching resources. School groups can also contribute a clause towards a new Magna Carta for the digital age.

 

What is Magna Carta?

Narrated by Monty Python’s Terry Jones, this animation takes you back to medieval England to explore the tyranny of King John, the frustrations of the barons and the significance of the charter’s original clauses.

800 years of Magna Carta Over the centuries Magna Carta has influenced kings and statesmen, lawyers and lawmakers, prisoners, Chartists and Suffragettes. But how did this old piece of parchment become such a powerful symbol of our rights and freedoms? Narrated by Monty Python’s Terry Jones, this animation explores Magna Carta’s 800 year legacy.

King John and the origins of Magna Carta

Professor David Carpenter and Professor Nicholas Vincent discuss the reign of King John, the grievances of the barons and the circumstances in which Magna Carta was created in 1215.



Professor David Carpenter

King John

 

Why Magna Carta still matters today:

 

Magna Carta is a cornerstone of the individual liberties that we enjoy, and it presents an on going challenge to arbitrary rule. But over time, while not envisaged at the time of its drafting, Magna Carta has for many been seen not only as a foundation of liberty, but also one of democracy. And this broader notion of the wider significance of Magna Carta makes it especially relevant today. It is perhaps easiest to think of Magna Carta in two ways: first, as a document of historical and legal significance; and secondly, as a principle underlying how we live, through equality under the rule of law and through accountability. Magna Carta matters both for what it said in 1215 and, perhaps more significantly now, for what it has come to symbolise.