The Magna Carta of 1215
One of the surviving 1215 originals of Magna Carta, sealed by King John of England at Runnymede.
Rebellious barons cornered King John at Runnymede in June 1215 and forced him to seal a charter limiting royal power — protecting the Church, guaranteeing baronial rights, and asserting that even the king was subject to the law. John repudiated it within weeks and the pope annulled it, plunging England into civil war, but his son Henry III reissued modified versions that stuck. Most of its 63 clauses have since been repealed or superseded, yet a handful survive in English law today, and its principle that no free man could be imprisoned without lawful judgment became a cornerstone of constitutional government far beyond England. Read more in our article on the Magna Carta of 1215.
Public domain — source (Wikimedia Commons). Free to reuse under the stated licence.
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