The Magna Carta – literally, Great Charter – was issued by King John in 1215, as his barons revolted and civil war loomed. It saw the monarch avert crisis by acknowledging that the king was not above the law, and with the granting of a range of rights to English citizens. “To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice,” runs one of its most famous clauses.

Written on single sheets of parchment, running to around 4,000 words of medieval Latin, two of the surviving 1215 Magna Carta documents are kept at the British Library – one of which was severely damaged in an 18th-century fire, and which has been painstakingly restored using multispectral imaging. One is currently at Lincoln Cathedral, and one at Salisbury Cathedral. On 3 February 2015, they will be brought together at the British Library.

‘Still relevant’

Although almost all of the clauses have been repealed in modern times, the document established a number of important principles that remain in place and have been copied around the world.

Julian Harrison, curator of early modern manuscripts at the British Library, said: “It established for the first time that nobody – not even the king – was above the law and it contains certain principles relating to individual liberties which still remain relevant today. Nobody can be imprisoned or detained indefinitely without being put on trial.”

The document inspired the US Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Magna Carta Tours

We are operating small group tours including a visit to Salisbury Cathedral which has the best surviving copy of the Magna Carta.  View our Salisbury and Magna Carta tours here.  Our Windsor Castle tours will take you through Runnymede

The Small Group U.K Tour Experts
http://www.welcome2britain.com