June 15, 1215
1215-06-15 12:00 UTC
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Magna Carta is sealed
King John seals a charter at Runnymede accepting that the king is subject to law.Source ↗
What happened in this minute
Faced with rebellious barons, John agreed to a charter limiting arbitrary imprisonment, fixing feudal payments and promising justice that would not be sold or delayed.
The original agreement failed within months; the pope annulled it and civil war followed. It survived because it was reissued repeatedly, and because clause 39, on lawful judgement by peers, was read by later centuries as a general principle rather than a baronial privilege.
Its afterlife is larger than its text. Most of the charter concerns fish weirs, forests and widow's dowries; three clauses remain on the English statute book.
Questions and answers
- What did Magna Carta actually guarantee?
- Mostly specific feudal limits, but clause 39 promised no free man would be imprisoned or dispossessed except by lawful judgement of his peers or the law of the land.
- Was it signed?
- It was sealed, not signed. John applied his great seal at Runnymede on 15 June 1215.
- Why does the page show a midday time?
- No hour was recorded. The Museum uses a midday UTC marker and labels such times as approximate.