The Magna Carta is arguably the greatest constitutional document in recorded history, yet few people today understand either its contents or its context. This Very Short Introduction, which includes a full English translation of the 1215 Magna Carta, introduces the document to a modern audience, explaining its origins in the troubled reign of King John, and tracing the significant role that it played thereafter as a symbol of the subject's right to protection against the absolute authority of the sovereign. Drawing upon the great advances that have been made in our understanding of thirteenth-century English history, Nicholas Vincent demonstrates why the Magna Carta remains hugely significant today.
Chapter 1. In Good King Edward’s golden days
Chapter 2. Angevin kingship: making and breaking royal law
Chapter 3. King John’s ‘little ways’
Chapter 4. The road to Runnymede
Chapter 5. The charter defeated: the charter victorious
Chapter 6. The charter as totem and as artefact
Appendix: Magna Carta 1215, an English translation