What exactly was the 1215 Magna Carta? Should it be so highly esteemed?
Barnaby Cullen
2015 is the 800 th anniversary of the Magna Carta, which was, contrary to popular myth, sealed not signed, by King John at Runnymede on 15 th June 1215. In
response to this momentous anniversary, there have been a plethora of various
activities arranged throughout the year in England, from the exhibition at the
British Library, in which the four existing copies of the manuscript were brought
together, to the unveiling of an embroidered representation of the charter, to the
minting of a commemorative £2 coin, among many others. It has been praised as
the Foundation of Liberty, and has achieved iconic status as a symbol of
democracy and the freedom and rights of the individual. However, the story
behind the Magna Carta is more complicated and less heroic than is often
imagined. Should it still be remembered as fondly?
The 1215 Magna Carta
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