How did Magna Carta come about?
In the 1210s England’s King John, struggling to regain his lands in Normandy, set ever more demanding taxes upon his barons. Those who defaulted were punished severely. In January 1215 a deputation of barons met with John, seeking assurances. But John prevaricated and soon the barons rebelled. When the barons captured London, John was forced to negotiate. The two sides met at Runnymede, near Windsor, in June 1215. The result of the negotiations was written down, in Latin, as the Articles of the Barons. It was this document, sealed in the presence of John, which was converted by the king’s clerks into the formal royal grant known as Magna Carta (‘The Great Charter’).
