The Magna Carta
History: KS3, topic 2.5.1
Terms of the Magna Carta
The Magna Carta limited King John’s power. It had 63 clauses. This included:
The importance of the law
- The Magna Carta established that everyone, including the monarch, was subject to English law.
- This meant that the King did not have unlimited power.
Clauses dealing with grievances
- The majority of the Magna Carta’s clauses dealt with the grievances held by the barons.
- This mostly concerned land ownership, taxation and the justice system.
- These clauses included:
- A limit on the amount of tax barons needed to pay when they inherited lands.
- The reduction of royal forests.
- Nobody could be arrested following a woman’s accusation.
- The majority of these clauses are no longer relevant and not used in English law.
Clause 39
- Some of the Magna Carta’s clauses had serious implications for the English constitution.
- Perhaps the clause with the most far reaching implication was clause 39.
- This stated that all ‘free men’ had the right to a fair trial.
Limitations of Clause 39
- Unlike today, not everyone was ‘free’. Instead, many peasants were ‘villeins’ and belonged to their lords. As such they did not automatically have the right to justice.
Other clauses still in force
- The two other clauses which remain in force today are clause one and clause 13.
- Clause one defends the liberties of the Church.
- Clause 13 defends the liberties of English towns.
Test yourself on The Magna Carta
How many clauses did the Magna Carta have?