- King John renounced the charter just weeks after signing it, appealing to Pope Innocent III, who declared it null and void.
- This sparked the First Barons’ War, a bloody conflict between John and his rebellious nobles.
- John died in 1216, and his nine-year-old son Henry III became king. His regents reissued a modified version of Magna Carta to secure loyalty.
Despite this rocky start, the reissue of Magna Carta in 1216, 1217, and 1225 laid the groundwork for it becoming embedded in English law.
Magna Carta's Meaning to the English in 1215
To understand the full meaning of Magna Carta in 1215, it’s important to recognize that:
- It was not originally intended as a document of universal human rights.
- It was a negotiated peace treaty between a weak king and a powerful feudal elite.
- It reflected the struggles of a society transitioning from absolute monarchy toward a more accountable and consultative system of governance.
For the barons, Magna Carta was a legal weapon to protect their wealth and power. For the Church, it was a way to maintain religious independence. For the emerging class of free men and townspeople, it offered a glimmer of legal protection—though most people in 1215 were serfs and unfree peasants, not directly protected by the charter.
Still, even in its limited form, Magna Carta planted the seed of constitutionalism—the idea that a ruler’s power should be bound by law. shutdown123