Magna Carta Timeline

With his conquest of England, William I secures for himself and his immediate successors a position of unprecedented power. During his rule over England (1066–87) he is able to dominate not only the country but also the barons who had helped him win it and the clergy members who served the English church.

William’s son Henry I accedes to the throne. He is compelled to make concessions to the nobles and clergy in the Charter of Liberties, a royal edict issued upon his coronation.

Henry I’s successor, Stephen, issues yet another charter with even more generous promises of good government in church and state.

Henry II also begins his reign by issuing a charter promising to restore and confirm the liberties and free customs that Henry I, his grandfather, had granted “to God and holy church and all his earls, barons and all his men.” Henry II thus continues the tradition that the king’s coronation oath be strengthened by written promises stamped with the king’s seal.

Richard I, known as Richard the Lionhearted, becomes king in 1189. His reign lasts nearly 10 years. He personally takes part in the Crusades, a series of religious wars. Opponents capture him, and England pays an enormous ransom to free him. He spends the last five years of his reign at war with France. All this costs money, but English nobles have little power over Richard because he can raise taxes whenever he wants.

When Richard dies in 1199, the barons select John to be their king. By 1204 John loses Normandy and most of his other French lands in a war with Philip II. John then quarrels with Pope Innocent III about the appointment of Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury in 1206. John is excommunicated in 1209, and for a period England is forbidden most religious services. John finally recognizes the new archbishop in 1212 and is absolved from excommunication by Langton in 1213. Langton will later encourage rebellious barons to demand from John a solemn grant of their rights.

John launches a military campaign against France in 1214 but makes no lasting gains. His heavy taxes and aggressive assertion of feudal privileges lead to the outbreak of civil war in England in May 1215. Rebellious barons march against John and quickly establish control of London, weakening John’s position. He is forced to meet the barons at Runnymede on June 15, 1215, and to sign the charter of liberties known as the Magna Carta. The document guarantees political liberties to the people of England and requires the king to follow the law. Among the charter’s provisions are clauses providing for reforming laws and judicial procedures and controlling the behavior of royal officials.

John has no real intention of supporting the charter, however. He recruits a new army and lays waste to baronial estates in the north. But his cause is weakened by the arrival of Prince Louis (later Louis VIII) of France, who invades England at the barons’ request. John continues to wage war vigorously but dies in October 1216, leaving the issues undecided. His death makes possible a compromise peace, including the restoration of the rebels, the succession of his son Henry III, and the withdrawal of Prince Louis from England. Advisers to the young Henry III (who is only nine years old) almost immediately reissue the Magna Carta in his name, in November. (The document is reissued again with some alterations in 1217 and 1225.)

By May 29 the Constitution of the United States has been by ratified by all 13 U.S. states. The basic rights embodied in the document echo the Magna Carta.

The United Nations adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, another document partly inspired by the principles of the Magna Carta.