Was The Magna Carta A Success Or A Failure

The Magna Carta or the ‘Great Charter’ was signed on 15th June 1215 at Runnymede in Windsor by King John. After seizing London, King John had no choice but to negotiate with his angered barons and so met at Runnymede. With the negotiations led by Archbishop Stephen Langston of Canterbury and the charter constructed by the barons, the document consisted of 63 chapters addressing different grievances against their tyrannical king. Although the document may have been a failed peace treaty between the King and his rebel barons and a number clerics and eventually resulting in the First Barons War of 1217, the document was not a failure. The Magna Carta is still described by many as the most important documents of history, not only did the charter

This meaning that this document held great importance through its legal value. The document was, although agreed to by the King the Magna Carta was above the King’s prerogatives as a superior body of law. With King John agreeing to the Charter, proved a new type of rule, coined by A. V. Dicey as a “rule of law” as opposed an ultimate rule of a King, with all authority over the laws. The was extremely important as it bound the monarchs prerogative rights over law making and had to uphold his promises made by signing the Magna Carta and could be held accountable if he failed to do so. This gave the King a choice, to obey the law and keep the peace, or defy it and risk civil war. The King no longer held the advantage of ultimate supremacy over his people but instead was, to a degree, answerable to his barons. However, the Magna Carta, although bound some of the monarch’s power, as a whole was also important in the growth of a national identity. Although a national identity was not a completed achievement in 1215, the Magna Carta can be viewed as an important step towards an identity through the laying out of both political and civil rights of the people and by trying to embody this idea of liberties, even if these were not yet extended to all whom we would consider “free-men” in today’s context. However, although this may be seen as