Skip to Content

What relevance if the Magna Carta today?

(May 2014, Jon Lewis, Oakwood Park Grammar School)

This is a question, in various forms, that I often hear as Head of History. What is the point of learning about something that happened nearly 800 years ago? Indeed the Magna Carta was sealed in June 1215, some 799 years ago, between the barons of Medieval England and King John and so there is some justification to the question. ‘Magna Carta’ is Latin for “Great Charter” and this great charter still has huge significance for us today as it is directly relevant on so many areas of our lives, especially those concerning human rights and the establishment of the Human Rights Act in 1988.

Click Lewis Essay – What relevance is the Magna Carta today to download the full essay.

Featured Article

Introduction – Runnymede and all that. Winston Churchill described the Magna Carta as “the foundation of principles and systems of government of which neither King John or his nobles dreamed”. Now in Politics we’re used to the law of unintended consequences...

Read on...

Recent Articles

See more...

Stay updated

If you would like to keep informed about the work of the Magna Carta Trust and our partners, please sign up to the newsletter below.