The concept of rulers being under the authority of a law greater than themselves finds its source in the Old Testament and in the writings of the apostles. Thus the creation of the Magna Carta (Great Charter) and King John I’s submission to it at Runnymede Meadow, 15 June 1215, takes a place of importance in the Christian history of London. Moreover, in the development of English constitutional rights the Christian church has obtained a more just and balanced place in society than under other systems of government.
The Magna Carta was drawn up by a group of barons who determined to curb the misuse of power by the corrupt King John, specifically to keep him from over-taxing their lands to finance military campaigns in France. They were supported by the great archbishop Stephen Langton, who acted as one of the arbitrators. John had been forced by a papal interdict and excommunication to accept Langton as archbishop. As early as September 1213, Langton had secured the support of the prelates for a proposal forcing John to abide by the liberties promised by Henry I. By early 1215 the barons had renounced their loyalty to John and on 17 May had captured London. By June the king had no other choice but to meet with the barons and concede the liberties which they had drawn up in the Great Charter.
Significantly, the first clause is a guarantee of freedom to the church:
First, that we have granted to God, and by this present charter have confirmed for us and our heirs in perpetuity, that the English Church shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished, and its liberties unimpaired...
Clauses 39 and 40 are the most famous:
No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land... To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right of justice.
The liberties obtained at the time were limited to ‘all freemen of our realm’, but it was a first and most important step toward the constitutional government which today characterizes free nations the world over. A copy of the Magna Carta itself may be seen in the British Library. The site of the signing (or sealing) is marked by an impressive monument at Runnymede Meadow (now a picnic site on the banks of the Thames between Staines and Windsor.