King John's refusal to accept the papal appointment of Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury led to conflict with the Pope and English barons. In 1215, rebel barons forced John to agree to the Magna Carta, establishing limitations on royal power and protections for baronial rights and the freedom of the church. Though John later withdrew his consent, the Magna Carta became the foundation of England's constitutional monarchy and influenced protections in other countries like the United States' Bill of Rights.

1. Its Impact on Medieval England & Beyond

2.  May 27, 1199: John is crowned king of England
 August 24, 1200: John married Isabel d’Angouleme
 Spring 1202: Philip II summons John to court; John
refuses
 May 1202: John captures his nephew, Arthur of
Brittany, who then disappears
 August 1204: Philip seizes all of John’s French
holdings except the Aquitaine
 October 1214: John lost his final battle against Philip
& resigned himself to his losses

3.  1205: Canterbury secretly elects a new archbishop and sends him
to Rome for papal confirmation
 1205: John forces the Canterbury chapter to elect his candidate as
archbishop
 1207: Pope Innocent III consecrates his own choice, Stephen
Langton, instead…who John then bans from England
 1208: Innocent places an Interdict on England
 1209: Innocent excommunicates John, who proceeds to seize all
church assets for his own
 1213: John and Innocent reconcile, with John offering England as a
fief to the papacy. This made John the Pope’s vassal but also
won him the full support of the papacy against his enemies.

4.  1212: Plot to overthrow John failed
 1214: Barons refused to supply troops for John’s
battle against Philip II
 April 1215: Barons from the north & east organize against
John and seize control of London, Lincoln, and
Exeter
 June 15, 1215: Langton organizes a truce between the
barons and John that forces John to sign the
Magna Carta
 Fall 1215: The First Baron’s War begins when John
refuses to abide by the charter
 October 18, 1216: John dies just as he was losing the war

5.  Protection of church rights
 Protection from illegal imprisonment
 Access to swift justice
 Baronial consent for any new taxes
 A limit on feudal dues & payments
 Most importantly, it established a council of 25
barons who would serve as a “check” on John’s
power. This was unheard of in medieval times.

6.  John’s son, Henry
III, would reissue and
confirm the basic
articles of the
Magna
Carta…except the
council of barons. It
would continue to
reconfirmed by
Henry III
virtually every other
king until Henry VI.

7.  Until the First Baron’s War & the Magna Carta, the power of the
kings of England had been virtually unchecked. Afterwards, the
English kings quickly learned that “if the barons ain’t happy, ain’t
nobody happy”!
Henry VI Richard III
Edward II Richard II
Deposed in 1327 Deposed in 1399 Deposed in 1461 &
Deposed in 1485
1471

8.  England’s medieval kings were not the only ones to feel the brunt of
the nobles’ newfound empowerment. Over the years, more and
more checks were placed on the Crown’s power (including the
creation of Parliament) until it turned into the constitutional
monarchy that we see today.

9.  The charter’s guarantees of due process and the freedom
of the church in England are not only still on the books
there today but their influence can also be seen in
America’s Bill of Rights.
The Magna Carta
The Bill of Rights