1 What happened in 1215?; 2 The tyranny of King John; 3 Magna Carta, parliament and the origins of the constitution: the document's first century; 4 The Document as monument; 5 Does Magna Carta still matter?

The Magna Carta has long been considered the foundation stone of the British Constitution, yet few people today understand either its contents or its context. This Very Short Introduction introduces the document to a modern audience, explaining its origins in the troubled reign of King John, and tracing the significance of the role that it played thereafter as a totemic symbol of the subject's right to protection against the raw and absolute authority of the sovereign.

Drawing upon the great advances that have been made in the past two decades in our understanding of thirteenth-century English history, Nicholas Vincent demonstrates why the Magna Carta continues to be of enormous popular interest.

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Nicholas Vincent recevied his first training in medeival history at Oxford, and has since held posts at Cambridge, Canterbury and Norwich. He divides his time between work in England and family in France.