<p>Imagine a society where the President didn’t think he had to abide by the same rules as the citizens and he thought he could do whatever he wanted and get away with it. Imagine your government over turning laws and setting laws that hurt you, the citizen, and not showing the smallest concern for your well being. How would this make you feel? Would you want to do something about it? Well in 1215 or 13th century England that is how the Villeins or peasants felt about King John. Even though he was a very knowledgeable and a strong leader, they felt that he exploited his power way above his limits and he crippled their individual freedoms. They also felt that he was unfair, disregarded justice and imposed ruthless punishments that people didn’t deserve. This is how the Magna Carta of 1215 was born. The Magna Carta, 1215 should be preserved because it was the gateway of inspiration and the foundation for many Constitutions as well as our own, Bill of Rights.</p>
 

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<p>King John’s reign had a history of unsuccessful military campaigns and prolonged the struggle with the church and the baronial rebellion. The people of England were fed up so the scribes, who were a part of the royal chancery, wrote up the Magna Carta, 1215 or to some “The Great Charter”.  The Magna Carta, 1215 required King John to proclaim certain liberties, and for certain limits of royal authority to be made.  "The Great Charter" sought to prevent the King from furthermore exploiting his power and to be made clear that the King, himself, was subject to the law and not above it. King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede but it was not confirmed until 1217(British Library 2011).</p>
Many copies of the charter were on sheets of parchment which was made from treated sheep skin. Parchment was one of the most expensive pieces of paper in the 13th century so scribes abbreviated a lot of the words to save space. It is also hard to read because it is written in Medieval Latin and bad small script. No one knows the exact numbers of how many copies of the Magna Carta were written but there are only four copies that remain today. Something interesting is that the Magna Carta is not authenticated by the King’s signature; it is authenticated with the Great Seal. The Magna Carta by the Villeins was viewed as a breakthrough for the handful of liberties that they did have. It limited fines that could be posed against them; it also stopped officials from taking goods without payment or forcing them to perform hard labor.

The Magna Carta was and still is the influence for many Country Constitutions such as the Bill of Rights for the United States. I find it liberating that a group of people took the time to challenge such hierarchy and fought for simple liberties that we often take for granted today. It was remarkable and we should thank them because their foundation and struggle was the gateway to the shaping of our liberties.

Work’s cited

Library, British. "Magna Carta, 1215." THE BRITISH LIBRARY - The World's Knowledge. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. &lt;http://www.bl.uk/&gt;.<img src="http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif" alt="" />