The Magna Carta, the most important instrument of English constitutional history, turns 800 this year. The famed document, issued by King John at Runnymede under the compulsion of his barons in 1215, is recognized for having set the groundwork for democracy, justice, and human rights.
The document currently on exhibit at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau is the best-preserved of seven surviving copies issued by King Edward I in 1300, along with its companion document, the Charter of the Forest. Both are on loan from Durham Cathedral.
The Magna Carta, meaning "Great Charter" in Latin, was the first document in English jurisprudence to state that the monarch was not above the law.
