Magna Carta

English barons force King John to seal a charter limiting royal power — an imperfect document with outsized legacy.

The Magna Carta established that even the king was subject to law, guaranteed trial by jury, and limited taxation without consent. Most of its provisions were about baronial privileges, not human rights.

Perspective

The Magna Carta's actual content matters less than its mythology. It became a symbol that later generations weaponized to argue for constitutional government. The idea mattered more than the reality — which is how most of history's "great documents" actually work.