Big Sheet

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Eight hundred years ago (that would make it 1215) ~ on June 15, to be exact ~ across the pond, a very unpopular king named John was rather forced to set his seal to the draft version of something called the Magna Carta (which could be literally translated as Big Sheet but is generally known more majestically, and therefore more appropriately, as the Great Charter). John had ascended the throne after the death of his brother King Richard I, aka Richard the Lionheart (who probably should have been called the Bellicose), in 1199. Long story short (or shorter, anyway), John taxed the nobles and sold church holdings, and they finally rose up against him. It was at Runnymede on the bank of the Thames that John signed the Articles of the Barons, which, after a slight reworking, was disseminated far and wide as the Magna Carta.
   What made this carta so magna was that, in addition to various and sundry rules having to do with the feudal system, it pretty much said that the king had to obey certain laws, just like the rest of us. It also included a clause that many consider the first guarantee of trial by jury and of habeas corpus. It was not an immediate success and was reissued several times before it finally, in 1225, became part of English statute law. Still, the fine citizens of Britain the Great will be celebrating as only they can (website): http://magnacarta800th.com/