In English history, the charter granted by King
John (I) Lackland in 1215, traditionally seen as guaranteeing human rights against the excessive use of royal power. As a reply to the king's demands for feudal dues and attacks on the privileges of the medieval
church, Archbishop Stephen
Langton proposed to the barons the drawing-up of a binding document in 1213. John was forced to accept this at Runnymede (now in Surrey) on 15 June 1215.
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