10 Facts You Should Know About the Magna Carta
7. The Magna Carta is essentially a list of promises
Once signed by the king, the Magna Carta became a list of promises that he was supposed to keep. They included promises to protect the freedom and rights of the Church, to consult more closely with the barons (especially on matters such as taxes) and to guarantee certain freedoms to all free men. For this reason the document also stated that a council of 25 barons would be created to advise the king.
A number of the promises, or clauses, in the document ensured that the king would not do whatever he felt like but would be constrained by laws and proper processes. For example, he had to guarantee that if someone was accused of a crime they would be given a proper trial and would be judged by their peers (people of the same status, in this case fellow Englishmen). The king was not allowed to seize property or possessions from people but had to pay for them like everyone else. Similar forms of mistreatment by the king were also ruled out by the document.
