Journal Title
Mississippi Law Journal
Volume
85
Issue
3
First Page
621
Document Type
Article
Publication Information
2016
Abstract
As the Magna Carta, England's Great Charter of Liberties, marks its eighth centennial, it is appropriate to ask what's in it. The answer, it turns out, lives up to the legend. What's in the Magna Carta is the beginning of modern legal thought. The Great Charter set the expectations that for 800 years have shaped the development of the law in England, America, and around the globe. Like a blazing light piercing the medieval darkness, the Magna Carta illuminated the importance of legal principles, fair procedures, proportional punishment, official accountability, and respect for human dignity. It was unlike any legal document that had ever come before.
Recommended Citation
Vincent R. Johnson, The Magna Carta and the Beginning of Modern Legal Thought, 85 Miss. L. J. 621 (2016).