Part 1 of 5 · freeIntroduction
In June 1215, in the meadow of Runnymede, near London, King John Lackland of England set his seal to the Magna Carta, the “Great Charter.” It was not a gesture of generosity. It was a trial of strength: the barons, the great lords of the kingdom, wanted to break the king's arbitrary rule.
The text was drawn up to head off a civil war. As an immediate settlement it failed. Yet it slowly became the symbol of an explosive idea: even the king is under the law.
The rest is in the Sophia app.The remaining parts, the open-book quiz and the full glossary. Free to start; Premium unlocks everything.
- 2John Lackland on the brink
- 3Runnymede, 63 clauses
- 4From failure to myth
- 5A worldwide legacy
Open-book quiz9 questions whose answers are in the text.
Glossary15 terms explained in a tap.
30 languagesThe same course, from French to Japanese.
