magna carta

noun

1. the “great charter” of English liberties, forced from King John by the English barons and sealed at Runnymede, June 15, 1215.
2. any fundamental constitution or law guaranteeing rights and liberties.

noun

1. English history the charter granted by King John at Runnymede in 1215, recognizing the rights and privileges of the barons, church, and freemen

also Magna Charta, 1560s, Medieval Latin, literally “great charter” (of English personal and political liberty), attested in Anglo-Latin from 1279; obtained from King John, June 15, 1215. See magnate, card (n.). A list of rights and privileges that King John of England signed under pressure from English noblemen in 1215. It established the principles that the king could not levy taxes without consent of his legislature, or parliament, and that no free man in England could be deprived of liberty or property except through a trial or other legal process.