England: One of four surviving copies of the Magna Carta (Great Charter) signed at Runnymede, 1215. Cotton MS Augustus II. 106

Magna Carta (Latin for 'the Great Charter'), also called Magna Carta Libertatum (Latin for 'the Great Charter of the Liberties'), is a charter agreed by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury to make peace between the unpopular King and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons. (Photo by: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)