THE RECORD
What changed
The 1215 charter addressed rights, taxation and justice; it was soon annulled but revised versions were reissued.
EVIDENCE
What remains
Four 1215 exemplifications, reissues, royal records and chronicles preserve the crisis and clauses.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
Later readings linked it to due process and rule of law, influencing constitutional thought beyond England.
OPEN QUESTION
Where interpretation begins
It was not originally a universal rights declaration; its modern meaning is the result of centuries of reinterpretation.