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By 1213 opposition to King John came to a head, led by Stephen Langton Archbishop of Canterbury. On August 4th 1213, a Great Council was summoned
to meet at St Albans. The Council included Barons and churchmen and such meetings later developed into Parliament. Speakinq for the King was the
Justiciar of England.
The Justiciar told the Council that the King had agreed to pay compensation, and this was followed by a discussion on the general rights and
liberties of his subjects. A charter along these lines had been drawn up by Henry I a Century before, and this was revised at St Albans.
It formed the first draft of Magna Carta. Later, the churchmen accepted it, at a meeting in St Paul's London, and the Barons did the same at a
meeting' in Bury St Edmund, Suffolk. The meeting in St Albans was therefore an important step in the production of Magna Carta, which was presented
to John in June 1215 after a rebellion by the Barons. John only signed when he at last realised that he had been defeated. This famous event took
place at Runnymede by the Thames.
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Wendover
Alban St Albans Bells
Magna Carta Great Council Prayer
Godiva Mathew Paris Stephen Langton |
