Our annual reminder that 809 years ago tomorrow (June 15), the “great charter” (Magna Carta) was executed at Runnymeade. (And yes, we know that due to the change in calendars in the interim it wasn’t necessarily this very day, and also that King John didn’t sign the document, but rather sealed several copies of it.)
We naturally focus on Article XXVIII as the foundation for the limitations on the sovereign’s power to forcibly acquire private property, but let’s not forget the other bits as well.
So Happy Birthday, Magna Carta! You don’t look a day over 800.