what does magna carta mean?
Definition of Magna Carta. 1  1 : a charter of liberties to which the English barons forced King John to give his assent in June 1215 at Runnymede. 2  2 : a document constituting a fundamental guarantee of rights and privileges.
This article is about the English charter of 1215. For other uses, see Magna Carta (disambiguation). Magna Carta Libertatum (Medieval Latin for the Great Charter of the Liberties), commonly called Magna Carta (also Magna Charta; (the) Great Charter), is a charter agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215.