Skip to main content
Home

User menu logged out

  • Subscribe
  • Sign in

Subscription
Offers

Give a Gift

Main menu

  • Home
  • The Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Buy the Current Issue
  • Explore the Digital Archive
  • Institutions
  • Reviews
  • Sign in
Home

Mini header menu

  • Search
  • Magazine
  • Latest
  • Subscribe

Subscribe

Magna Carta: A Bitter Indictment of King John's Rule?

This essay was the winner of the 2012 Julia Wood essay prize.

Alicia Mavor | Published in History Today Volume 63 Issue 4 April 2013

John of England signs Magna Carta. Illustration from Cassell

To continue reading this article you need to purchase a subscription, available from only £5.

Start my trial subscription now

If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.

Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.

King JohnMagna Carta

Popular articles

Pepresentatives of the French government at the war crimes trial in Leipzig, 1921. Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo/Alamy Stock Photo.
The Failure of the Leipzig War Crimes Trials
Plato’s Cave, Flemish school, 16th century. Bridgeman Images.
Plato’s Last Word to Dionysius

Recently published

Plato’s Cave, Flemish school, 16th century. Bridgeman Images.
Plato’s Last Word to Dionysius
The Big Hop: The First Non-Stop Flight Across the Atlantic and Into the Future by David Rooney
‘The Big Hop’ by David Rooney review
A parade by young inmates at Feltham Borstal, Middlesex, 1911. PA Photos/TopFoto.
England’s Prison Population Problems

Most read

  1. The Failure of the Leipzig War Crimes Trials
  2. Plato’s Last Word to Dionysius
  3. England’s Prison Population Problems
  4. Artificial Inspiration
  5. ‘Miracles and Wonder’ by Elaine Pagels review
X
Get Miscellanies, our free weekly long read, in your inbox every week

Footer menu

  • About
  • Masthead
  • Contact
  • Jobs
  • Advertising
  • RSS feeds
  • Submit an Article
  • Back Issues
  • Binders
  • Cookie policy
  • Awards
  • Students
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of Use
  • X
  • Instagram
  • Bluesky
  • Facebook

© Copyright 2025 History Today Ltd. Company no. 1556332.