Magna Carta

For its 800th anniversary, a new edition of one of democracy’s founding legal documents, with extensive new commentary

Wrested by rebellious barons from a very reluctant King John, Magna Carta set out a series of rights and duties that have been appealed to, ignored, suppressed, and argued about ever since. Here, David Carpenter’s forceful new translation is accompanied by extensive commentary that sheds new light on this illustrious legal document.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.“An invaluable new commentary.” —Jill Lepore, The New Yorker

“A magisterial re-examination of the Charter.” —The Times Literary Supplement

“Of all the books that commemorated the octingentenary of the signing of Magna Carta, the one that stands out for me is David Carpenter’s new Penguin Classics edition. . . . Carpenter deserves to replace Sir James Holt as the standard authority, and an unfailingly readable one too.” —Ferdinand Mount, The Times Literary Supplement, “Books of the Year”David Carpenter, who has translated the text of Magna Carta and written the text of this edition, is Professor of Medieval History at King's College, London. He is the author of The Struggle for Mastery in Britain, 1066-1284, a volume in the Penguin History of Britain series.