The History of the World Podcast, written and presented by Chris Hasler

Volume 4, The Medieval World

Episode 43, Magna Carta. Oh, yeah. When we specifically refer to the Magna Carta, we specifically refer to the first version issued at Runymede,

which is an area of grassland adjacent to the River Thames in the English County of Surrey.

It was issued in the year 1215 by English barons in a bid to set down some rules

which prevented anyone including the actual monarch themselves from being above the law.

The story of the Magna Carta is also the story of a man who is labeled by history as a bad king.

The man is King John, younger brother of Richard the Lionheart and son of Henry the Second of England

and grandfather of Edward I, all of whom are considered as great English monarchs.

So what went wrong for King John during his reign that led to the barons of feudal England,

demanding a charter be signed which restricted the rights of the king

and protected the laws of the land.

During our episodes about the Crusades we were introduced to the Plantagenet dynasty of rulers.

The Plantagenets originated from the county of Anjou, a county within the kingdom of France.

Due to the influence of the Plantagenets, their marriage alliances and the possessions of the

monarch of England, the early Plantagenet rulers ruled over lands collectively referred to as the Anjavan Empire.

We need to go back to the count of Ojou from 1129 Jeffrey Plantagenet, John's grandfather, to understand the origins of the

Anjavan Empire, the Plantagenet Dynasty and its relationships with the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of England.

Jeffrey would be the Count of Anjou, but also of men and of Turren. They were three neighbouring counties

landlocked in the northern half of modern France and all three counties were within the contemporary kingdom of France.

In other words the King of France was the overlord to these three counties.

Jeffrey would acquire the duchy of Normandy to the north of his heartlands,

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