All persons named in the document were bound by certain obligations to one another, rather than merely subservient to the king's will.

Although the Magna Carta arose from a disagreement between King John, the Pope, and the English nobility, and did not confer rights upon English citizens but merely the English Church and nobility, it is still seen today as significant in the history of English democracy. It limited the ability of the king to exercise executive power over all aspects of government. The Magna Carta established the freedom of the English Church. It established certain rights of the nobility under the rule of law that could not be violated by the king. It formulated the philosophical tradition of common law rights of the nobility in England, which allowed the establishment of the House of Lords and Commons. Thus early on in its history, monarchical government was limited in its...
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