The Magna Carta, the Great Charter of 1215, was signed by which king?

• A. Henry II
• B. John
• C. Stephen
• D. Edward I

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is identifying who briefly bound the king with a charter of limits and rights in 1215. The Magna Carta was sealed by King John of England in 1215, at Runnymede, during a clash with powerful nobles who demanded that the king’s authority be constrained and that certain liberties be protected. This document established that the king’s power was not absolute and set out protections like due process and limits on taxation, at least for the nobility initially, with later centuries expanding its implications to broader rights. The other rulers listed—Henry II, Stephen, and Edward I—governed in different periods, not the moment of the Magna Carta’s creation.