The Magna Carta was signed in 1215 near Windsor, England.  It was signed by King James in an effort to pacify rebel barons.  It originally was meant to protect church rights and property, protection for barons against illegal imprisonment, rights to a swift trial and limitations to payments to the crown.  The document was annulled and then reinstated several times (1216, 1217, and 1225 AD) until it was finally ratified and made an official part of English Law.  Each successive English monarch re-ratified the document and made it a primary source of Parliament’s power.  It solidified a tradition of law and responsibility that helped to protect women from accusations of witchcraft.

A popular myth about the Magna Carta that survived until the late 19th century was that it had its basis in an ancient English constitution.  This constitution was dissolved during the Norman Invasion of 1066.  However, this theory has never been able to be proven.

In the 17th century King James I and later his son King Charles attempted to nullify the document.  They both believed in the divine right of kings and saw the document as a direct threat to their power.  They attempted to nullify the Magna Carta and seize absolute power in England which triggered the English Civil war in 1642.

England was unique in having a document like this.  The Magna Carta played a crucial role in the English tradition of a strong judicial system as the barons needed to defend these rights.  This established a system of checks and balances on both the King and the courts and enabled even those with authority to be held liable for their actions.  These actions prohibited the use of torture in the use of gaining confessions as was common in Scotland.  The prohibition of this type of evidence helped to curtail English witch trials.  Without the elaborate and fanciful tales that torture could provide and the combination of strictly protecting their rights, England gained a tradition of skepticism in their courts.  They had men such as Samuel Harsnett who was a powerful member of the Church and who possessed,”a formidable reputation as a skeptic in matters of witchcraft.”1  The system promoted a strong sense of judicial procedure and laid the legal groundwork that helped to protect women accused of witchcraft in England.

大憲章（拉丁語：Magna Carta，英語：The Great Charter）又被稱作自由大憲章（拉丁語：Magna Carta Libertatum，英語：The Great Charter of the Liberties），是英格蘭國王約翰最初於1215年6月15日在溫莎附近的蘭尼米德（英語：Runnymede）訂立的拉丁文政治性授權文件；但在隨後的版本中，大部分對英國王室絕對權力的直接挑戰條目被刪除；1225年首次成為法律；1297年的英文版本至今仍然是英格蘭威爾斯的有效法律。

這份由坎特伯里大主教史蒂芬·朗頓（英語：Stephen Langton）起草的大憲章乃封建貴族用來對抗英國國王（主要是針對當時的約翰）權力的封建權利保障協議。訂立大憲章的主因是教皇、英王約翰及封建貴族對王室權力出現意見分歧。大憲章要求王室放棄部分權力，保護教會的權力，尊重司法過程，接受王權受法律的限制。大憲章是英國在建立憲法政治這長遠歷史過程的開始。

約翰死後，亨利三世的攝政政府為了爭取支持，在刪除了一些比較極端的條款後，於1216年重新頒布了「大憲章」。到1217年第一次諸侯戰爭結束時，亨利三世頒布的大憲章成為了停戰協議的一部分。由於資金匱乏，1225年，亨利再次頒布了「大憲章」，以此換取徵收新稅的權力。亨利三世的兒子愛德華一世在1297年也採取了同樣的措施，愛德華一世確認了大憲章是英格蘭成文法的一部分。