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Magna Carta T-Shirts
Most history shirts put a date on a chest and call it done. Ours start with what Magna Carta actually said, and why a document sealed in a field beside the Thames in 1215 still matters.
Sealed: by King John at Runnymede, 15 June 1215
Surviving 1215 originals: four (two at the British Library, one at Lincoln, one at Salisbury Cathedral)
Reissued: 1216, 1217 and 1225, and confirmed by Edward I in 1297
Still law in England and Wales: three clauses of the 1297 version
What makes a good Magna Carta shirt
Magna Carta is long, written in medieval Latin, and mostly about feudal fines, forests and inheritance. A shirt can't carry all of it, so every Lawful Rebellion Co. design picks one idea from the charter and builds around it. Each tee is printed to order in Black, White or Army (most designs also come in Natural), in sizes S to 3XL on most designs, with prices from A$43.
Chapter 61: the security clause
The clause our brand is named after is the one most people have never heard of. Chapter 61 set up a council of twenty-five barons who could hold the king to his promises, and pressure him if he broke them. The Knowledge is Power Chapter 61 T-Shirt puts "Magna Carta 1215" and "Chapter 61" around the royal arms on the back. The Freedom is Never Free T-Shirt marks the same clause as "MC 1215 CH61" beneath crossed tools and the words "question, challenge, resist". The clause only lasted a few months before it was dropped from the 1216 reissue. You can read the full story in our guide to Magna Carta clause 61.
Clauses 39 and 40: lawful judgement and justice
The lines that outlived the rest of the charter are clauses 39 and 40. Clause 39 promised that no free man would be imprisoned, stripped of his rights or outlawed "except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land". Clause 40 added: "To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice." Combined into one chapter in later versions, they are still on the statute book in England and Wales, and their language echoes in the due process guarantees of the US Constitution. Our A Right and a Duty T-Shirt carries a crown and the idea that holding power to account is a responsibility, not just a privilege.
The ruler is under the law
The big idea behind Magna Carta is simple: the king was bound by rules too. That principle runs through the People Over Power T-Shirt, with a line of figures and the words "sovereignty belongs to the people". The Truth T-Shirt takes the long view, with a lone knight and the dates 1215, 1776, 1789 and 1945 under the line "same principles, different battles".
A note on what Magna Carta is (and isn't)
Magna Carta was a peace deal between a king and his barons, and it failed within months; Pope Innocent III annulled it in August 1215. Its reputation grew over the following centuries as lawyers and reformers returned to it. Today most of its clauses have been repealed, and it does not let anyone opt out of laws or courts. We make shirts about its history and principles, not legal advice, and we keep them free of party politics.
Wear the history
If you know someone who reads the footnotes, quotes clause 39 at dinner or made the trip to Runnymede, a Magna Carta tee is an easy gift that starts a conversation. Browse the full range to see every design and colour.
Knowledge is Power Chapter 61 T-Shirt
Freedom is Never Free T-Shirt
A Right and a Duty T-Shirt
Truth T-Shirt
People Over Power T-Shirt