Magna Charta

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌmæɡnə ˈkɑːtə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌmæɡnə ˈkɑːɹtə/, [-ɾə]
• Hyphenation: Mag‧na Char‧ta

Magna Charta (countable and uncountable, plural Magna Chartas or Magnae Chartae)

1. Uncommon spelling of Magna Carta.
   • [1680, Edward Cooke, transl., Magna Charta, Made in the Ninth Year of K. Henry the Third, and Confirmed by K. Edward the First, in the Twenty-Eighth Year of His Reign. With Some Short, but Necessary Observations From The L. Chief Just. Coke’s Comments upon It. […], London: Printed by the Assignees of Richard and Edward Atkins, Esquires, for Thomas Simmons, […], →OCLC, preface, pages ii–iii:

     My Lord Coke ſayes, It had not its name of GREAT CHARTER, from the Greatneſs of it in Quantity; for there were ſeveral Voluminous Charters, longer than this: But it was ſo called, in reſpect of the Great Importance, and Weightyneſs of the Matter; as Charta de Foresta, is called, Magna Charta de Foresta, for the ſame Cauſe; and both of them are called, Magnæ Chartæ Libertatum Angliæ; i.e. The Great Charters of the Liberties of England; and upon great Reaſon too, Quia liberos faciunt, becauſe they make us Free.]

   • 1762, Danby Pickering, The Statutes at Large, from Magna Charta to the End of the Eleventh Parliament of Great Britain, Anno 1761. […], volume I (from Magna Charta to the 14th Year of K. Edward III. inclusive), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Printed by Joseph Bentham, printer to the University; for Charles Bathurst, […], →OCLC, page 1:

     MAGNA CHARTA. The GREAT CHARTER, Made in the Ninth Year of King Henry the Third, and Confirmed by King Edward the Firſt in the Five and twentieth Year of his Reign.

   • 1941 June 5, R[asmus] Andersen, quotee, “Newcastle Joins Nation Friday in Memorial Rites”, in News Letter Journal, volume 53, number 23, Newcastle, Wyo., →OCLC, page 1, column 3:

     From a few southern women, decorating the graves of their departed heroes, this day of the year, Memorial Day, has become a national holiday, when the nation pauses to pay tribute to those loyal patriots who died that America would be free and safe, where men and women could live their own lives, according to their own wishes, the Magna Charta, the Declaration of Independence, and our Constitution.

   • a. 1971, Fred Hando, “Usk, Otherwise Known as Bryn Buga”, in Hando’s Gwent, volume II, Abergavenny, Gwent: Blorenge Books, published 1989, →ISBN, page 86:

     Another Richard, the fourth earl, signed Magna Charta in 1215 and by this time their castle on Brynbuga, with its square keep, and the round towers, was well on the way to completion.

   • 1974, Thomas S[tephen] Szasz, chapter 11, in The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row, →ISBN, page 192:

     In witch-trials the conflict was officially defined as between the accused and God, or between the accused and the Catholic (later Protestant) church, as God's earthly representative. There was no attempt to make this an even match. The distribution of power between accuser and accused mirrored the relations between king and serf—one had all the power and the other none of it. Once again, we encounter the theme of domination and submission. Significantly, only in England—where, beginning in the thirteenth century with the granting of the Magna Charta, there gradually developed an appreciation of the rights and dignities of those less powerful than the king—was the fury of witch hunting mitigated by legal safe-guards and social sensibilities.

   • 2017 December 15, Howard Coop, “Encouraging Word: The foundation of freedom”, in The Advocate-Messenger, volume 152, number 145, Danville, Ky., →ISSN, →OCLC, page A4, column 1:

     Although the Bill of Rights was adopted as amendments to the constitution of the United States in 1791, the ideas in that noble document go back to England and the Magna Charta that King John was forced to accept by the powerful barons of England at Runnymede on June 15, 1215.

   • 2019 March 27, “Forest News: Happy 100th Birthday Maybeth Ormond”, in The Scott County Times, volume 83, number 2, Forest, Miss., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 16, column 3:

     The Ormond family, whose lineage traced back to the signing of the Magna Charta, included brothers Robert Fletcher, Jr. (married Bess Reynolds), Seaborn Eastland (married Bessie Howell, also of Forest), Oliver Ormond (married Maybeth Mitchell) and sister, Betty Ormond (married Dr. Courtland Prentice Gray).

Magna Charta (plural Magna Chartas)

1. Uncommon spelling of Magna Carta.
   • 1976 July 2, “High Court gives seabed to B.C.”, in Ottawa Journal, 91st year, number 173, Ottawa, Ont., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 5, column 2:

     “In terms of territorial jurisdiction, the decision of the B.C. Court of Appeal today is the most significant declaration of provincial boundaries in this province since British Columbia agreed to enter confederation,” Mr. [Garde] Gardom said. “It is really our own Magna Charta for the Strait of Georgia.”

   • 2018 November 26, Jason Sibert, “An ode to the past”, in Belleville News-Democrat, volume 161, number 330, Belleville, Ill., →ISSN, →OCLC, Letters to the Editor, page 4A, column 5:

     In 1890, the pan-American conference established an arbitration system that Secretary of State James G[illespie] Blaine hailed as the new Magna Charta.

   • 2021 December 26, John Stroman, “Singing Mary’s song of hope as we celebrate Advent”, in Tallahassee Democrat, volume 116, number 357, Tallahassee, Fla.: USA Today, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3C, column 1:

     E[li] Stanley Jones declared the Magnificat to be the Magna Charta of the Christian Church.

The spelling Magna Charta was popularized in the 18th century but never became more common despite its adoption by some reputable writers,^[1][2] possibly because it led to the word Charta being mispronounced with a “ch” sound.