"A great deal has been written about the Charter and the last word has not yet been said. No single state document has had more influence on the course of history and its influence is even now not spent. It is the forerunner of the great constructive statutes of the thirteenth century, the first detailed review of necessary reforms. It points the way to the new age, to a kingship controlled not by fear of revolt but by acceptance of the restraint of law. To John it seemed that in making such promises he made himself a slave, and indeed the Charter marks the first long step towards the constitutional kingship of a far later day. No medieval king was ever allowed to forget that his predecessor had granted the Charter to his subjects. Every king in turn confirmed it until the days when the middle ages ended in confusion and an autocrat was needed to re-order the land."