Magna Carta first put into writing the principle that the king and his government were not above the law.

• A. That the king's authority is absolute.
• B. That the king and government are not above the law.
• C. That the divine right of kings must be upheld.
• D. That the monarch may levy taxes without consent.

Answer: (B)

The main idea being tested is that government power must follow the law—the ruler is not above legal limits. Magna Carta, signed in 1215, put this into practice by tying the king’s actions to legal procedures and protections. It established that the king’s officers could not punish or seize people without lawful process, and it introduced the notion that certain rights and judgments must be grounded in the law of the land rather than the ruler’s whim. In this way, it set the precedent that even the king is bound by law, a radical shift away from unlimited royal authority.

That’s why the answer describing the king and government not being above the law is the best fit. The other ideas—absolute authority, divine right, or taxes levied without consent—describe powers or beliefs Magna Carta was limiting or opposing, not the principle it first asserted.