A lot of the clauses within the Magna Carta explain detailed scenarios for when it is and isn't okay to tax a person. Some of them are really similar to one another, with just minor differences, like when a person dies with or without a will, and when an heir is underage or not.

The barons had two reasons for going into a lot of repetitive detail with these scenarios.

First, some of them are based on actual situations. These barons were real people who all tangled with the King or his tax collectors at some point, so some of the clauses are things that actually happened. They don't get all personal or spill their life story—this isn't a daytime talk show—but they did make sure to include what happened to them so that it wouldn't happen again.

Second, the barons are trying to think of every taxable situation before King John does. This guy was known for his devious tax tricks and they want to get ahead of him. The reasoning went: if they didn't think of everything, then he'd just make up a bunch of new taxes and they'd have to come back later for Magna Carta Part Two.

The barons are trying to be really thorough, and they don't really care how long that makes everything…or how unorganized it all becomes.