What did clause 39 of the Magna Carta say about arrest and imprisonment?

Clause 39 of the 1215 Magna Carta is a foundational text in the history of due process and jurisprudence. It states:

No free man shall be arrested or imprisoned or disseised or outlawed or exiled or in any way victimised, neither will we attack him or send anyone to attack him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.1

This provision established the principle that the government is limited by the law and cannot arbitrarily deprive individuals of their liberty or property. By requiring the lawful judgment of peers or the established law of the land, it set a critical precedent for protecting subjects against state oppression, influencing later legal milestones such as the Habeas Corpus Act and the Constitution of the United States of America.1