Lorin Granger / University of East Anglia
David Carpenter, historian of King’s College London, examines the “copy” of the Magna Carta
Harvard University bought in 1946 for less than 30 dollars, a “copy” of Magna Carta – which would reveal to be an 800 -year -old genuine manuscript of the “most famous document in world history.”
In the spring of 2024, two British historians were navigating the online catalog of the Harvard University Library when Something made them stop.
On the screen was an aged scroll, with the label “HLS MS 172”, Which for a long time the librarians believed to be a Homemade Copy of Magna Carta.
But when David Carpenterhistorian of King’s College of London, and Nicholas Vincentfrom the University of East Anglia, studied the lines and letters of the document, saw something in which few had noticed. What they were seeing It was not a mere reproduction – but an original.
It was now confirmed that the document is one of the seven surviving originals who know each other 1300 edition of Magna Carta do King Eduardo I.
The discovery puts the Harvard Law School manuscript, long forgotten, among the rarest artifacts in history.
“This is a fantastic discovery”Says Carpenter.“ The magna card deserves to be celebrated, not as a mere copy, stained and faded, but as an original of one of the most significant documents in history world constitutional, a cornerstone of past freedomspresent and yet to conquer ”.
The two historians discovered while surfing the internet from the United Kingdom. They had been in libraries around the world to study unofficial copies of Magna Carta. But When they saw the “HLS MS 172” labelsuspected that it could be an original medieval manuscript.
To confirm, they asked ultraviolet and multispectral images to the Harvard librarians, who sent them a series of advanced exams. Under these analyzes, the ink and the fibers of HLS MS 172 revealed their history.
Carpenter compared the text with some of the originals that had survived to our day. Repaired then on “E” big and in loop in the first line (“Edwardus”) and in Scroll size: 489 by 473 mmconsistent with the other six known originals of 1300.
All the characteristics of the document were right: Calligraphy, scroll dimensions and textual fidelity coincided exactly with the other six known originals.
After, The decisive test came.
In 1300, the real clerks had issued a new standard version of the text of the Magna Carta. If the Harvard manuscript diverged from this version, it would probably be a fake or posterior copy. However, the words of the manuscript coincided exactly with the official version of 1300.
For the document to be considered authentic, the text had to be correct, says Carpenter. “And this one passed the test with distinction”Says the historian in the University of East Anglia.
A curious finding
This raises another question. How A real letter crossed an ocean And ended up in the library of a law school? Researchers discovered their origin in Appleby, an old parliamentary neighborhood in the English Lake District.
Issued to the city in 1300, the document followed a tortuous waypassing through the hands of the British abolitionist Thomas Clarksonuntil reaching Forster “Sammy” Maynardfamous Aviator pilot and commander of the Royal Air Force during World War II, which eventually auctioned the document.
In 1945, the manuscript was sold by Sotheby’s to the Londrina Sweet & Maxwell bookstore, which specialized in law books, who sold him to Harvard Law School the following year – for only $ 27.50about 25 euros – which would be worth something like 400 euros today.
The auction listing described it as a “copy made in 1327 a little rubbed and moistureAnd Harvard’s jurists never gave him great importance.
Until now.
The Magna Carta, originally issued in 1215 by King John, has long been revered as a Fundamental symbol of freedom and the rule of lawnote or.
Although the original letter was mostly feudal complaints, its legacy evolved. You principles that consecratedlimiting the real power, guaranteeing fair judgments and establishing the idea that No one is above the law “Not even the king,” they echoed over the centuries.
The document helped shape the US constitution and inspired the Declaration of Independence. Is cited both in decisions of the Supreme TribuneL as in political speeches.
“It is a symbol of freedom”Says Nicholas Vincent.“ If we ask someone What is the most famous document in history From the world, they would probably cite the Magna Carta. ”
“The provenance of this document is simply fantastic,” adds the historian. “Given the current problems related to freedoms and the meaning of the Constitutional tradition in Americaone could not invent a more wonderful provenance than this. ”
