Harvard Law School’s $27.50 “Copy” Magna Carta is a

A copy of the Magna Carta in the Harvard Law School library, purchased in 1946 for $27.50, has been identified as one of seven famous originals of King Edward I in 1300. This also makes it just the second original Magna Carta in the United States.

The discovery was made by David Carpenter, professor of medieval history at King’s College London. He was browsing the library’s online catalogue for an unofficial copy of Magna Carta to record a book he did when he encountered document HLS MS 172, marking an unofficial copy of 1327, which began in 1327.

The Magna Carta was first issued in 1215 to examine the power of the British monarch. A group of rebellious barons forced King John to sign it, establishing basic rights such as due process and habeas orders, a legal concept that guarantees freedom from illegal imprisonment. Later, it inspired basic legal documents, including the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Throughout the 13th century, the subsequent kings reissued Magna Carta several times, known as “Confirmation”. When I reissued the Magna Carta for 1300 years at King Edward, the clerk made “more than 30” copies to be distributed across the country, Carpenter said.

Carpenter sent the images to Nicholas Vincent, a professor of medieval history at East Anglia University, who agreed with him, which looked like a real deal.

The two professors recognized several signs: the handwriting and size of the parchment (about 19 by 19 inches) are similar to other official Magna Cartas since 1300. And, most obviously, this article states that the document was published “in the 28 years of Edward’s reign”, which dated 1,300 years. […]

After Vincent contacted Harvard, the two scholars began a process of confirming their suspicion. Carpenter sorted out six more known 1,300 confirmations and found this version very specific: the clerk had been instructed to carefully copy specific changes in the dictionary and word order at that time. This provides tests for HLS MS 127: if it is indeed 1300 confirmations, its text will need to match the others.

However, the text was too faded to be read clearly, so Harvard invited RB Toth Associates, a specialist in digital research technology, to use UV and spectral imaging to reveal invisible writing. Once Carpenter received these images, he compared them to the confirmed real text.

The scholar then set out to track the ownership history of the document, and the boy was extraordinary. Harvard University acquired it in 1946 from London book dealer Sweet & Maxwell. A year ago, the dealer bought it at Sotheby’s Auction, the hammer of World War I ace, the aerial deputy alumnus Foster “Sammy” Maynard. Maynard proved to have inherited it from the estate of the famous abolitionist Thomas Clarkson, who played a role in achieving the passage of the bill to end the British slave trade. Clarkson received it from the Barons in Lowther.

Carpenter and Vincent believe that the special official copy was sent to the former parliamentary borough in Appleby, Cumbria in 1300. It was last recorded in Appleby in 1762. They can’t be sure it left Appleby and fell into Lowther Hands.

The document is in a vulnerable state and is currently stored in a vault to protect its protection. Harvard Law School librarians plan to showcase their Magna Carta with faculty in June, but there are currently no plans to show it to the public.