In 1946 , Harvard buy what they believe to be a crummy copy of Magna Carta for $ 25.70 . It turn out to be a screaming plenty , because the document is actually a rare early fourteenth - century edition estimated to be worth gazillion .
The document was forget in the Harvard Law School Library ’s archive until 2023 , when David Carpenter , professor of medieval history at King ’s College London , identified it while perusing the subroutine library ’s web site .
In astatementfrom Harvard Law School , Carpenter described the document as “ a remarkable will to a fundamental stage in England ’s political developing ” and as “ one of the mankind ’s most valuable text file . ”
A segment of the 1300 copy of the Magna Carta.© Harvard Law School
Carpenter was studying unofficial copy of Magna Carta when he made a surprising find . Labeled as HLS MS 172 in Harvard Law School Library ’s digital archive , the written document was described as a transcript of the 1327Magna Carta“somewhat scratch and damp - stained . ”
Carpenter immediately realized that the say copy might actually be an prescribed copy . He engage the help of Nicholas Vincent , a professor of mediaeval cogitation at the University of East Anglia , to verify the text file ’s authenticity . The researcher used images claim by Harvard librarians with ultraviolet light and spectral imaging to compare the text of HLS MS 172 with other original copies of Magna Carta from 1300 .
Carpenter and Vincent ’s research revealed that HLS MS 172 ’s dimensions were consistent with those found in the original copies . The handwriting was also exchangeable , with the expectant capital ‘ east ’ at the showtime in ‘ Edwardus ’ and the stretch missive in the first line .
Magna Carta , originally penned by King John in 1215 , was the first document to put into writing the rule that sovereign were not above the law . It is wide consider to be a foundational symbol of indecorum and one of the earliest declaration of human right field . The document has influenced many constitutions , include that of the United States .
And as far as official transcript of Magna Carta go , the rediscovered document is particularly special . Five other editions were compose after the original in 1215 . HLS MS 172 is a copy of the last variant to be authorized with the king ’s sealskin by King Edward I , in 1300 . There are only six other official copies of the 1300 rendering known to still be in existence .
Its breakthrough is especially affecting as Harvard faces funding cuts and intense political force per unit area . “ The provenance of this document is just wondrous . Given where it is , given present job over liberties , over the gumption of constitutional tradition in America , you could n’t invent a provenance that was more wonderful than this , ” Carpenter articulate in a statement .
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