David Carpenter, a professor of medieval history at King’s College London recently stumbled upon an electrifying discovery. He authenticated Harvard Law School’s copy of the Magna Carta as an original version of this historic legal document. This stunning news, made public on May 15th, brings the number of known original copies to seven.
King Edward I re-confirmed the Magna Carta in 1300. This wonderful document is indeed the great cornerstone of democracy and law. Until now, only seven other original versions had been identified. Among these seven originals, only five survive completely intact, providing the Harvard manuscript all the more value as a discovery.
Discovery Process
David Carpenter’s investigation began when he accessed Harvard’s digitized manuscript collection. As he was looking through these documents, anything that jumped out and got his attention. “With great excitement I pressed the button to see the digitized image that they put up, and I just thought, ‘This looks so much like a 1300 original,’” he explained.
Carpenter was able to closely compare the Harvard copy with the other known originals. He reviewed it line by line, word for word, to make sure he got it right in his condemnation. “I did check it word by word against all the other originals,” Carpenter stated.
That is, until someone in 1945 misread and misdated Harvard Law School’s copy. This error compounded the misunderstanding and further embedded the myth that it was merely a copy. This new evaluation has turned that assumption on its head. It has helped establish the work’s status as one of the authentic work’s versions made in 1300.
Authentication Collaboration
To verify his findings, Carpenter consulted Nicholas Vincent, a fellow professor of medieval history at the University of East Anglia. Vincent recalled that upon first reading the agreement, he knew it was groundbreaking. “I think it took all of 30 milliseconds for me to reply, ‘You know what that is, and I know what that is,’” he remarked.
Collaboratively, Carpenter and Vincent worked on the over-inked and smeared areas of the manuscript which created hurdles in readable text. “At first sight, parts of it are not easy to read. It’s faded and blurred,” Carpenter noted. However, despite these difficulties, Carpenter remains “completely confident this is an original 1300 confirmation of Magna Carta.”
Historical Significance
This discovery isn’t just significant for scholars. It’s important to all Americans. It’s important for the public to understand how the Magna Carta shaped our legal systems. The inaccessible history of the document that laid the groundwork for justice and individual rights throughout American history.
The Harvard Law School’s copy will now take its place among an original set of documents in a very exclusive club. These singular works are still guiding modern navy practice legal work today. This finding not only enriches historical scholarship but reaffirms Harvard Law School’s commitment to preserving and studying pivotal texts that have shaped society.
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