The timing is impeccable. On the heels of the beginning of the festivities celebrating the 800 year anniversary of the Magna Carta, in which all four surviving copies of the original edition of 1215 edition will be displayed together for the first time, word comes that another early copy has been discovered! The four surviving copies of the Magna Carta being prepared for display at the British Library. Photograph: Clare Kendall/British Library/PA Unearthed at the Council Archives for the town of Sandwich the copy was found when researchers happened upon it while looking for a copy of the town's original Charter of...
Coming Soon: The four surviving copies of the Magna Carta will be under one roof
In many respects it is the document that laid the seeds for the western world as we know it. It is where the pursuit of liberty and the rule of law make their first appearance in print. Some highlights of the Charter: - It was the first document forced onto a King of England by a group of his subjects, the feudal barons, in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges. - The charter required King John of England to proclaim certain liberties and accept that his will was not arbitrary. - It was an...