In brief
Harvard Law School's library holds an original 1300 version of the Magna Carta, thought to be a copy, discovered by British academics.
In a surprising twist of scholarly discovery, a document housed in Harvard Law School's library since 1946 has been identified as an original version of the Magna Carta, dating back to 1300. Acquired for a mere $27.50 after World War II, this manuscript had been overlooked for decades, until two British historians stumbled upon its significance. David Carpenter, a medieval history expert from King's College London, serendipitously encountered the manuscript, prompting further investigation. The text, which plays a pivotal role in the establishment of legal rights, joins a rare group of only seven original documents remaining from that era. The remarkable realization of its authenticity was affirmed through advanced imaging techniques, allowing researchers to analyze the manuscript in ways that the naked eye could not detect. Nicholas Vincent, a fellow historian from the University of East Anglia, assisted in the authentication process, emphasizing the document's timely emergence amid ongoing discussions regarding the rule of law and governance.While the exact market value of this historical find remains uncertain, it is clear that the document’s acquisition price seems astonishingly low, especially when juxtaposed with the $21.3 million price tag on another Magna Carta sold in 2007.
