Losing the Magna Carta
In some sad news from a couple weeks ago, the 13th-century copy of the Magna Carta, which has been on display at the National Archives for over 20 years was quickly removed from public display just three days after its owner, the Perot Foundation, announced that it would sell the rare document at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.
On loan to the Archives since 1984, this copy is from the year 1297, a time when King Edward I was on the British throne.
After receiving the document on loan, the Archives sent it on a 3-year national tour, before becoming a 20-year fixture. It was displayed in the same hall as the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and The Bill of Rights.
Copies of charter are considered to be the most famous documents in the world, and the essential document of English law that provided rights and personal freedoms. It inspired the Founding Fathers, providing that citizens could not be imprisoned or deprived of property without due process, as well as granting the right to a speedy trial before a jury.
There are less than 20 copies of the document and only two outside of Great Britain, the other residing in Australia.
The estimate proceeds from the document’s auction in December are in the $20-$30 million range.
With luck, the new buyer will return the document back to the Archives after it is sold.
Images – Magna Carta – Flickr, Archives – personal collection
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7 Comments
Jon,
Interesting one this, as a Brit, I thought there were only 4 copies of the document. Two in the British library, and two in cathedrals in the UK. As it was signed in 1215, I’m surprised they were making copies of it at the tail end of the 13th century – everyone must have been dead!
Incidentally http://www.bl.uk/treasures/magnacarta/magna.html allows you to view in close up one of the originals – how’s your latin?
Geoff
Took 2 years in high school, and remember virtually nothing. Except “Semper ubi sub ubi.” Roughly translates to “always where underwhere”. Or as we translated it – Always wear underwear.
I’m glad that I had the opportunity to see the Magna Carta last year.
Hopefully, it will be back.
[...] some great historical news, the Magna Carta, which had been on display until last October at the The National Archives, will be returning as a [...]
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