In 1946, Harvard purchased what they believed to be a cheap copy of Magna Carta for $25.70. It turned out to be a screaming deal, because the document is actually a rare early 14th-century edition estimated to be worth millions.
The document was buried in the Harvard Law School Library’s archives until 2023, when David Carpenter, professor of medieval history at King’s College London, identified it while perusing the library’s website.
In a statement from Harvard Law School, Carpenter described the document as “a remarkable testament to a fundamental stage in England’s political development” and as “one of the world’s most valuable documents.”
Carpenter was studying unofficial copies of Magna Carta when he made a surprising discovery. Labeled as HLS MS 172 in Harvard Law School Library’s digital archives, the document was described as a copy of the 1327 Magna Carta “somewhat rubbed and damp-stained.”
Carpenter immediately realized that the alleged copy might actually be an official copy. He enlisted the help of Nicholas Vincent, a professor of medieval studies at the University of East Anglia, to verify the document’s authenticity. The researchers used images taken 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 similar, with the large capital ‘E’ at the start in ‘Edwardus’ and the elongated letters in the first line.
Magna Carta, originally penned by King John in 1215, was the first document to put into writing the principle that monarchs were not above the law. It is widely considered to be a foundational symbol of liberty and one of the earliest declarations of human rights. The document has influenced many constitutions, including that of the United States.
And as far as official copies of Magna Carta go, the rediscovered document is particularly special. Five other editions were written after the original in 1215. HLS MS 172 is a copy of the last edition to be authorized with the king’s seal by King Edward I, in 1300. There are only six other official copies of the 1300 version known to still be in existence.
Its discovery is especially poignant as Harvard faces funding cuts and intense political pressure. “The provenance of this document is just fantastic. Given where it is, given present problems over liberties, over the sense of constitutional tradition in America, you couldn’t invent a provenance that was more wonderful than this,” Carpenter said in a statement.
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