CNN
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According to New Research, a “copy” of Magna Carta, purchased decades ago by Harvard Law School for just $27.50, is purchased for just $27.50 for just $27.50.
British historians were able to verify the true authenticity of the document after the academic stumbled across items while watching the Harvard Law School’s online archives.
“I was just working at home… I searched for an unofficial copy of Magna Carta and found quite a few of them,” David Carpenter, a professor of medieval history of King’s College London, told CNN on Thursday, recounting the moment he made his discovery.
“I finally came to Harvard Law School manuscript number 172 and clicked on it, hoping to see the book on the law.
Shocked by his discovery, the academic said he immediately contacted Nicholas Vincent, a professor of medieval history at the University of East Anglia, and fellow “magna carta critics.”
“I said, ‘This is what I think it is?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I think so too,'” Carpenter said.
Magna Carta (the Great Charter) is often considered a declaration of human rights that is believed to have enacted human rights in British law.
According to the British Parliament website, the Charter was “the first to decide to write the principle that the King and his government did not exceed the law.”
Today it is respected all over the world, as a document that established the principle that everyone, including the monarch, is subject to the rule of law.
“He (the king) could not say, ‘With your head, I will enter prison, and I will hold your property.’ If he wanted to act against you, he had to do so through legitimate legal proceedings,” Carpenter said.
Scholars believe the Harvard Papers are one of only seven of King Edward 1300 of Magna Carta, who are still surviving.
Amanda Watson, assistant dean of library services at Harvard Law School, congratulated the British scholar on his work on “great discoveries.” She added that the new research “exemplifies what happens when a grand collection like the Harvard Law Library opens to great scholars.”
Harvard Law School Library purchased the document in 1946 at an auction from London’s book dealer Sweet & Maxwell. The auction catalog described the manuscript as “copying…made in 1327…it was slightly rubbed and damp,” the press release said of the findings. The London book dealer owned it for a short time. Purchased from World War I pilot Air Deputy Marshall Maynard.
“The source of this document is fantastic,” Vincent said in a press release. “Where it is, given the current issue of freedom, and given the sense of American constitutional tradition, we could not invent a better source than this.”
Carpenter said several Tell-Tale Signs first placed the credibility of the document. This includes the handwritten style at the beginning of the first line representing “Edwardus” and the large “E”.
The dimensions of the document, at 48.9 cm (19.3 inches) and 47.3 cm (18.6 inches), also matched those found in six known originals previously.
Carpenter then used ultraviolet rays and other images provided by Harvard Law School to “match” the text from the new document to other originals.
“It convinced me that it was really authentic,” Carpenter added.
So, what will happen to the document now?
Both scholars are scheduled to visit Harvard in June. This is a celebration of the discovery of medieval documents. Carpenter then believes it will be published as “one of the crown jewels” in Harvard’s collection.