Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy

Fascinating exhibition at the British Library looking at Magna Carta, 800 years after it was issued, focusing on how and why it was written and the effect it has had since around the world.

I studied medieval history both at A Level and university so the first section of exhibition was like meeting old friends I’d forgotten about long ago! The range of material the curators had managed to bring together was stunning from a 1213-14 pipe roll with the earliest depiction of Beckett’s death, Mathew Paris’s map of Britain even the slippers of King John’s first Archbishop of Canterbury.

I found the section on King John and Magna Carta itself most interesting and was amazed to see early drafts of it and to be reminded that it was actually annulled by the Pope within weeks of being issued. It was a nice touch to include a facsimile of John’s tomb and fun, but grizzly to also have his teeth!

The later sections on how the Magna Carta was used were also really interesting including its use during the Civil War period by Sir Edward Coke, its influence on the American Declaration of Independence (nice touch to have brought over Jefferson’s handwritten copy) and its use to challenge the authority of Parliament in the 18th century by people like the Chartists.

It was a nice touch to keep the two copies of the actual document till the end but by then you almost didn’t need to see it as you realised its importance far outweighed the paper (OK vellum) it was written on. Equally though, it was good to be reminded that all these movements and ideas had been based on a group of words laid down 800 years ago.

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