Magna Carta at Harvard Law: A new discovery, a rich history

Magna Carta has formed the basis of constitutions around the world: It was influential in the founding of the United States, from the Declaration of Independence to the framing of the U.S. Constitution and the subsequent adoption of the Bill of Rights.

The Harvard Law School Library maintains a collection of close to 30 manuscript copies of Magna Carta. Among those is a manuscript known as HLS MS 172, acquired by the Harvard Law School Library in the 1940s and believed, until recently, to be a “sheriff’s copy” until it was determined by two British researchers to be an original from 1300 — just one of seven from King Edward I’s 1300 issue of Magna Carta that still survive.

As we mark this discovery, Harvard Law Today offers a closer look.

A new finding, a fresh perspective

British researchers have discovered that a ‘copy’ of Magna Carta owned by Harvard Law School is in fact an extraordinarily rare original from 1300. Learn more about how this discovery unfolded, and hear from Amanda Watson, assistant dean for Library and Information Services at Harvard Law School, on this and other digitization efforts at Harvard.

More than a ‘curiosity’

Harvard Law School Library’s Amanda Watson and Jonathan Zittrain ’95, along with Magna Carta scholars David Carpenter (King’s College London) and Nicholas Vincent (University of East Anglia), discuss the discovery of HLS MS 172, the significance of its new identification as an original, and what it means for legal scholarship.

The ‘myth’ of Magna Carta

In a 2015 article in the Harvard Gazette, on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of its signing by King John of England, Medieval Law scholar Elizabeth Papp Kamali ’07 explained how views have evolved, and split, on Magna Carta throughout the years.

Magna, cum laude

As the world marked Magna Carta’s octocentenary, the Harvard Law Bulletin in its Spring 2015 issue delved into the history of the foundational document and took a look at Harvard Law’s substantial collection.