Spectral imaging expert Bill Christens-Barry and Debora Mayor of the Weissman Preservation Centre Prepare HLS MS172 for imaging. Image Credit: Harvard Law Today
Harvard Law School bought a stained and faded parchment in 1946 for just $27.50, believing it was an ordinary later copy of the Magna Carta. The document was catalogued as dating from 1327 and remained in the library for decades. Nearly 80 years later, medieval historians examining a digital image noticed that something about it did not fit that description. Further research and specialist imaging eventually showed that the parchment was an original version issued by King Edward I in 1300, making it one of only seven surviving copies of that edition. The document, identified as HLS MS 172, had long been treated as an unremarkable copy. Harvard Law School’s records show that the library bought it in 1946 for $27.50 after it had been sold through a London book dealer. The auction catalogue described it as a copy made in 1327 that was somewhat rubbed and damp-stained, a description that helped keep its true age hidden for generations. Smithsonian Magazine reported that the London dealer Sweet & Maxwell had bought the parchment at Sotheby’s for £42 only about a month before Harvard acquired it. Harvard Law School reported that the document’s dimensions matched those of the 6 previously known originals from 1300. Before Harvard’s discovery, six original copies from the 1300 issue were known.
The identification of HLS MS 172 therefore increased that number to 7. Any significant difference could therefore have raised doubts about the Harvard parchment. ABC News reported that library staff had continued to regard it as a cheap copy even while it was on display. Harvard Law School reported that the seven documents were examined alongside one another and that the clerks who produced them had been instructed to follow a prepared text closely.
Harvard Law School said the document is now recognised as one of only seven surviving originals from that particular issue. It was part of Harvard Law School Library’s collection of historic documents and had even been placed on display. Digital images were also available online, meaning the document was not completely hidden from researchers. Its significance, however, remained unnoticed until a medieval historian happened to examine those images. Magna Carta scholar David Carpenter of King’s College London examines the digitised document. Its handwriting also showed distinctive features, including a large capital E at the beginning of Edwardus and elongated letters in the opening line. Those details were consistent with the other surviving originals. Carpenter and Vincent did not rely simply on its appearance. They compared the text against the other originals and found that it matched the authorised wording.
Image Credit: Isobel Sheeran, King’s College London/Harvard Law Today The researchers had several clues to examine.
David Carpenter, a professor of medieval history at King’s College London, was studying digitised Magna Carta material in December 2023 when he came across HLS MS 172 on Harvard’s website. The handwriting, layout and overall appearance immediately suggested to him that the parchment could be an original from 1300 rather than the later copy recorded in the catalogue. He then contacted Nicholas Vincent, a medieval historian at the University of East Anglia, to help investigate.