Guards everywhere, in a room stuffed with extravagant and finely decorated books and manuscripts. These are not why the guards are here though. Under the limelight lie 4 grubby, old pages: the purpose of such a high level of security. For the first time ever, these 4 pages, the four last copies of the Magna Carta, precursor to the Constitution, are together. The copies were moved to the British Library under close Conservator guard and a shroud of secrecy. This type of treatment is not new for such valuable manuscripts, with one of them being held in Fort Knox since 1939 with the outbreak of the Second World War. The Magna Carta is held with reverence as the first document to limit the power of the King himself, with it's most famous clause issuing that the King is subject to the rule of law, and is studied in almost all Democratic countries as a powerful symbol of that system. Scholars and experts will have time to examine the copies side by side before the official opening, comparing the different copies with one another. Many, however, have been through some ordeals, such as being partially burned in a fire, hidden under a bed for years, or almost being cut to shreds by a tailor, however, though they are unimpressive at first glance, Justin Champion Proffessor of History at Holloway University insists "It is much more than that. [It's] not just an artifact [but[ an idea--and as we know ideas are a much more dangerous thing."
The Magna Carta is one of the most important non-American pieces of Literature in our history, lying the foundations created during the Glorious Revolution, and setting the underpinnings for the American Constitution and way of thinking today, such as no ruler with absolute power, and the idea of everyone being subject to the same set of laws. These documents are undoubtedly not just a great part of English history, but a great part of the history of Democracy as a whole, a subject near and dear to the collective American heart.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/02/europe/four-magna-carta-copies-united/index.html
This is wonderful that these copies of relating texts have been reunited! This really acts as a monumental script that represents our nation's founding philosophy.. This also reminds me of the efforts in collecting the Hebrew Codex, the Haggadah, as talked about in 'People of the Book' by Geraldine Brooks.. Such a wonderful book! And although scripts found that represent the founding of a religion do not exactly correlate to documents in the founding of a nation, the importance of both remains evident.
ReplyDelete- Sophia Davison