Harvard University bought what it thought was a 1327 copy of the Magna Carta for $27.50 in 1946. But after hyperspectral imaging at the University of East Anglia, the document is now thought to be one of seven issued in 1300 by Edward I, also known as Longshanks. This would place it among the first batch of official reproductions and immensely valuable.
"It's easy to understand why it was mis-catalogued when it was sold ," said Nicholas Vincent, who talked to The Guardian, "It's a long time ago. Everyone in 1945 was a bit tired."
Unlike contemporary experts, the Magna Carta was not given to understatement.
Magna Carta, originally granted by King John in 1215, was the first document to put into writing the principle that the king and his government were not above the law.
Carpenter described HLS MS 172 as "one of the world's most valuable documents".
He added: "It asserts a fundamental principle that the ruler is subject to the law. He can't just say: 'Into prison, off with your head, I'm seizing your property.' If he wants to act against you, he has to do so by legal process. It's the foundation stone of the western tradition of law and democracy."
The Magna Carta was first issued in 1215 by John I, whose nickname Lackland presaged his difficulties in the office he was fortunate to inherit—and led to the charter that established limits on monarchical authority. There were only four surviving originals made then, all remaining in England: two in the British Library (one damaged by an 18th-century fire), one in Salisbury cathedral, and one at Lincoln castle.
Though Magna Carta gets all the fame for establishing the rule of law and restraining Kings and Queens, its in the 1217 sequel where the best rights are found: the Forest Charter.
"Henceforth every freeman, in his wood or on his land that he has in the forest, may with impunity make a mill, fish-preserve, pond, marl-pit, ditch, or arable in cultivated land outside coverts, provided that no injury is thereby given to any neighbour."
