Magna Carta: Manuscripts and Myths

Citation

James, S. (2003), "Magna Carta: Manuscripts and Myths", Library Review, Vol. 52 No. 2, pp. 91-91. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530310462215

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land.

There is a tendency, continued in this excellent little book, to ensure that Magna Carta is put in its correct historical context and that its significance in legal, constitutional and social terms is not overestimated. True enough, but those are words which have an uncanny echo in today’s uncertain times, and have echoed down the ages. Magna Carta is, despite all the scholarly caveats, widely recognized as a milestone in history; the document itself therefore is one of the major treasures of the British Library. In common with other treasures it has been regularly covered in explanatory handbooks over the years (I have no intention of revealing how long ago my mother bought me a copy of such a booklet on my first visit to the British Museum as a ten‐year‐old) and this latest sets the work both in its thirteenth century context and the context of our interpretation and understanding almost eight centuries later.

As one would expect, an attractively illustrated booklet covers its subject clearly yet pretty thoroughly. Colour illustrations and maps enliven a clear text which explains the background (King John at War, his feudal standing, his relations with the church, the disputes with the barons: the common man was incidental to the freedoms and wealth of the powerful – so what’s new?) and uses “fact boxes” to fill in some mainly biographical detail of various protagonists. The physical documents themselves are also discussed – as ever the history of particular copies has its own stories and fascination. Finally, the entire text is translated into modern English, as quoted above (and with one unfortunate typo in para. 40 where “sell” becomes “well” – obvious to many, but a source of potential confusion for the uninitiated).

Collecting comes first, followed by preservation, but once these basic requirements are met, explanation and display take over: as with so many of their booklets over the years, this latest issue from the British Library explains clearly in everyday terms why this visually unprepossessing piece of legal text is in fact one of the nation’s treasures.