Kind: captions
Language: en
Imagine accidentally encountering an
original version of one of the most
famous documents in the world, the Magna
Carta.
I thought, "Oh, heavens, this looks for
all the world like an original of the
final 1300 Magna Carta."
David Carpenter and Nicholas Vincent
comb through digital images, including
an ultraviolet light, to confirm Harvard
Law School's copy was actually an
original. And in June 2025, they had the
opportunity to see the document in
person. The researchers discovered just
the seventh known copy remaining. Signed
in England in 1215, the Magna Carta is
the first known document asserting that
the king is also subject to the rule of
law. It went through six different
versions until 1300, the last time it
was validated by a king. Back then,
scribes wrote over 30 copies to
distribute around the country. One thing
that tipped the researchers off to the
documents's authenticity was the
appearance of the handwriting. It was
remarkably similar to other confirmed
original copies from the same time
period. And upon further inspection,
they noticed a massive clue at
Westminster in the 28th year of Edward's
reign, which puts it at the place and
time, 1300, where the other known
original copies were signed. The whole
way the first line is written is very
comparable in terms of handwriting to
that seen in the other previously known
six originals but also the whole size
and shape of the charter. The next step
was to match it word for word against
the original copies. But there was an
issue.
The key problem was that the the
lettering the handwriting places was was
faded. Some of the documents text is so
faded that it's not legible to the naked
eye. And in order to confirm its
authenticity, the researchers needed to
be able to see all of the words. To
reveal the faded text, they used
different kinds of light, including
ultraviolet light and a special camera.
Like most documents of its era, the
Magna Cartis from 1300 were written on
parchment made of animal skin, which
contains collagen. When ultraviolet
light hits the parchment, it causes the
molecules in the collagen to glow.
That ink uh is is almost like a tattoo
into that animal skin. And so we would
make that animal skin glow, if you will,
and backlight that tattoo.
The ultraviolet light also revealed etch
marks left in the parchment, even where
the ink had faded. These images allowed
the researchers to finally confirm the
charter's authenticity. But in the end,
I mean, it did pass the the test with
absolutely flying colors and it matches
up pretty well exactly with the other
six originals. Harvard Law School is one
of the great centers of legal studies in
the world and therefore it's very
fitting that Harvard Law School should
have its own uh Magna Carta and I hope
it will be inspirational.
[Music]
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