Kicker: Harvard's $27 find | WORLD
Logo
Sound journalism, grounded in facts and Biblical truth | Donate

Kicker: Harvard's $27 find

0:00

WORLD Radio - Kicker: Harvard's $27 find

Once dismissed as a copy, the document turns out to be a rare 810-year-old original


A copy of the Magna Carta sits in a display case at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass. Associated Press / Lorin Granger / Harvard Law School

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: A priceless treasure’s been hiding in plain sight—at Harvard Law School, of all places!

Back in 1946, Harvard bought what it thought was a faded copy of the Magna Carta for $27.50. But recently, medieval historian David Carpenter of King’s College London spotted something unusual and told CNN:

CARPENTER: I hardly believed my eyes—it seemed to me an absolutely stone-cold, sober original of the 1300 Magna Carta.

Yeah, that “copy” turned out to be one of just seven surviving originals from King Edward I’s reign 810 years ago!

Magna Carta of course laid the groundwork for constitutional law, the first formal assertion that even kings have to obey the laws.

CARPENTER: And I think it’s absolutely right Harvard Law School should have its own original of Magna Carta

Harvard has one of the world’s most important legal documents, for less than the price of a parking ticket!

It’s The World and Everything in It.


WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.

COMMENT BELOW

Please wait while we load the latest comments...

Comments