Society of Antiquaries of London - Magna Carta Through the Ages

Magna Carta Through the Ages is an exhibition at the Society of Antiquaries of London held on 26 May to 31 July 2015. Conservations work were done on the 1215 draft and 1225 reissue of the Magna Carta by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Art Conservation Project, which is shown in this exhibition. The exhibition showcases three lots of Magna Carta and its reiterations, giving the history behind them.

Magna Carta Through the Ages

In January 1215, key members of the Baronial Elites demanded the reissue of the Coronation Charter that was created by Henry I which aimed to “abolish evil customs by which the kingdom of England has been unjustly oppressed”. King John at the time tried to find a leeway so said to them that he would make a decision on “Law Sunday” on 26 April (first Monday after Easter). King John and those that opposed him approached Pope Innocent to seek support from the Pope. The Pope, however, got behind King John which caused a rift between the King and Barons.

On 5 May 1215, the Barons performed the ceremony of diffidatio thus cutting ties with the king. A siege of sorts occurred when the citizens of London open the gates to the Barons with the latter declaring that they will not make peace until both parties came to an agreement. King John finding no way out agreed to the reissue of the charter.

In May 1215, the Barons were no longer happy with the reissue as well as growing demands wanted charters to be created for the Barons. Their demands were recorded first in the Unknown Charter (mid-late May) and the Articles of the Barons (10 June). In them, further changes were made with particular grievances addressed such as service in the King’s army in Poitou and raising of the war tax (also known as scutage). They Barons wanted to limit the King’s power so that he can rule accordingly to the law so the security clause was introduced (C. 49 in Articles of the Barons and C. 61 in the Magna Carta). The clause states that the King must follow the terms of the agreement even if he is reluctant to do so. Final terms of agreement were done during, what was known as Runnymede, which ran from 15 to 19 June.

The Black Book of Peterborough

A discarded draft of the Magna Carta was sent to Peterborough Abbey. The text was reproduced to become the Cartulary, which also contained information relating to the Abbey’s land. Upon the dissolution of the monasteries in 1538, a lot of the land was seized by ther King. Some of the land was given to William Cecil, who also obtained the Black Book of Peterborough, and some others were given to Baron Burley, who established the fist most famous and politically influential dynasty.

In 1778, Brownlow Cecil, ninth Earl of Exeter, donated the Black Book of Peterborough to the Society of Antiquaries of London as well as the English translation of the book. The Black Book has remained with the society ever since then. The society expressed the gratitude for his generosity saying Cecil “expressed their most respectful acknowledgements and thanks to his Lordship for his very curious and valuable present.

The Great Seal of the Magna Carta

King John did not sign any of the Charters, instead authrorised his Chancellor to mark it with the Great Seal so as to officiate the documents. 1 of 4 1215 Magna Carta with the Great Seal survived but was horrendously damaged in a fire in 1731.

In 1733, John Pine engraved the writing of the original Magna Carta in a readable format so that the text itself was preserved. He created a depiction of the seal and recreated the 25 coats of arms of King John’s Batons which encased the text. This was obtained by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1842. The exhibition only contained later copies so they would not have been stamped.

Halesowen Abbey Scroll

The 1215 Magna Carta was almost annulled by the Pope but a reissue by the minority government of King John’s son Henry III in 1216 and 1217. In 1225, Henry III come of age and was able to issue a definitive Magna Carta. He issued a contemporary which is believed to have come from the Halesowen Abbey. It became a companion to the 1217 Magna Carta which included the Charter of the Forest which included the government of royal forests. The Halesowen Abbey was founded by Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, who formed the early foundation for the basis of Henry III. The monks created their own Magna Carta which could be somehow connected to Henry III’s connection to the Bishop.

In 1558, the scroll was acquired by the Lyttelton family. Bishop Charles Lyttelton was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and became president in 1765 until death. He left the scroll to the society upon his death.

A Debate between Fellows

William Blackstone, who was a lawyer, wrote The Great Charter and Charter of the Forest which differentiated all the different Magna Cartas. This eventually led to his recommendation for election as a Fellow of the Society and his recommendation said that he was “particularly skilful in the legal and historical Antiquaries of our country”.

Bishop Lyttelton allowed Blackstone to view the Halesowen Abbey Scroll and then his private collection. Their relationship was not always rosy as Blackstone accused the scroll as not of the original. In January 1761, he wrote a paper defending his decision.

In 1762, he was elected as a Fellow of the society and yet again presented a paper that the scroll was not the original saying he had “decisive proof, or at least a violent presumption, that this Roll never passed the Great Seal”.

The Hart Book of Statutes

The 14th century volume is a collection of statutes of written laws brought together by the country’s legislative body but it is not known who commissioned this piece. It was compiled for use by the lawyers and administrator. Henry III’s 1225 Magna Carta and Charter of the Forest is incorporated in the Hart Book of Statutes showing the importance and how accepted the Charter was. It was exhibited and presented by Wulliam Henry Hart to the Society on 6 March 1862.

Presented on the side of the book are two examples of 16th Century printed editions of the Magna Carta. One from 1508, which is the first printed edition of the Magna Carta created by Richard Pynson and is possibly donated by John Bruce. The other is of Richard Pynson’s rival Robert Redman who created the first English translated edition of the Magna Carta with the copy in the exhibition possibly donated by Dr Edwin Freshfield.

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