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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