Burnt Magna Carta Read for First Time in 283 Years

Preserving history...excellent!

Burnt Magna Carta Read for First Time in 283 Years
by Stephanie Pappas | October 10, 2014


Credit: British Library

More than 280 years after it was damaged in a fire, one of the original copies of the Magna Carta is legible again.

Written in 1215, the Magna Carta required the king of England — King John — to cede absolute power. Today, the Magna Carta is seen as a first step toward constitutional law rather than the hereditary power of royalty. There were four copies of the document created at the time. One, held by the British Library, was badly damaged in a fire in 1731.

Now, researchers have used a technique called multispectral imaging to decipher the text of the "Burnt Magna Carta" without touching or further damaging the delicate parchment.

The imaging is part of the preparations for the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta, when King John imprinted his royal seal on the document and was bound by oath to abide by its demands. On Feb. 3, 2015, the four copies will be displayed side-by-side at the British Library in London for the first time ever.