Rare Copy Of The Magna Carta On Display In Texas
A rarely seen copy of the Magna Carta has reportedly left England for the first time and made its way all the way to Texas to be a part of an exhibit that opens this week. According to KOSA, it will only be on display at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences for six months before it will be returned to England in time for its 800th anniversary celebration.
Glyn Morgan, chief executive the Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust accompanied the document on its trip across the pond. “A very historic flight for us, and the cathedral and the document,” Morgan said according to ABC News.
The Magna Carta was first issued on June 15, 1215, by England’s King John in Runnymeade. Reports state that the document was originally designed to prevent civil war by “granting rebellious barons certain freedoms, including three that are enshrined in American government: an acknowledgement that taxes cannot be arbitrary, that free men cannot be imprisoned without first being judged by their peers or the law and that justice cannot be denied or delayed.”
According to ABC News, while scribes were hand-writing the Magna Carta in Latin, “the king sent sheriffs and constables advance notice — or a writ — telling them to expect new royal orders.” While originally, there were multiple copies of the documents, the only known copy left is now owned by the Hereford Cathedral.
Reports state that it has taken months to prepare for the arrival of the Manga Carta. The text must travel with special caretakers that have very specific instructions on how to handle it during its trip to the United States and for the duration of its stay.
Chris Woods, director of the National Conservation Service told reporters that the document’s caretakers must make sure that the Magna Carta isn’t exposed to great amounts of light (especially ultraviolet rays) and or excessive amounts of humidity. According to ABC News, after the Magna Carta arrived in Houston on February 3, Woods, Morgan and museum curators “spent hours calculating the level of ultraviolet rays, trying to get as close to zero as possible.” They also placed a silica gel in a cavity below the document’s case, which will help regulate the humidity around the document to prevent the parchment from wrinkling.
“Museum curators will check a sensor inside the case to ensure conditions don’t change, and the room’s temperature will be no warmer than 71.6 degrees Fahrenheit. A separate monitor will feed data to Woods’ computer to become part of the permanent record keeping.”
Wood’s told reporters that he will be checking the conditions of the Magna Carta daily to ensure the proper conditions are maintained. Because the data will feed directly to Wood’s computer, he will be able to return to England after the exhibit officially opens.
