Oxford’s Bodleian, one of the oldest libraries in Europe, holds three of the surviving manuscripts of the 1217 Charters, the new and improved versions of the original Magna Carta. Issued during the reign of the Henry III when he was only 9 years old, they bear the seal of his appointed guardians – the regents of the boy king, William Marshal and the Papal Legate to England, Guala Bicchieri. The great seal of Henry III was finally attached to an even later edition of the Magna Carta – the 1225 Charter of the Forest.
Featured Article
Sir Robert Worcester
Chairman, Magna Carta Committee
Today is the very anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta, that great charter which laid down the basis for English common law, now spread throughout the world. Magna Carta gave protection of law against despotism by...
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