Harvard's 'cheap' copy of the Magna Carta turned out be from 1300

Harvard University for decades assumed it had a cheap copy of the Magna Carta, a stained and faded document it had purchased for less than $30. It turned out to be extremely rare.

BOSTON — Harvard University for decades assumed it had a cheap copy of the Magna Carta in its collection, a stained and faded document it had purchased for less than $30.

But two researchers have concluded it has something much more valuable — a rare version from 1300 issued by Britain’s King Edward I.

The original Magna Carta established in 1215 the principle that the king is subject to law, and it has formed the basis of constitutions globally. There are four copies of the original and, until now, there were believed to be only six copies of the 1300 version.

“My reaction was one of amazement and, in a way, awe that I should have managed to find a previously unknown Magna Carta,” said David Carpenter, a professor of medieval history at King’s College London. He was searching the Harvard Law School Library website in December 2023 when he found the digitized document.

This photo shows a rare copy of the Magna Carta from 1300 sitting in a display case on April 15, 2025, at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass.Lorin Granger/Harvard Law School / AP Photo“First, I’d found one of the most rare documents and most significant documents in world constitutional history,” Carpenter said. “But secondly, of course, it was astonishment that Harvard had been sitting on it for all these years without realizing what it was.”