Looking forward to a holiday in England. Where is the best place to see a copy of the Magna Carta? I understand the original no longer exists.
You can see one at Salisbury Cathedral, which is well worth a visit in any case. I recommend the tower tour.
There are four contemporaneous copies known to be in existence.
One is at Salisbury Cathedral as described above, and two can be seen at the British Library. The fourth copy is normally available for viewing at Lincoln Cathedral, although it is occasionally relocated for display at Lincoln Castle.
Another vote for Salisbury. IIRC, it’s the best copy still in existence anyway. I can at least vouch that it’s in better condition than the one (ETA after seeing the above comment: or the other one, also) in the British Library.
Of the two in the British Library, Cotton MS Augustus II.106 is still in about as good condition as one could reasonably wish. It is their other one, Cotton MS Charter XIII.31a, which is badly damaged, but frankly that doesn’t make it any less interesting. The BL also has the Articles of the Barons, which is arguably more important than any of them, as well as some of the early re-issues.
While Salisbury and Lincoln are, of course, both worth visiting in their own right, there can be no doubt that, if you’re specifically interested in Magna Carta, the current BL display easily trumps both of them.
Thanks folks. This is exactly what I wanted to hear.
The only time I saw one was in Washington D.C., when it was on display in the same building as the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution. Hall of Records, I believe it is called.
Nothing to add but I’ve seen the copy made at the time at Salisbury Cathedral,quite an experience.
I saw the one at the British Library earlier this year. They have a small room separate from the rest of the exhibition for it.
We don’t really make a big thing of the Magna Carta here - even Runnymede had very little on site about it until the American Bar Association did something about it.
I would agree. The copy at the British Library is well-presented, and attracts visitors easily. If one is in London, the British Library is easy to get to via public transit; and IME, the curators are knowledgeable and glad to explain the document.
You might also wish to visit Runnymede.