# The Magna Carta
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-magna-carta/504123
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [July 24, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-magna-carta/504123 "2009-07-24T14:40:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-magna-carta/504123/1 "2009-07-24T14:40:22Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-magna-carta/504123/2 "2009-07-24T14:47:19Z")
You can see one at [Salisbury Cathedral](http://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/index.php), which is well worth a visit in any case. I recommend the tower tour.
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### Author:  [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-magna-carta/504123/3 "2009-07-24T15:40:53Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-magna-carta/504123/4 "2009-07-24T15:42:19Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-magna-carta/504123/5 "2009-07-24T16:39:14Z")
Of the two in the British Library, [Cotton MS Augustus II.106](http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/histtexts/magna/large17633.html) 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.
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### Author:  [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-magna-carta/504123/6 "2009-07-25T00:01:04Z")
Thanks folks. This is exactly what I wanted to hear.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-magna-carta/504123/7 "2009-07-25T18:26:11Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-magna-carta/504123/8 "2009-07-25T18:53:33Z")
Nothing to add but I’ve seen the copy made at the time at Salisbury Cathedral,quite an experience.
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### Author:  [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-magna-carta/504123/9 "2009-07-25T19:36:03Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)
#### Post date: [July 26, 2009, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-magna-carta/504123/10 "2009-07-26T02:10:11Z")
> [@APB](#):
>
> 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.
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.
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### Author:  [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)
#### Post date: [July 26, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-magna-carta/504123/11 "2009-07-26T02:12:34Z")
You might also wish to visit [Runnymede](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runnymede).