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Travel disruption keeps Bodleian Library's Magna Carta in New York

21 April 2010

 Magna Carta on public exhibition at The Morgan Library and Museum in New York after the historic manuscript's return to the UK is delayed

One of the earliest originals of Magna Carta in existence, belonging to the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, is the latest object to be caught up in the travel disruption caused by volcanic ash - and New Yorkers are the beneficiaries.

The 1217 Magna Carta was transported to New York last week to mark the North America Reunion of Oxford University alumni. As it had to stay in the USA for longer due to cancelled flights, the Bodleian Library and The Morgan Library in New York have arranged for it to go on public display there from Wednesday, 21 April to 30 May.

Richard Ovenden, Keeper of Special Collections at the Bodleian Library, who is accompanying Magna Carta in New York, says: 'We realised that a public exhibition was the silver lining to this particular ash cloud.'

Although the UK airspace has just reopened, the unexpected opportunity to display the ancient document in New York will go ahead.

The historic manuscript arrived in New York last week and was exhibited as the centrepiece of the Oxford alumni event at New York's Waldorf Astoria in the city. It was the first time it had ever left Britain since it was issued 800 years ago.

There are seventeen surviving original manuscripts of Magna Carta, of which the Bodleian Library holds four. The British public had the opportunity to see these back in 2007 in Oxford, and they will go on permanent display in Oxford once the University's Weston Library is redeveloped to include public exhibition space.

Richard Ovenden said: 'This is a great and unexpected opportunity to put the Bodleian Library's Magna Carta on public display in New York for the first time. Once we realised that our travel plans had been disrupted we drew upon the experience and resources developed over years of arranging international loans of our great treasures. We immediately got in touch with our old friends at The Morgan Library who were glad to make available to us their state of the art high-security facilities. After some discussions, we realised that a public exhibition was the silver lining to this particular ash cloud.
'We are grateful to our American colleagues that they have been able to mount a display so quickly to share this iconic document with the people of New York and to keep it securely for us until it can return safely to Oxford.'

Magna Carta or 'Great Charter of English Liberties' was signed at Runnymede near Windsor on June 15, 1215 and was reissued throughout the 13th century by England's rulers. The copy which goes on display in New York was issued in 1217 and has not left Oxford in almost 800 years, since it was sent there by the royal chancery.

There are seventeen surviving original manuscripts of Magna Carta. They are engrossments, not copies: official documents from the Royal Chancery bearing the ruler's seal.  There are only four surviving manuscripts from the 1217 issue, of which the Bodleian holds three.

Just one of the original 17 manuscripts is in the USA, at the National Archives in Washington. Magna Carta now in New York is an earlier manuscript than the Washington version.

Magna Carta had travelled securely to New York prior to the global travel disruptions. The Bodleian Library has a rigorous loan and courier protocol procedure in place for the transfer of books and manuscripts to peer institutions for exhibitions around the world. Magna Carta will return via secure travel arrangements to Oxford at an agreed date in the future.

Richard Ovenden said: 'Magna Carta is considered one of the most important documents in history. Along with the Declaration of Independence it is one of the few documents that everyone in the English-speaking world has heard of.'

The charter was the most significant early influence on the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law in the UK today, and influenced the drafting of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Notes for Editors

  • The Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford form the largest university library system in the United Kingdom. They include the principal University library-the Bodleian Library-which has been a library of legal deposit for 400 years; major research libraries; and libraries attached to faculties, departments and other institutions of the University. The combined library collections number more than 11 million printed items, in addition to 30,000 e-journals and vast quantities of materials in other formats. The Old Bodleian is also a major visitor attraction, drawing over 300,000 visitors a year. More information about the Bodleian Libraries and their activities can be found at www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
  • A complex of buildings in the heart of New York City, The Morgan Library & Museum began as the private library of financier Pierpont Morgan, one of the preeminent collectors and cultural benefactors in the United States. Today it is a museum, independent research library, musical venue, architectural landmark, and historic site. More than a century after its founding, the Morgan maintains a unique position in the cultural life of New York City and is considered one of its greatest treasures. With the 2006 reopening of its newly renovated campus, designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano, the Morgan reaffirmed its role as an important repository for the history, art, and literature of Western civilization from 4000 b.c. to the twenty-first century.
  •  The Magna Carta (or 'Great Charter of English Liberties') is considered one of the most important legal documents in the history of democracy. It was agreed by King John at Runnymede in 1215 and reissued throughout the 13th century by England's rulers. It was the most significant early influence on the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today, and its influence extends to the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights.
  • The four surviving manuscripts held by the Bodleian were previously displayed together in public for the first time in 800 years in the Divinity School at the Bodleian Library on 11 December 2007. More than 1,500 people turned out on the day to view the Oxford Charters. Following the renovation of the Weston Library due to open in 2015, the Magna Carta will go on a more permanent public display.
  • The seventeen original manuscripts of the Magna Carta are engrossments, not copies: official documents from the Royal Chancery bearing the ruler's seal. Those not held at Oxford are distributed between nine other locations in Britain, Australia and the United States.
  • After 1215, Magna Carta was reissued on five occasions in the 13th century. The Bodleian holds three of the four surviving manuscripts from the 1217 issue, which were originally sent out to each county. Oxfordshire seems to have received at least two and these were stored at Oseney Abbey until it was dissolved in 1539 during the Reformation. The Charters re-emerged during the 17th century, when they were acquired by antiquarian collector Anthony Wood and bequeathed to Oxford University. The third 1217 exemplar at the Bodleian was originally stored at Gloucester and came to Oxford in 1755. 

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