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Primary sourceDocument1215

Magna Carta (1215 Exemplification)

1215

One of the original 1215 parchment copies of Magna Carta, the charter of rights agreed between King John and his barons.

This is the actual 1215 parchment exemplification of Magna Carta itself, the charter being studied.

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Photograph of the 1215 Magna Carta parchment, a dense page of handwritten medieval Latin in brownish ink with line breaks and a small marginal number at top left.
Magna Carta, 1215. British Library Cotton MS Augustus II.106, London.

About this source

What it is

This is one of the original 1215 copies of Magna Carta, written in medieval Latin on parchment with iron gall ink. It was authenticated with King John's Great Seal, though the wax seal itself has since been lost. It is held today at the British Library as Cotton MS Augustus II.106.

Why it matters

This document records the agreement forced on King John by his rebellious barons in 1215. It limited royal power and set out legal protections, becoming a foundation stone for later ideas about the rule of law and the rights of subjects against a ruler.

Look closer

  • What does the dense handwriting and use of abbreviations tell you about how documents were produced in 1215?
  • Why might the original wax seal have been lost over the centuries?
  • What does the survival of this physical parchment add to our understanding, compared with just reading the text?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Magna Carta on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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