Who were the scribes that wrote Magna Carta?
It is a conundrum that has puzzled scholars for centuries, but now experts from the Magna Carta Project have established the scribe of at least one and possibly two of the original Magna Cartas of 1215.
The discovery by scholars at the University of East Anglia and King’s College London of who wrote the Lincoln charter – and probably also the Salisbury charter – was announced as part of the 800th anniversary of the creation of Magna Carta. Authorised on June 15, 1215 by King John, Magna Carta asserts the fundamental principle of the rule of law, but the new finding of who actually put ink to parchment points to the church as the impetus behind the charter’s production.
Four original charters setting out the text of Magna Carta are known to have survived since the unpopular king ratified it at Runnymede, in a short-lived effort to make peace with a group of rebel barons. Two of these 1215 charters are held at the British Library, one is held at Lincoln Cathedral and one at Salisbury Cathedral. All four original charters have been granted UNESCO World Heritage status.
The Magna Carta Project, based at University of East Anglia and King’s College London, has undertaken detailed work on the four surviving 1215 charters. The project, supported by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC), also works closely with curators at the British Library and an expert at the University of Cambridge.
In recent weeks, following an exhaustive search and examination of the handwriting, the researchers have established that the Lincoln and Salisbury charters were written by scribes working outside the king’s own writing office.
The opening lines of Lincoln Cathedral’s copy of the 1215 Magna Carta