Original Magna Carta Seal
King john s seal is no longer attached but a central slit at the foot apparently shows where the seal tag was located.
Original magna carta seal. In this example the seal is made of dark green wax and is affixed to the document with cords of light green silk in near perfect condition. It resulted from negotiations between the monarch and rebellious english aristocrats on the brink of civil war. A similar impression of the great seal would have been attached to each copy of magna carta. Great charter is a royal charter of rights agreed to by king john of england at runnymede near windsor on 15 june 1215.
Just 10 weeks later pope innocent iii nullified the agreement and england plunged into internal war. The medieval provenance of this copy of magna carta is unknown but it has a curious later history. Unifying the four original magna carta manuscripts to mark the final phase of this block busting magna carta season we thought we d take a look back at one of our highlights and. How we did it.
Magna carta libertatum medieval latin for great charter of freedoms commonly called magna carta also magna charta. Confronted by 40 rebellious barons he consented to their demands in order to avert civil war. On june 15 1215 in a field at runnymede king john affixed his seal to magna carta. Yet magna carta has no such.
By 1215 thanks to years of unsuccessful foreign policies and heavy taxation demands england s king john was facing down a possible rebellion by the country s powerful barons. Of the surviving 1215 copies this document alone is written in landscape format. Journey to the homes of the original copies of magna carta where i was given a preview of what s in store for the charter s 800th year. The first issue of magna carta dates to june 1215.
In the absence of other images these two impressions are the best contemporary likenesses of king john. John put his wax seal on.