The Magna Carta is one document that has truly stood the test of time. While the Charter was signed more than 800 years ago, it is still considered to be one of the most famous documents of our time, as well as a powerful symbol of freedom, rights, and equality. As a whole, the document established that no one is above the law, and even those in power are still required to follow the law. The document is now more than 800 years old, but still retains its relevancy today. A few years back, 1st Financial Bank USA helped to support the Library of Congress in offering an exhibition for the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.
At the heart of the exhibition was the Lincoln Cathedral Magna Carta, one of only four existing manuscript copies of Magna Carta that date to the month of June in 1215. The document, generously loaned to the Library of Congress by Lincoln Cathedral, is by any estimate a world treasure—an artifact whose creation became the foundation of the rule of law for England and for much of the modern world.
The exhibition, Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor, included documents, books, letters, newspapers, judicial decisions, and images that helped to provide an account of the initial granting of Magna Carta and its many confirmations by kings and parliament. The exhibition also explored Magna Carta’s re-emergence in seventeenth-century England, its role in American independence, and its enduring legacy in the constitutional law of the United States.
Did you Know? The Magna Carta was also used by suffragists in the fight for women's right to vote.
WHAT'S NEXT?📖Learn more about the exhibition from the Library of Congress |
