The document widely credited with solidifying ideas of democracy in medieval England – with its tenor that no human is above the law – the “Great Charter” was composed and signed as the focus of an uneasy peace agreement between King John and England’s barons in 1215. Only four original manuscripts survive; there are many manuscript copies surviving from later years. [1]
One original manuscript, located in the British Library, has undergone extensive evaluation and conservation.
Microscope evaluation reveals the extent of damage from fire, and the loss of ink. The second manuscript in the same library reveals the fracturing of the ink under a microscope.
A later but still early manuscript copy (1297 CE) resides in the National Archives; senior conservators Terry Boone and Morgan Zinsmeister treated the document by removing old repairs, adding new repairs, and rehousing the manuscript for its future preservation. The ink on the parchment had begun to de-laminate and was gently re-adhered.
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[1] https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/magna-carta-muse-and-mentor/lincoln-magna-carta.html