COMMEMORATING MAGNA CARTA Runnymede

COMMEMORATING MAGNA CARTA Runnymede

Magna Carta at 800

Uncovering its landscape archaeology

Library

/ B rit ish

Bowden

: Andrew

PHOTOS

Eight hundred years ago, angered by King John’s absolute rule, a band of revolting barons famously forced the king to seal Magna Carta at Runnymede. The rest, as every schoolchild learns, is history. But what about the archaeology? Why Runnymede? And what remains on the ground? Architectural historian and archaeologist Tim Tatton-Brown enlightens us.

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ABOVE The Magna Carta memorial at Runnymede watches over the landscape where modern democracy was born. Historically, this part of the Meads was known as ‘Longmead’, with ‘Runnymede’ lying to the east (see map on p.36). INSET The London copy of the 1215 Magna Carta, which is on display as part of the British Library’s new exhibition (see p.38). E

verybody knows that, King John

Everybody knows that, King John sealed (not signed!) Magna Carta at Runnymede on 15 June 1215. However, thanks to recent brilliant work by Professors David Carpenter and Nicholas Vincent,

FAR RIGHT A liminal site: Runnymede lies near Windsor Forest, close to the meeting point of four counties and four dioceses.

we now know that the whole process was much more complicated than that. Carpenter, Vincent, and various of their colleagues have spent the last few years studying in detail all the versions of Magna Carta, and their related documents.

As a result of their ‘document archaeology’, they have been able to tell a much more

January 2014 |

July 2015 |