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Dated 26 March 1200, exactly 819 years ago, the
charter was issued in the city of York and confirms the transfer
of ownership of two hamlets in Durham.
Fewer than a dozen original charters are known to have survived
from the first year of King John’s reign.
It was carefully prepared and written in what is known as a
court hand, likely belonging to a professional scribe, who might
have been a member of the King’s government department or
Chancery.
The discovery was made by Benjamin Pohl, a Senior Lecturer at
the University of Bristol.
"It's like a portal, a window into the past that you can touch,"
he said.
"Medieval charters are important not just because of the legal
acts they contain, but also for what they can tell us about the
society and political culture at the time," he added. "Indeed,
their issuing authorities, beneficiaries and witnesses provide a
cross-section of medieval England’s ruling elites."
Pohl discovered the charter while carrying out unrelated
research at Ushaw College Library, one of the core collections
forming part of the Durham Residential Research Library, managed
by Durham University.
King John, who reigned between 1199 and 1216, is best known for
having signed another charter, the Magna Carta, in 1215. One of
the most important manuscripts in English history, the Magna
Carta is a charter of citizens' rights curbing the arbitrary
power of medieval kings which among other things guaranteed the
right to a fair trial.
(Reporting by Rachel Cordery; editing by Stephen Addison)
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