This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/7014220.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 1 | Version 2 |
---|---|
Magna Carta copy to be auctioned | Magna Carta copy to be auctioned |
(1 day later) | |
A rare copy of the Magna Carta, the document that enshrined civil rights in English law, is to be sold in New York. | |
The copy owned by the Perot Foundation is expected to fetch more than $20m (£9.94m), auctioner Sotheby's says. | The copy owned by the Perot Foundation is expected to fetch more than $20m (£9.94m), auctioner Sotheby's says. |
The copy on sale, sealed by King Edward I and dating from 1297, is the only one in private ownership. King John sealed the original Magna Carta in 1215. | |
The 1297 manuscript, bought by Ross F Perot in 1984, is due to be auctioned in December. | |
It was on view until recently in the National Archives in Washington. | It was on view until recently in the National Archives in Washington. |
The Magna Carta came into being as the result of a dispute between King John and English barons, and it went some way towards limiting the authority of the king. | |
The charter guaranteed basic freedoms and property rights to those considered "free men". | |
Its most notable legacy in present-day English law is the principle of Habeas Corpus, which protects people against unlawful imprisonment. | |
Only four copies dating to the 1215 signing of the Magna Carta are believed to have survived, and all of them are in England. | Only four copies dating to the 1215 signing of the Magna Carta are believed to have survived, and all of them are in England. |