Magna Carta’s tour to the United States announced!

June 2014 will see Lincoln Cathedral’s Magna Carta leave Britain and travel to the United States for a tour of three prestigious venues. These exhibitions will celebrate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the document by King John at Runnymede in June 1215.

Magna Carta will begin its tour at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, moving on to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts  in September . The final exhibition will be at the Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C, where it will be on display from November 6, 2014, until January 19, 2015.

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said, “We are honoured to place on exhibition Magna Carta, one of the lasting treasures of human history.  The principles that underlay Magna Carta are the foundation of our liberties, inspiring this country’s Founding Fathers in shaping the U.S. Constitution and the laws of this land.  We especially welcome the return of the Lincoln King John 1215 Magna Carta, because the Library of Congress played an important role in its safekeeping during World War II.”

The Dean of Lincoln, the Very Reverend Philip Buckler said, “The Lincoln Cathedral Magna Carta is a source of great pride for the people of Lincoln and its Cathedral. It has been met by great enthusiasm whenever it has travelled to the United States in the past and we look forward to it being a source of inspiration to all those who visit the exhibitions, so much so that they are encouraged to come and visit Lincoln – the place where so much of the story begins.”