One of the earliest originals of Magna Carta in existence, belonging to the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, is the latest item to be caught up in the travel disruption caused by volcanic ash - and New Yorkers are the winners.

The 1217 Magna Carta was transported to New York last week to mark the North America Reunion of Oxford University alumni. As it was detained due to canceled flights, the Bodleian Library and the Morgan Library in New York have arranged for it to go on public display here, starting today.

Richard Ovenden, Keeper of Special Collections at the Bodleian Library, who is accompanying Magna Carta in New York, says: "We realized that a public exhibition was the silver lining to this particular ash cloud. This is a great and unexpected opportunity to put the Bodleian Library's Magna Carta on public display in New York for the first time," Ovendon continued.

Left: Magna Carta on display at the Bodleian Libarary in 2007; photo: Martin Argles. Right: Pages from the Hours of Catherine of Cleves. Both on view at The Morgan Library and Museum.

Magna Carta or "Great Charter of English Liberties" was signed by King John at Runnymede on June 15, 1215 and was reissued throughout the thirteenth century by England's rulers. It is considered one of the most important legal documents in the history of democracy, including such fundamental rights as habeas corpus. The U.S. Constitution includes ideas and phrases taken almost directly from the charter, which rebellious barons forced the repressive King John to sign in 1215.

This particular manuscript is one of four original versions of Magna Carta at the Bodleian Library, and it had never before left Britain since being issued almost eight hundred years ago. Reuters reported that a 1297 Magna Carta was sold by Sotheby's auction house in New York in 2007 for $21.3 million.

In total, there are seventeen surviving original manuscripts of Magna Carta dating from 1215 to 1297. They are "engrossments," not copies, meaning they bear the Royal seal. "Magna Carta is considered one of the most important documents in history," Ovendon added. "Along with the Declaration of Independence it is one of the few documents that everyone in the English-speaking world has heard of."

Magna Carta is on view at The Morgan Library and Museum through May 30^th. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY. Also at The Morgan: Last chance to see Catherine of Cleves Manuscript and Italian Master Drawings: exhibitions end May 2 and May 9 respectively.

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