Magna Carta and the New Zealand Connection

If you are heading to the University of Canterbury this week (the New Zealand one!), you might like to take a peek at the oldest copy of Magna Carta held in New Zealand.

New Zealand's oldest copies are held at the University of Canterbury (pictured) and the University of Auckland.

Photo: RNZ / Sally Murphy

"Lead curator and UC historian Dr Chris Jones discovered last month that the UC copy was originally owned by Richard Sampson, who was effectively King Henry VIII’s divorce lawyer, when in 1536 he acted as the king's proctor against Anne Boleyn. Last month, Dr Jones, working with a team of researchers, discovered that the inscription on the title page reads: “Rycharde Sampson dothe owne me”." (UC Communications, 1 December 2015)

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