Man convicted of trying to steal 1215 Magna Carta from UK cathedral

 

FILE PHOTO: Meg Bullock of Salisbury Cathedral poses for photographers as she looks at the Salisbury Magna Carta, one of the original four remaining Magna Carta documents, as part of a new interactive exhibition in Chapter House at Salisbury Cathedral in Salisbury, southern England February 27, 2015. REUTERS/Kieran Doherty/File Photo

 

LONDON (Reuters) - A man who tried steal an original copy of the 1215 Magna Carta, considered to be one of the most important documents in the history of democracy, from an English cathedral was found guilty on Thursday of criminal damage and attempted theft.

 

Mark Royden, 47, had denied smashing a glass box housing the priceless manuscript in Salisbury cathedral in southern England in 2018.

 

Salisbury Crown Court heard he had set off a fire alarm in the cathedral cloisters before stunning visitors by hitting the glass case with a hammer, causing three holes in it and damage estimated at 14,000 pounds ($18,400).

 

Failing to break through the safety glass, he tried to run out of the cathedral but was grabbed by maintenance workers and visitors, including an American tourist.

 

The parchment, one of only four original copies still surviving, was not damaged.

 

A key manuscript 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.

 

King John agreed to place his seal on the document in June 1215 at Runnymede near Windsor, west of London, as a means of ending an uprising by rebel barons.

 

Prosecutors said when questioned by police Royden had appeared to question the authenticity of the document.

 

"The historical importance of the Magna Carta in establishing the right to justice cannot be overstated – which is somewhat ironic given Mark Royden’s repeated denials of his crime in the face of overwhelming evidence," said Rob Welling of the Crown Prosecution Service said.

 

"Had he succeeded in taking it, Royden would have deprived the nation of what is said to be the most beautiful surviving copy from 1215."

 

Royden was released on bail and will be sentenced at a later date. The charter is back on display in Salisbury cathedral.

 

($1 = 0.7608 pounds)

 

(Reporting by Stephen Addison; editing by Michael Holden)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-01-31

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OFF WITH HIS HEAD!

1 hour ago, Somtamnication said:

OFF WITH HIS HEAD!

Have a little sympathy.  Perhaps they wanted it for the EU?

Somebody hired him to steal it for them so they could put it in a shredder?

 

 

The European Commission 

Is it an original or a copy? 

 

What is an original copy?

See 'exemplification'.......

At least, thanks to the document he tried to steal, he will be entitled to a fair trial.

1 hour ago, Scott Tracy said:

Is it an original or a copy? 

 

What is an original copy?

Was thinking exactly the same. Its either the original or a copy. Cant be both.

 

Good luck to him. Would be quite a funny story to tell the kids. The day i stole the magna carta.

1 hour ago, Scott Tracy said:

Is it an original or a copy? 

 

What is an original copy?

It is a copy made from the original, rather than a copy of a copy.

 

PS;  The printing press and the photocopier were not around in 1215!

So the one I'm bidding for on ebay and alibaba and lazada is FAKE?????

 

 

This story is near as old as the document <deleted>

i would have gone for the "holy grail"

4 hours ago, Sujo said:

Was thinking exactly the same. Its either the original or a copy. Cant be both.

 

Good luck to him. Would be quite a funny story to tell the kids. The day i stole the magna carta.

 

20 minutes ago, JAG said:

 

I had no idea Dennis Skinner had narrated that ????

7 hours ago, Scott Tracy said:

Is it an original or a copy? 

 

What is an original copy?

It is customary, and certainly was the practice prior to the advent of the printing press, to make a number of copies of an important document such as magna carta or international treaties.

 

All copies would be signed and sealed on the day then distributed to important administrative centers.

 

In medieval times this would have been to the cathedrals and perhaps also to the Vatican.

 

Each original copy holding equal legal standing.

 

So there is no contradiction in the term ‘original copy’.

Edited January 31, 20206 yr by Chomper Higgot

On the day of the wedding between Charles and Diane I took a South African friend/colleague to see the magna carta copy held at Lincoln Cathedral (the finest cathedral in England).

 

We arrived just after Wren’s library, where magna carta is kept, had closed.

 

I talked our way in by telling the nun at the door that my friend/colleague was returning to South Africa the next day and dearly wanted to see the document (truth was we were both post grad researchers at Cranfield on a day off).

 

As we viewed the document he whispered to me, ‘I hope this is worth it, you just lied to a nun’.

 

A crime, worse I’m sure, than mere attempted theft.

Oh jeez, an excuse for another lousy Nicholas Cage move!

 

 

The latest i have heard about this is that the perpetrator is some self appointed ruler of some SEA country, who wants to get back to basics.