MAGNA CARTA - MAGNA CHARTA CUM STATUTIS, TUM ANTIQUIS, TÛM RECENTIBUS, MAXIMOPERE ANIMO TENENDIS... 1618

[MAGNA CARTA]. Magna Charta, cum statutis, tum antiquis, tûm recentibus, maximopere animo tenendis, iam nouiter excusa, & summa diligentia emendata & correcta. London: [Adam Islip for] the Companie of Stationers, 1618.

Leather-bound; hardcover; small octavo (15.5 x 9.5 x 3.5 cm); [6], 258 leaves. Signatures: A-2K⁸. Latin, English, and French text printed in black letter. Handsomely bound in later period-style full speckled calf; decorative initials; printed shoulder-notes; indexes. Condition: VERY GOOD. Collated complete. Binding tight and secure, the covers very well-preserved. Contemporary and later inscriptions on title (and verso), 'old statutes' in ink on fore-edge, some light age-toning and browning, very small tear to lower outer corner of 2i5. Scarce.

Notes: Magna Carta (1215) stands as one of the truly great historic legal documents of Britain and the western world, leading directly to the establishment of constitutional government. Famously, thanks to the English barons, a reluctant King John was forced to accept certain liberties of his subjects and restraint of his powers within the law. Although at first renounced, amended versions were confirmed and reconfirmed by later monarchs throughout the Medieval period. Magna Carta was first printed around 1508 by Richard Pynson, with multiple editions of the Magna Carta appearing in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Antiquarians revived interest in the "Great Charter" during the sixteenth century, but it was during the seventeenth century that its political importance grew as writers used it against the Stuart monarchy. Following this intellectual thread, American colonists viewed Magna Carta as a document guaranteeing their liberties. This 1618 edition (the printer's name from STC) like many editions of its time, contains Magna Carta along with a selection of historical and contemporary English statutes. ESTC S122651.