Historic text is copied for Czech display

A COPY of a rarely seen historic document which is housed in Edinburgh has been presented to a museum in Prague.

The Bohemian Protest, which is nearly 600 years old, is one of the most influential texts in European medieval history.

The letter, signed by 450 Bohemian and Moravian nobles, was written in Prague in 1415 and was sent to the Pope in protest at the execution of religious thinker Jan Hus, who was burnt at the stake for heresy.

The document was left to Edinburgh University in 1658 by William Guild, principal of King's College, Aberdeen.

The high-quality copy was made by the National Archives of the Czech Republic in collaboration with the university and the National Archives of Scotland.

Dr John Scally, director of the university's collections, said: "The Bohemian Protest is one of the most important documents of its time."