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A medieval manuscript predating the Magna Carta can now be viewed in full by the public for the first time.

The Textus Roffensis is a 12th century legal encyclopaedia compiled by a scribe at Rochester Cathedral, in Kent, in the 1120s.

British scientists have now digitised the entire text which is described as 'Britain's Hidden Treasure' and contains the only surviving copy of the oldest law in English.

The Textus Roffensis, a manuscript predating the Magna Carta, can now be seen, in full, online, by the public for the first time after experts in Manchester were able to digitise the ancient text

'The Textus Roffensis is truly a unique manuscript,' said Dr Chris Monk, a specialist in digitising at the University of Manchester.

'It predates the Magna Carta by almost a hundred years…and was penned by an English scribe within 60 years of the Norman Conquest.'

Written in Old English and Latin in 1123-24 AD, the Textus Roffensis is so called because of a 14th century inscription within the book, which can be viewed here.

The inscription reads 'the Textus de Ecclesia Roffensi per Ernulphum episcopum' – or The Book of the Church of Rochester through Bishop Ernulf.

Written in Old English and Latin in 1123-24 AD, the Textus Roffensis is so called because of a 14th century inscription within the book. The inscription reads 'the Textus de Ecclesia Roffensi per Ernulphum episcopum' – or The Book of the Church of Rochester through Bishop Ernulf

The text predates the Magna Carta by 100 years and was penned within 60 years of the Norman Conquest

A number of pages in the manuscript display signs of water damage after it became submersed, possibly, in either the River Medway or the River Thames, sometime between 1708 and 1718

It contains the Law of Aethelberht of Kent which dates back to 600AD and is the only surviving copy of the oldest law in English.

Gwen Riley Jones, a scientists at Manchester University, said it took just over a week to digitise the book and make it ready to view online.

In total, the Textus Roffensis contains 238 folios (476 pages) and 484 images including the fly leaves and covers.

Digitisation had to be undertaken in a secure climate controlled environment because of the age and unique nature of the book to ensure that the temperature and humidity remained consistent.

The book was originally two manuscripts. The first has the only surviving copies of three Kentish laws, including the Law of Aethelberht who was the King of Kent, from 560 to 616AD, and seen by some as 'foundation documents of the English state'.

King Alfred's Domboc (book of laws) and King Cnut's laws are also in this section of the book alongside the oldest copy of the coronation charter of Henry I - the wording of which is echoed in the Magna Carta (1215) and the American Declaration of Independence (1776).

The second part of the manuscript includes the earliest charters of England's second oldest cathedral – founded at Rochester in 604AD, the oldest known catalogue of books in England and documents the Danish conquest of England in 1016.

A number of pages in the manuscript display signs of water damage after it became submersed, possibly, in either the River Medway or the River Thames, sometime between 1708 and 1718.

The early legal documents are concerned primarily with preserving social harmony, through compensation and punishment for personal injury.

Compensations are arranged according to social rank, descending from king to slave. The initial provisions of the code offer protection to the church.

Though the latter were probably innovations, much of the remainder of the code may be derived from earlier legal custom transmitted orally.

The Textus Roffensis itself will go on display in Rochester Cathedral next year, as part of the 'Hidden Treasures: Fresh Expressions' project.

'The University of Manchester Library has long recognised the need to preserve its digital material, as well as print, for future generations,' said Janet Wilkinson a librarian at Manchester University.

'I am reassured that this significant piece of history will now survive for future research purposes.'

The Textus Roffensis itself will go on display in Rochester Cathedral next year, as part of the 'Hidden Treasures: Fresh Expressions' project

Scientists at Manchester University were able to restore and digitise the Textus Roffensis in full making it available to the public for the first time

The text also contains the oldest copy of Henry I's Coronation Charter, which more than a hundred years before the Magna Carta granted freedom to the English Church