Jay-Z visits album inspiration at English cathedral

Jay-Z has paid a visit to an English cathedral to see the inspiration for his latest album -- an 800-year-old parchment copy of the Magna Carta.

The rapper visited Salisbury Cathedral in southwest England to see one of only four surviving original copies of the 1215 proclamation that is considered the founding constitutional document of the English-speaking world.

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Jay-Z's chart-topping album "Magna Carta Holy Grail" is partly inspired by the document, the name of which means the Great Charter.

The cathedral said Thursday that Jay-Z spent an hour at the church on Sunday, meeting the dean, Rev. June Osborne, and some of the choristers.

Osborne said the star had been "a delightful guest."

The 750-year-old cathedral is currently displaying the album's cover art alongside its copy of the original Magna Carta (which you can see at left).

The artwork, designed by Jay-Z in conjunction with his creative director Willo Perron and photographer Ari Marcopoulous, will be on display at the cathedral through the end of July.

The album sold more than 500,000 units in its first week of release, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart this week.