Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monk,
chronicler
A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...
, artist in
illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at
St Albans Abbey in
Hertfordshire. He wrote a number of works, mostly historical, which he scribed and illuminated himself, typically in drawings partly coloured with watercolour washes, sometimes called "tinted drawings". Some were written in Latin, others in
Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to:
*Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066
* Anglo-Norman language
**Anglo-Norman literature
* Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...
or
French verse.
His ''
Chronica Majora
The ''Chronica Majora'' is the seminal work of Matthew Paris, a member of the English Benedictine community of St Albans and long-celebrated historian. The work begins with Creation and contains annals down to the year of Paris' death of 1259. ...
'' is an oft-cited source, though modern historians recognise that Paris was not always reliable. He tended to glorify Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II and denigrate the pope. However, in his ''Historia Anglorum'', Paris displays a highly negative view of Frederick, going as far as to describe him as a "tyrant" who "committed disgraceful crimes".
Life and work
![Henry1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Henry1.jpg)
In spite of his surname and knowledge of the French language, Paris was of English birth, and is believed by some chroniclers to be of the Paris family of
Hildersham,
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...
. He may have studied at Paris in his youth after early education at
St Albans School. The first we know of Matthew Paris (from his own writings) is that he was admitted as a monk to
St Albans in 1217. It is on the assumption that he was in his teens on admission that his birth date is estimated; some scholars suspect he may have been ten years or older; many monks only entered monastic life after pursuing a career in the world outside. He was clearly at ease with the nobility and even royalty, which may indicate that he came from a family of some status, although it also seems an indication of his personality. His life was mainly spent in this religious house. In 1248, Paris was sent to
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
as the bearer of a message from
Louis IX
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...
to
Haakon IV
Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; Old Norse: ''Hákon Hákonarson'' ; Norwegian: ''Håkon Håkonsson''), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 y ...
; he made himself so agreeable to the Norwegian sovereign that he was invited to superintend the reformation of the
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
Nidarholm Abbey outside
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
.
![Edward the Confessor Ee](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Edward_the_Confessor_Ee.3.59_fol.11v_%28part2%29.jpg)
Apart from these missions, his known activities were devoted to the composition of history, a pursuit for which the monks of St Albans had long been famous. After admission to the order in 1217, he inherited the mantle of
Roger of Wendover
Roger of Wendover (died 6 May 1236), probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century.
At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell o ...
, the abbey's official recorder of events, in 1236. Paris revised Roger's work, adding new material to cover his own tenure. This ''
Chronica Majora
The ''Chronica Majora'' is the seminal work of Matthew Paris, a member of the English Benedictine community of St Albans and long-celebrated historian. The work begins with Creation and contains annals down to the year of Paris' death of 1259. ...
'' is an important historical source document, especially for the period between 1235 and 1259. Equally interesting are the illustrations Paris created for his work.
The Dublin MS (see below) contains interesting notes, which shed light on Paris's involvement in other manuscripts, and on the way his own were used. They are in French and in his handwriting:
*"If you please you can keep this book till Easter"
*"G, please send to the Lady Countess of Arundel, Isabel, that she is to send you the book about
St Thomas the Martyr and
St Edward which I copied
ranslated?and illustrated, and which the Lady
Countess of Cornwall may keep until
Whitsun
Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the ...
tide"
* some verses
* "In the Countess of Winchester's book let there be a pair of images on each page thus": (verses follow describing thirteen saints)
It is presumed the last relates to Paris acting as commissioning agent and iconographical consultant for the Countess with another artist.
The lending of his manuscripts to aristocratic households, apparently for periods of weeks or months at a time, suggests why he made several different illustrated versions of his Chronicle.
Manuscripts by Matthew Paris
Paris's manuscripts mostly contain more than one text, and often begin with a rather random assortment of prefatory full-page miniatures. Some have survived incomplete, and the various elements now bound together may not have been intended to be so by Paris. Unless stated otherwise, all were given by Paris to his monastery (from some inscriptions it seems they were regarded as his property to dispose of). The monastic libraries were broken up at the
Dissolution
Dissolution may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books
* ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers
* ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music
* Dissolution, in mu ...
. These MSS seem to have been appreciated, and were quickly collected by bibliophiles. Many of his manuscripts in the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
are from the
Cotton Library
The Cotton or Cottonian library is a collection of manuscripts once owned by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton MP (1571–1631), an antiquarian and bibliophile. It later became the basis of what is now the British Library, which still holds the collection ...
.
![Matthew Paris Elephant from Parker MS 16 fol 151v](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Matthew_Paris_Elephant_from_Parker_MS_16_fol_151v.jpg)
![Paris](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Paris.elefant.jpg)
* ''
Chronica Majora
The ''Chronica Majora'' is the seminal work of Matthew Paris, a member of the English Benedictine community of St Albans and long-celebrated historian. The work begins with Creation and contains annals down to the year of Paris' death of 1259. ...
''.
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, Mss 26 and 16, 362 × 244/248 mm. ff 141 + 281, composed 1240–53. His major historical work (see below), but less heavily illustrated per page than others. These two volumes contain annals from the creation of the world up to the year 1253. The content up to 1234 or 1235 is based in the main on Roger of Wendover's ''Flores Historiarum'', with additions; after that date, the material is Paris's own, and written in his own hand from the annal for 1213 onward. There are 100 marginal drawings (25 + 75), some fragmentary maps and an itinerary, and full-page drawings of
William I
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
. MS 16 has very recently had all prefatory matter re-bound separately.
:A continuation of the ''Chronica'', from 1254 until Paris's death in 1259, is bound with the ''Historia Anglorum'' in the British Library volume below. An unillustrated copy of the material from 1189 to 1250, with much of his sharper commentary about
Henry III toned down or removed, was supervised by Paris himself and now exists as British Library Cotton MS Nero D V, fol. 162–393.
* ''
Flores Historiarum
The ''Flores Historiarum'' (Flowers of History) is the name of two different (though related) Latin chronicles by medieval English historians that were created in the 13th century, associated originally with the Abbey of St Albans.
Wendover's '' ...
''.
Chetham's Hospital and Library, Manchester, MS 6712. Only part of the text, covering 1241 to 1249, is in Paris's hand, though he is credited with the authorship of the whole text, which is an abridgement of the ''Chronica'' with additions from the annals of Reading and of Southwark. Additional interpolations to the text make it clear the volume was created for
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
. It was apparently started there, copying another MS of Paris's text that went up to 1240. Later it was sent back to the author for him to update;
Richard Vaughan argues this was in 1251–2. The illustrations are similar to Paris's style but not by him. Later additions took the chronicle up to 1327.
* ''Historia Anglorum''. British Library, Royal MS 14 C VII, fols. 8v–156v. 358 × 250 mm, ff 232 in all. A history of England, begun in 1250 and perhaps completed around 1255, covering the years 1070–1253. The text is an abridgement of the ''Chronica'', also drawing on Wendover's ''Flores Historiarum'' and Paris's earlier edited version of the ''Chronica''. Bound with it is the final part of Paris's ''Chronica Majora'', covering the years 1254–1259 (folios 157–218), and prefatory material including an itinerary from London to Jerusalem and tinted drawings of the kings of England. All is in Paris's own hand, apart from folios 210–218 and 154v–156v, which are in the hand of the scribe who has added a note of Matthew Paris's death (f. 218v). The ''Chronica'' concludes with a portrait of Paris on his death-bed, presumably not by him. By the 15th century this volume belonged to
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester (3 October 139023 February 1447) was an English prince, soldier, and literary patron. He was (as he styled himself) "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of Henry IV of E ...
, son of
Henry IV, who inscribed it "Ceste livre est a moy Homffrey Duc de Gloucestre". Later it was held by the
bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.
The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...
, who wrote a note that if the monks of St Albans could prove the book was a loan, they should have it back. Otherwise, it was bequeathed to
New College, Oxford. The fact that the book was acquired by a 16th-century Earl of Arundel suggests that Duke Humphrey's inscription was not entirely accurate, as New College would probably not have disposed of it.
* ''Abbreviatio chronicorum'' (or ''Historia minor''), British Library Cotton MS Claudius D VI, fols. 5–100. Another shortened history, mainly covering 1067 to 1253. Probably begun circa 1255, it remained unfinished at Paris's death. Illustrated with thirty-three seated figures of English kings illustrating a
genealogy
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...
. It also contains the most developed of Paris's four maps of Great Britain.
* ''Chronica excerpta a magnis cronicis''. British Library Cotton MS Vitellius A XX, folios 77r–108v. Covers from 1066 to 1246. Written at some point between 1246 and 1259. Not definitely by Paris, but evidently written under his supervision, with some of the text in his own hand.
* ''Book of Additions'' (Liber additamentorum) British Library Cotton MS Nero D I, ff202 in all, contains maps, ''
Vitae duorum Offarum
The '' Vitae duorum Offarum'' "The lives of the two Offas" is a literary history written in the mid-thirteenth century, apparently by the St Albans monk Matthew Paris; however, the most recent editor and translator of the work rejects this attrib ...
'' (illustrated), ''Gesta abbatum'', the lives of the first 23 abbots of St Albans with a miniature portrait of each, coats of arms, as well as copies of original documents. A version of his well-known drawing of an elephant is in this volume, as is a large drawing of Christ, not by Paris.
![DublinTrinityCollegeMSEi40LifeAlbanFol45rMartyrdomAmphibalus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/DublinTrinityCollegeMSEi40LifeAlbanFol45rMartyrdomAmphibalus.jpg)
* ''Life of
St Alban'' etc., dating controversial (1230–1250),
Trinity College, Dublin Library, Ms 177 (former Ms E.I.40) 77 ff with 54 miniatures, mostly half-page. 240 × 165 mm. Also contains a ''Life of
St Amphibalus'', and various other works relating to the history of
St Albans Abbey, both also illustrated. The ''Life of St Alban'' is in French verse, adapted from a Latin ''Life of St Alban'' by
William of St Albans, ca. 1178. The manuscript also contains notes in Paris's hand (see above) showing that his manuscripts were lent to various aristocratic ladies for periods, and that he probably acted as an intermediary between commissioners of manuscripts and the (probably) lay artists who produced them, advising on the calendars and iconography.
* ''Life of
King Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066.
Edward was the son of Æthe ...
'' 1230s or 40s,
Cambridge University Library
Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...
MS. Ee.3.59.
This is the only surviving copy of this work, but is believed to be a slightly later copy made in London, probably by court artists, of Paris's text and framed illustrations. Based on the Latin Life of Edward the Confessor by
Aelred of Rievaulx
Aelred of Rievaulx ( la, Aelredus Riaevallensis); also Ailred, Ælred, and Æthelred; (1110 – 12 January 1167) was an English Cistercian monk, abbot of Rievaulx from 1147 until his death, and known as a writer. He is regarded by Anglicans an ...
, c. 1162.
* ''Life of
St Thomas of Canterbury'', British Library, Loan MS 88 – Four leaves (the "Becket Leaves") survive from a French-verse history of the life of
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...
with large illuminations. Based on the Latin ''Quadrilogus'' compiled by
Elias of Evesham
Elias is the Greek equivalent of Elijah ( he, אֵלִיָּהוּ ''ʾĒlīyyāhū''; Syriac: ܐܠܝܐ ''Eliyā''; Arabic: الیاس Ilyās/Elyās), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy ...
at
Crowland Abbey
Crowland Abbey (also spelled Croyland Abbey, Latin: ''Croilandia'') is a Church of England parish church, formerly part of a Benedictine abbey church, in Crowland in the English county of Lincolnshire. It is a Grade I listed building.
History
A ...
in 1198. The illuminations are attributed to Paris by
Janet Backhouse
Janet Moira Backhouse (8 February 1938 – 3 November 2004) was an English manuscripts curator at the British Museum, and a leading authority in the field of illuminated manuscripts.
Early life and education
Janet Backhouse was born in Corsha ...
, but not by
Nigel Morgan. Vaughan had previously noted that the leaves from the ''Life of St Thomas'' and the ''Life of King Edward'' are of different sizes, and written by different scribes, neither of them Paris himself, so they are not likely to be part of the manuscript that Paris wrote of having lent to the Countess of Arundel; but that, "to judge from the script and the style of illumination" they are "very close copies of Matthew
aris Aris or ARIS may refer to:
People
* Aris (surname)
Given name
* Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer
* Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player
* Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano
* Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter
* Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...
s original".
* ''Life of
St Edmund'', a French-verse history of the life of
Edmund Rich
Edmund of Abingdon (also known as Edmund Rich, St Edmund of Canterbury, Edmund of Pontigny, French: St Edme; c. 11741240) was an English-born prelate who served as Archbishop of Canterbury. He became a respected lecturer in mathematics, diale ...
, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1233 to 1240. Based on Paris's own Latin prose life of Rich, composed in the late 1240s, which drew on a collection of materials made at
Pontigny
Pontigny () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France.
Sight
Its principal distinction is as the home of Pontigny Abbey.
See also
*Communes of the Yonne department
The following is a list of t ...
, statements from
Robert Bacon
Robert Bacon (July 5, 1860 – May 29, 1919) was an American statesman and diplomat. He was also a leading banker and businessman who worked closely with Secretary of State Elihu Root, 1905-1909, and served as United States Secretary of Sta ...
and
Richard Wych, Bishop of Chichester, and other materials including from Paris's own histories. A 14th-century copy of the prose life has survived in British Library Cotton MS Julius D VI, folios 123–156v. One copy of the verse life that was in Cotton MS Vitellius D VIII was destroyed in the
fire of 1731; but another copy was discovered in the early 1900s at
Welbeck Abbey
Welbeck Abbey in the Dukeries in North Nottinghamshire was the site of a monastery belonging to the Premonstratensian order in England and after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a country house residence of the Dukes of Portland. It is o ...
and is now in the British Library.
* ''Liber Experimentarius'' of
Bernardus Silvestris, and other fortune-telling tracts.
Bodleian Library, Oxford, Ms. Ashmole 304, 176 × 128 mm, ff72. Many illustrations: author portraits (many of ancient Greeks –
Socrates
Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
,
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
,
Euclid
Euclid (; grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of ...
,
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His politi ...
), birds, tables and diagrams of geomantic significance. Several later copies of the text and illustrations survive. Provenance before 1602 unknown.
* Miscellaneous writings by
John of Wallingford (the Younger), British Library, MS Cotton Julius D VII, 188 × 130 mm, ff. 134. 1247–58. Mostly scribed by
John of Wallingford, another monk of St Albans, who also probably did some drawings. A portrait of John, a map of the British Isles, and a
Christ in Majesty
Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory ( la, Maiestas Domini) is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whos ...
are all accepted as by Paris. The main text is a chronicle, highly derivative of Paris's. This was John's property, left to his final monastery at
Wymondham
Wymondham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England, south-west of Norwich off the A11 road to London. The River Tiffey runs through. The parish, one of Norfolk's largest, includes rural areas to ...
.
Also, fragments of a Latin biography of
Stephen Langton
Stephen Langton (c. 1150 – 9 July 1228) was an English Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Canterbury between 1207 and his death in 1228. The dispute between King John of England and Pope Innocent III over his ...
. Various other works, especially maps.
A panel painting on oak of
St Peter, the only surviving part of a
tabernacle
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...
shrine (1850 × 750 mm), in the Museum of
Oslo University
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
has been attributed to Paris, presumably dating from his visit in 1248. Local paintings are usually on pine, so he may have brought this with him, or sent it later.
Paris as an artist
![DublinTrinityCollegeMSEi40LifeAlbanFol38vHeracliusTakesDownAlbansHead](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/DublinTrinityCollegeMSEi40LifeAlbanFol38vHeracliusTakesDownAlbansHead.jpg)
In some of Paris's manuscripts, a framed miniature occupies the upper half of the page, and in others, they are "marginal" – unframed and occupying the bottom quarter (approximately) of the page. Tinted drawings were an established style well before Paris, and became especially popular in the first half of the 13th century. They were certainly much cheaper and quicker than fully painted illuminations. The tradition of tinted drawings or outline drawings with ink supplemented by coloured wash was distinctively English, dating back to the
Anglo-Saxon art of the mid-10th century, and connected with the
English Benedictine Reform
The English Benedictine Reform or Monastic Reform of the English church in the late tenth century was a religious and intellectual movement in the later Anglo-Saxon period. In the mid-tenth century almost all monasteries were staffed by secular ...
of the period. A strong influence on one branch of the style was the Carolingian
Utrecht Psalter
The Utrecht Psalter (Utrecht, Universiteitsbibliotheek, MS Bibl. Rhenotraiectinae I Nr 32.) is a ninth-century illuminated psalter which is a key masterpiece of Carolingian art; it is probably the most valuable manuscript in the Netherlands. It ...
, which was at
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
from about 1000 to 1640. This was copied in the 1020s in the
Harley Psalter
The Harley Psalter (British Library Harley MS 603) is an illuminated manuscript of the second and third decades of the 11th century, with some later additions. It is a Latin psalter on vellum, measures 380 x 310 mm and was probably produced a ...
, and in the
Eadwine Psalter
The Eadwine Psalter or Eadwin Psalter is a heavily illuminated 12th-century psalter named after the scribe Eadwine, a monk of Christ Church, Canterbury (now Canterbury Cathedral), who was perhaps the "project manager" for the large and excepti ...
of the mid-12th century.
![Richard Marshal unhorses Baldwin Guines at a skirmish by Matthew Paris](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Richard_Marshal_unhorses_Baldwin_Guines_at_a_skirmish_by_Matthew_Paris.jpg)
Recent scholarship, notably that of Nigel Morgan, suggests that Paris's influence on other artists of the period has been exaggerated. This is likely because so much more is known about him than other English illuminators of the period, who are mostly anonymous. Most manuscripts seem to have been produced by lay artists in this period.
William de Brailes is shown with a clerical tonsure, but he was married, which suggests he had minor orders only. The manuscripts produced by Paris show few signs of collaboration, but art historians detect a School of St Albans surviving after Paris's death, influenced by him.
Paris's style suggests that it was formed by works from around 1200. He was somewhat old-fashioned in retaining a roundness in his figures, rather than adopting the thin angularity of most of his artist contemporaries, especially those in London. His compositions are very inventive; his position as a well-connected monk may have given him more confidence in creating new compositions, whereas a lay artist would prefer to stick to traditional formulae. It may also reflect the lack of full training in the art of the period. His colouring emphasises green and blue, and together with his characteristic layout of a picture in the top half of a page, is relatively distinctive. What are probably his final sketches are found in ''
Vitae duorum Offarum
The '' Vitae duorum Offarum'' "The lives of the two Offas" is a literary history written in the mid-thirteenth century, apparently by the St Albans monk Matthew Paris; however, the most recent editor and translator of the work rejects this attrib ...
'' in BL MS Cotton Nero D I.
Paris as a historian
From 1235, the point at which
Wendover
Wendover is a market town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road a ...
dropped his pen, Paris continued the history on the plan which his predecessors had followed. He derived much of his information from the letters of important people, which he sometimes inserts, but much more from conversations with the eyewitnesses of events. Among his informants were
Richard, Earl of Cornwall
Richard (5 January 1209 – 2 April 1272) was an English prince who was King of the Romans from 1257 until his death in 1272. He was the second son of John, King of England, and Isabella, Countess of Angoulême. Richard was nominal Count of ...
, and King
Henry III, with whom he appears to have been on intimate terms.
The king knew that Paris was writing a history, and wanted it to be as exact as possible. In 1257, in the course of a week's visit to St Albans, Henry kept the chronicler beside him night and day, "and guided my pen," says Paris, "with much goodwill and diligence." It is curious that the ''Chronica Majora'' gives so unfavourable an account of the king's policy.
Henry Richards Luard
Henry Richards Luard (25 August 1825 – 1 May 1891) was a British medieval historian and antiquary.
Biography
Luard was born on 25 August 1825 in London, the son of Henry Luard. He received his early education at Cheam School, Surrey. He gradua ...
supposes that Paris never intended his work to be read in its present form. Many passages of the autograph have written next to them, the ''note offendiculum'', which shows that the writer understood the danger which he ran. On the other hand, unexpurgated copies were made in Paris's lifetime. Although the offending passages are duly omitted or softened in his abridgement of his longer work, the ''Historia Anglorum'' (written about 1253), Paris's real feelings must have been an open secret. There is no ground for the old theory that he was an official historiographer.
Naturalists have praised his descriptions of the English wildlife of his time, brief though they are: in particular his valuable description of the first
irruption into England in 1254 of the
common crossbill
The red crossbill or common crossbill (''Loxia curvirostra'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. Crossbills have distinctive mandibles, crossed at the tips, which enable them to extract seeds from conifer cones and other ...
.
Paris as cartographer
![Britannienkarte des Matthew Paris](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Britannienkarte_des_Matthew_Paris.jpg)
Outstanding among his other maps were (four versions of) a pilgrim
itinerary charting the route from London to Rome in graphic form. A sequence of pictures of towns on the route marked the terminus of each day's travel, enabling the viewer to envisage and follow the whole journey rather like a comic strip – an achievement unprecedented elsewhere in the medieval world.
Studies of Matthew Paris
The relation of Matthew Paris's work to those of John de Celia (
John of Wallingford) and
Roger of Wendover
Roger of Wendover (died 6 May 1236), probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century.
At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell o ...
may be studied in
Henry Luard's edition of the ''Chronica Majora'' (7 vols.,
Rolls series
''The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages'' ( la, Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores), widely known as the is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources publish ...
, 1872–1881), which contains valuable prefaces. The ''Historia Anglorum sive historia minor'' (1067–1253) has been edited by
Frederic Madden
Sir Frederic Madden KH (16 February 1801 – 8 March 1873) was an English palaeographer.
Biography
Born in Portsmouth, he was the son of William John Madden (1757–1833), a Captain in the Royal Marines of Irish origin, and his wife Sarah Carte ...
(3 vols., Rolls series, 1866–1869).
Matthew Paris is sometimes confused with
Matthew of Westminster Matthew of Westminster, long regarded as the author of the '' Flores Historiarum'', is now thought never to have existed.
The error was first discovered in 1826 by Francis Turner Palgrave, who said that Matthew was "a phantom who never existed," an ...
, the reputed author of the ''
Flores historiarum
The ''Flores Historiarum'' (Flowers of History) is the name of two different (though related) Latin chronicles by medieval English historians that were created in the 13th century, associated originally with the Abbey of St Albans.
Wendover's '' ...
'' edited by Luard (3 vols., Rolls series, 1890). This work, compiled by various hands, is an edition of Matthew Paris, with continuations extending to 1326.
He wrote a life of St
Edmund of Abingdon
Edmund of Abingdon (also known as Edmund Rich, St Edmund of Canterbury, Edmund of Pontigny, French: St Edme; c. 11741240) was an English-born prelate who served as Archbishop of Canterbury. He became a respected lecturer in mathematics, diale ...
, sometime
Archbishop of Canterbury.
He also wrote the
Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to:
*Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066
* Anglo-Norman language
**Anglo-Norman literature
* Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...
''La Estoire de Seint Aedward le Rei'' (the History of Saint Edward the King), which survives in a beautifully illuminated manuscript version, Cambridge,
Cambridge University Library
Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...
MS. Ee.3.59. The manuscript has had a varied publication history. Sections were printed in
Francisque Michel's ''Chroniques Anglo-Normandes''. Luard's edition for the
Rolls series
''The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages'' ( la, Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores), widely known as the is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources publish ...
was severely criticised; it was re-edited for the
Anglo-Norman Text Society
The Anglo-Norman Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1937 by Professor Mildred K. Pope. The founding aim of the society was to promote the study of Anglo-Norman language and Anglo-Norman literature by facilitating the publicat ...
by K. Y. Wallace. A
facsimile for the
Roxburghe Club
The Roxburghe Club is a bibliophilic and publishing society based in the United Kingdom.
Origins
The spur to the Club's foundation was the sale of the enormous library of the Duke of Roxburghe (who had died in 1804), which took place over 46 day ...
was edited by
M. R. James
Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambrid ...
, and the whole manuscript has been digitalized and can be seen online.
Paris House at
St Albans High School for Girls is named after him.
Notes
*
Bibliography
* Richard Vaughan (1958), ''Matthew Paris''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
* (on manuscripts, and artistic style)
*
*
*
External links
ImagesStanford Digitized texts – Works by and about Paris, including Vaughan etc, in huge pdf filesJSTOR review of Vaughan bookBritish Library website
*
ttp://www.bartleby.com/211/0919.html Latin Chroniclers from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Centuries:Matthew Parisfrom ''
The Cambridge History of English and American Literature
''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature'' is an encyclopedia of literary criticism that was published by Cambridge University Press between 1907 and 1921. Edited and written by an international panel of 171 leading scholars and ...
'', Volume I, 1907–21.
Life of St Edward the Confessor, Cambridge Digital LibraryFully annotated copy of Matthew Paris's Claudius Map, with translations and transcriptions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris, Matthew
1200 births
1259 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
People from St Albans
English Benedictines
English Christian monks
English chroniclers
English cartographers
Historians of the Catholic Church
Heraldists
Manuscript illuminators
Writers who illustrated their own writing
Medieval European scribes
People educated at St Albans School, Hertfordshire
Artist authors
Medieval English painters
13th-century Christian monks
13th-century painters
13th-century English artists
13th-century Latin writers
13th-century English historians