Self portrait of Matthew Paris from the original manuscript of his Historia Anglorum (London, British Library, MS Royal 14.C.VII, folio 6r).

Matthew Paris (c. 1200 - 1259) was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire. He wrote (as both author and scribe) a number of works, mostly historical, which he illuminated himself, typically in drawings partly coloured with watercolour washes, sometimes called "tinted drawings". Some were written in Latin, some in Anglo-Norman or French verse. In some 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. Download high resolution version (1543x1029, 155 KB)Illustration from London, British Library, MS Royal 14 C VII, folio 6r, self-portrait of Matthew Paris. ... Download high resolution version (1543x1029, 155 KB)Illustration from London, British Library, MS Royal 14 C VII, folio 6r, self-portrait of Matthew Paris. ... Events University of Paris receives charter from Philip II of France The Kanem-Bornu Empire was established in northern Africa around the year 1200 Mongol victory over Northern China — 30,000,000 killed Births Al-Abhari, Persian philosopher and mathematician (died 1265) Ulrich von Liechtenstein, German nobleman and poet (died... For broader historical context, see 1250s and 13th century. ... A Benedictine is a person who follows the Rule of St Benedict. ... English historians in the Middle Ages is an overview of the history of English historians and their works in the Middle Ages. ... In the strictest definition of illuminated manuscript, only manuscripts decorated with gold or silver, like this miniature of Christ in Majesty from the Aberdeen Bestiary (folio 4v), would be considered illuminated. ... Cartography is the study of map making and cartographers are map makers. ... Abbey gateway St Albans Abbey was an abbey at St Albans, Hertfordshire, England, dissolved in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. ... Hertfordshire (pronounced Hartfordshire and abbreviated as Herts) is an inland county in the United Kingdom and part of the East of England Government Office region. ... Watercolor is a painting technique making use of water-soluble pigments that are either transparent or opaque and are formulated with gum to bond the pigment to the paper. ...

Life and work

In spite of his surname, and of his knowledge of the French language, he was of English birth but may have studied at Paris in his youth after early education at the St Albans Abbey School (now St Albans School). The first we know of him (from his own writings) is that he was admitted as a monk at 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 he came from a family of some status, although it is also clearly a tribute to his personality. His life was mainly spent in this religious house. In 1248, however, he was sent to Norway as the bearer of a message from Louis IX to Haakon IV; he made himself so agreeable to the Norwegian sovereign that he was invited, a little later, to superintend the reformation of the Benedictine monastery of St Benet Holme at Trondheim. French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... The Abbey Gateway, now home to the schools History, Economics and Classics departments. ... Abbey gateway St Albans Abbey was an abbey at St Albans, Hertfordshire, England, dissolved in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. ... April 9 - Peter of Courtenay crowned emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople at Rome, by Pope Honorius III May 20 - First Barons War, royalist victory at Lincoln. ... For broader historical context, see 1240s and 13th century. ... Louis IX or Saint Louis (April 25, 1215 – August 25, 1270) was King of France from 1226 until his death. ... An illustration of Hákon, King of Norway, and his son Magnus, from Flateyjarbók HÃ¥kon IV (1204 – December 16, 1263), (Norwegian HÃ¥kon HÃ¥konsson, Old Norse Hákon Hákonarson) also called Haakon the Old. ... County Sør-Trøndelag District Municipality NO-1601 Administrative centre Trondheim Mayor (2005) Rita Ottervik (AP) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 258 342 km² 322 km² 0. ...

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. Having been admitted to the order in 1217, he inherited the mantle of Roger of Wendover, the abbey's official recorder of events, in 1236. Matthew revised Roger's work, and that of Abbot John de Cella (also known as John of Wallingford), adding new material to cover his own tenure, and this Chronica Majora is an important historical source document, especially for the period between 1235 and 1259. Equally interesting are the illustrations Matthew used in his work. Roger of Wendover (d. ... // Events May 6 - Roger of Wendover, Benedictine monk and chronicler of St Albanss Abbey dies. ... John of Wallingford, also known as John de Cella, was abbot of St Albans Abbey from 1195 to his death in 1214. ... John of Wallingford, also known as John de Cella, was abbot of St Albans Abbey from 1195 to his death in 1214. ...

The Dublin MS (see below) contains interesting notes, which shed light on Matthew's involvement in other manuscripts, and on the way his own ones 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 (translated?) and illustrated, and which the Lady Countess of Cornwall may keep until Whitsuntide"
• 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 Matthew acting as commissioning agent and iconographical consultant for the Countess with another artist. The word Whitsun is another name for Pentecost It has that meaning in the following: Whitsun, a poem by Sylvia Plath The Whitsun Weddings, a poem by Philip Larkin A Whitsun Ale (esp. ...

The lending out 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, but it seems that these MS were always appreciated, and many fell quickly into the collections of bibliophiles.

• Chronica Majora Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Ms 26, 16, 362 x 244/248 mm. ff 141 + 281, 1240-53 His major historical work (see below), but less heavily illustrated per page than others. [1] The first two volumes are in Cambridge, whilst the third is bound with the Historia Anglorum in the British Library volume below. There are 100 marginal drawings (25 + 75), some fragmentary maps and an itinerary, and full page drawings of William I, the Elephant with Keeper. Ms 16 has very recently had all prefatory matter removed in a rebinding. Most of the text of the Chronica in MS 26 is not in Paris's hand.

• Life of St Alban etc., dating controversial (1230-1250), Trinity College, Dublin Library, Ms E.I.40. 77 ff with 54 miniatures, mostly half-page. 240 x 165 mm. Also contains a Life of St Amphibalus, and various other works relating to the history St Albans Abbey, both also illustrated. The Life of St Alban is in French verse, adapted from a Latin source. 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 also acted as an intermediary between commissioners of manuscripts and the (probably) lay artists who produced them, advising on the calendars and iconography.

• Abbreviatio chronicorum (or Historia minor), another shortened history, mainly covering 1067 to 1253, including a Map of Great Britain, 1255-9 (probably his final work), British Library Cotton MS Claudius D.vi. Illustrated with thirty-three seated figures of English kings illustrating a genealogy.

• Historia Anglorum 1250-9 British Library MS Royal 14.C.VII, 358 x 250 mm, ff 232, also the last volume of the Chronica Majora, and various other items, including maps of the Holy Land and the British Isles, an itinerary from London to Apulia, a full-page Virgin and Child with Matthew Paris kneeling before them (illustration above, his most monumental work), and a genealogy of the Kings of England with seated portraits. The Historia Anglorum has 32 marginal drawings, rather more sketchy than in the earlier volumes. There is also a portrait of Matthew on his death-bed, presumably not by him.[2] By the 15th century it belonged to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, son of Henry IV, who inscribed it "Ceste livre est a moy Homffrey Duc de Gloucestre", and later to the bishop of Lincoln, who wrote another note saying 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 might suggest that Duke Humphrey's inscription was not entirely accurate, as New College would probably not have disposed of it. [3]

• Book of Additions (Liber additamentorum) British Library Cotton MS Nero D I, ff202 in all, contains maps, Lives of the Offas (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. [4], [5]

• The Life of King Edward the Confessor 1230s or 40s, Cambridge University Library 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 Matthew's text and framed illustrations.[6]

• Flores Historiarum Chetham's Hospital and Library, Manchester. MS 6712. Only part of the text, covering 1241 to 1249, is written by Paris. Additional interpolations to the text make it clear the volume was created for Westminster Abbey. 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; 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.^[1]

• Flores Historiarum Huntington Library, Berkeley, California, HM 30319 [7] - Not by Paris, a 15th century Ms of the Chronicle he continued, before starting his own. Not heavily illuminated.

• (Attributed to Paris by Janet Backhouse, but not by Nigel Morgan) The Becket Leaves The four surviving leaves from a French verse history of the live of Thomas a Becket with large illuminations, British Library

• Liber Experimentarius of Bernardus Silvestris, and other fortune-telling tracts. Bodleian Library Oxford, Ms. Ashmole 304, 176 x 128 mm, ff72. Many illustrations: author portraits (many of ancient Greeks - Socrates, Plato, Euclid, Pythagoras), birds, tables and diagrams of geomantic significance. A somewhat surprising book for a monk to produce. 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 x 130mm, 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,[8], a map of the British Isles, and a Christ in Majesty are all accepted as by Matthew. The main text is a chronicle, highly derivative of Matthew's. This was John's property, left to his final monastery at Wymondham.

Also, Latin biographies of Stephen Langton and Edmund Rich, and a verse biography of Rich. Various other works, especially maps. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Saint Alban was the first Christian martyr (protomartyr) in Britain. ... Trinity College, Dublin, corporately designated as the Provost, Fellows and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, and is the only constituent college of the University of Dublin, Irelands oldest university. ... Saint Amphibalus was formerly venerated as the Christian priest traditionally sheltered by Saint Alban, who was converted by him, as a consequence of which Alban was martyred. ... British Library Ossulston St entrance, with distinctive red logo. ... British Library Ossulston St entrance, with distinctive red logo. ... Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (1390 - February 23, 1447) was the fifth son of King Henry IV of England by his first wife, Mary de Bohun. ... College name New College of St Mary Collegium Novum Oxoniensis/Collegium Sanctae Mariae Wintoniae Named after Mary, mother of Jesus Established 1379 Sister College Kings College Warden Prof. ... British Library Ossulston St entrance, with distinctive red logo. ... Offa (or Alavivaz Olauus) (? - c. ... Saint Thomas à Becket (or Thomas Becket) (ca. ... British Library Ossulston St entrance, with distinctive red logo. ... Entrance to the Library, with the coats-of-arms of several Oxford colleges The Bodleian Library, the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in England is second in size only to the British Library. ... John of Wallingford, also known as John de Cella, was abbot of St Albans Abbey from 1195 to his death in 1214. ... The Christian icon of Christ in Majesty, in the Greek-speaking East the Deesis, was developed under Imperial patronage and survives, in its earliest examples, in Byzantine mosaics. ... Wymondham Market Cross There is also a Wymondham, Leicestershire Wymondham (pronounced ) is a historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. ... Stephen Langton (c. ... Edmund Rich, also known as Saint Edmund or Eadmund of Canterbury, was Archbishop of Canterbury in 1234. ...

A panel painting on oak of St Peter, the only surviving part of a tabernacle shrine (1850 x 750 mm), in the Museum of Oslo University has been attributed to him, 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. ^[2]

Paris as an artist

Recent scholarship, notably that of Nigel Morgan, suggests that Paris's influence on other artists of the period has been exaggerated, mainly 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, although William de Brailes is shown with a clerical tonsure, but was also married, suggesting 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, and remained to a certain extent 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 where a lay artist would prefer to stick to traditional formulae. It may also reflect the lack of a full training in the art of the period. His colouring emphasise green and blue, and together with his characteristic layout of a picture in the top half of a page, is relatively distinctive.

Paris as a historian

From 1235, the point at which Wendover dropped his pen, Matthew 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 conversation with the eye-witnesses of events. Among his informants were Richard, Earl of Cornwall and King Henry III himself, with whom he appears to have been on intimate terms. Events Anglo-Norman invasion of Connacht St. ... Richard (5 January 1209 - 2 April 1272) was Count of Poitou (bef. ... Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272) was crowned King of England in 1216, despite being less than ten years of age. ...

The king knew that Matthew 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 Matthew, "with much good will and diligence." It is therefore curious that the Chronica majora should give so unfavourable an account of the king's policy. Henry Reynolds Luard supposes that Matthew never intended his work to see the light of day in its present form, and many passages of the autograph have against them the note offendiculum, which shows that the writer understood the danger which he ran. On the other hand, unexpurgated copies were made in Matthew's lifetime; though the offending passages are duly omitted or softened in his abridgment of his longer work, the Historia Anglorum (written about 1253), the real sentiments of the author must have been an open secret. In any case there is no ground for the old theory that he was an official historiographer. For broader historical context, see 1250s and 13th century. ... For broader historical context, see 1250s and 13th century. ...

Matthew Paris lived at a time when English politics were peculiarly involved and tedious. His talent is for narrative and description. Though he took a keen interest in the personal side of politics, his portraits of his contemporaries throw more light on his own prejudices than on their aims and ideas. Like most "historians" of the period, he never pauses to weigh the evidence or to take a comprehensive view of the situation. He admires strength of character, even when it goes along with a policy of which he disapproves. Thus he praises Robert Grosseteste, while denouncing Grosseteste's scheme of monastic reform. Matthew is a vehement supporter of the monastic orders against their rivals, the secular clergy and the mendicant friars. He is violently opposed to the court and the foreign favourites. He despises the king as a statesman, though for the man he has some kindly feeling. Robert Grosseteste (c. ... The Mendicant (or Begging) Orders are religious orders which depend directly on the charity of the people for their livelihood. ...

The frankness with which he attacks the court of Rome is remarkable; so, too, is the intense nationalism which he displays in dealing with this topic. His faults are often due to carelessness and narrow views, but he sometimes invents rhetorical speeches which are misleading as an account of the speaker's sentiments. In other cases he tampers with the documents which he inserts (as, for instance, with the text of Magna Carta). His chronology is, for a contemporary, inexact; and he occasionally inserts duplicate versions of the same incident in different places. Hence he must always be rigorously checked when other authorities exist and used with caution where he is our sole informant. Nonetheless, he gives a more vivid impression of his age than any other English chronicler does; and it is a matter for regret that his great history breaks off in 1259, on the eve of the crowning struggle between Henry III and the baronage. Magna Carta Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter, literally Great Paper), also called Magna Carta Libertatum (Great Charter of Freedoms), is an English charter originally issued in 1215. ...

Studies of Matthew Paris

The relation of Matthew Paris's work to those of John de Celia (John of Wallingford) and Roger of Wendover may be studied in Henry Reynolds Luard's edition of the Chronica majora (7 vols., Rolls series. 1872–1881), which contains valuable prefaces. The Historia Anglorum sive historia minor (1067– 1253) has been edited by Frederic Madden (3 vols., Rolls series, 1866–1869). John of Wallingford, also known as John de Cella, was abbot of St Albans Abbey from 1195 to his death in 1214. ... Roger of Wendover (d. ... Year 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Events Constantine X emperor of the Byzantine Empire dies. ... For broader historical context, see 1250s and 13th century. ... Sir Frederic Madden (February 16, 1801 - March 8, 1873), was an English palaeographer. ... 1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...

Matthew Paris is sometimes confused with "Matthew of Westminster", the reputed author of the Flores historiarum 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. Matthew Paris also wrote a life of St Edmund of Canterbury, which has been edited and translated by C.H. Lawrence (Oxford, 1996). Moreover, he wrote the Anglo-Norman 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 MS. Ee.3.59. The text is edited in K.Y. Wallace, La Estoire de Seint Aedward le Rei, Anglo-Norman Text Society 41 (1983). Matthew of Westminster, long regarded as the author of the Flores Historiarum, is now thought never to have existed. ... The Flores Historiarum (Flowers of History) is a Latin chronicle dealing with English history from the creation to 1326 (although some of the earlier manuscripts end at 1306). ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Osman I (1299-1326) to Orhan I (1326-1359) Aradia de Toscano, is initiated into a Dianic cult of Italian Witchcraft (Stregheria), and discovers through a vision that she is the human incarnation of the goddess Aradia. ... Edmund Rich, also known as Saint Edmund or Eadmund of Canterbury, was Archbishop of Canterbury in 1234. ... The Anglo-Norman language is the name given to the variety of Norman spoken by the Anglo-Normans, the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William of Normandy in 1066. ...

Paris House at St Albans High School for Girls for Girls is named after him. St Albans High School is a private girls day school located in the city of St Albans, Hertfordshire. ...

Sources

(On manuscripts, and artistic style) Nigel Morgan, A Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles, Volume 4: Early Gothic Manuscripts, Part 1 1190-1250, Harvey Miller Ltd, London, 1982, ISBN 0199210268

Notes

1. ^ Nigel Morgan in: Jonathan Alexander & Paul Binski (eds), Age of Chivalry, Art in Plantagenet England, 1200-1400, Royal Academy/Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London 1987, Cat 437
2. ^ Nigel Morgan in: Jonathan Alexander & Paul Binski (eds), Age of Chivalry, Art in Plantagenet England, 1200-1400, Royal Academy/Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London 1987, Cat 311

External links

• some good images
• Stanford Digitized texts - Works by and about Paris, including Vaughan etc, in huge pdf files
• JSTOR review of Vaughan book
• Art Bulletin article on his maps;Imagined Pilgrimage in the Itinerary Maps of Matthew Paris. 12/1/1999 by Connolly, Daniel K
• Latin Chroniclers from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Centuries:Matthew Paris from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Volume I, 1907–21.

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. ... Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...