Matthew Paris 142738 221503546 2008-06-24T20:06:40Z Johnbod 2563820 /* Manuscripts by Matthew Paris */ pics {{For|the British newspaper columnist and former MP|Matthew Parris}} [[Image:BritLibRoyal14CVIIFol006rMattParisSelfPort.jpg|thumb|200px|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]] &ndash; [[1259]]) was a [[Benedictine]] monk, [[English historians in the Middle Ages|English chronicler]], artist in [[illuminated manuscript]]s and [[cartographer]], based at [[St Albans Cathedral|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, some in [[Anglo-Norman]] or [[medieval French|French]] verse. His ''[[Chronica Majora]]'' is an oft-cited source, though modern historians recognize that Paris was not always extremely reliable since he tended to write to glorify Emperor [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]], and denigrate the [[Pope]].<ref>Peter Jackson, ''Mongols and the West'', p. 58</ref> ==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 School (Hertfordshire)|St Albans Abbey School]]. The first we know of Matthew Paris (from his own writings) is that he was admitted as a monk to [[St Albans Abbey|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 more 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 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 of France|Louis IX]] to [[Haakon IV of Norway|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 [[Nidarholm]] outside [[Trondheim]]. 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. Paris revised Roger's work, and that of Abbot [[John of Wallingford|John de Cella]], 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 Paris used in 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 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 [[Thomas Becket|St Thomas the Martyr]] and [[Edward the Confessor|St Edward]] which I copied (translated?) and illustrated, and which the Lady Countess of Cornwall may keep until [[Whitsun]]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 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== [[Image:Matthew Paris Elephant from Parker MS 16 fol 151v.jpg|thumb|Elephant from ''Chronica maiora'', Part II, Parker Library, MS 16, fol. 151v]] [[Image:DublinTrinityCollegeMSEi40LifeAlbanFol45rMartyrdomAmphibalus.jpg|thumb|Martyrdom of [[Amphibalus]] from the Trinity College ''Life of St Alban''.]] [[Image:Henry1.jpg|thumb|[[Henry I of England]] from [[British Library]] MS Royal 14.C.VII]] [[Image:BritLibCottonNeroD1Fol183vPersecutedJews.jpg|thumb|[[Jew]]s, wearing the [[yellow badge]] being persecuted, from [[British Library]] Cotton MS Nero D I]] 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 of the Monasteries|Dissolution]], but it seems that these MS were always appreciated, and many fell quickly into the collections of bibliophiles.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} * ''[[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.[http://parkerweb.stanford.edu/] 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 of England|William I]] and 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 [[Saint Alban|St Alban]]'' etc., dating controversial (1230-1250), [[Trinity College, Dublin #The_Library|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 [[Amphibalus|St Amphibalus]]'', and various other works relating to the history of [[St Albans Cathedral|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 Paris on his death-bed, presumably not by him.<ref>http://ibs001.colo.firstnet.net.uk/britishlibrary/controller/subjectidsearch?id=11624&&idx=1&startid=12427</ref> By the 15th century it belonged to [[Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester]], son of [[Henry IV of England|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.<ref>[http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/themes/mapsandviews/mattparismap.html Showcases :: Matthew Paris' map of Great Britain<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> * ''Book of Additions'' (Liber additamentorum) [[British Library]] Cotton MS Nero D I, ff202 in all, contains maps, ''Lives of the [[Offa]]s'' (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. <ref>[http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personalisation/object.cfm?uid=011COTNERD00001U00183V00 Itinerary From London To Chambery, In Matthew Paris's 'Book Of Additions'<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personalisation/object.cfm?uid=033COTNERD00001U00156000 Matthew Paris’ “Lives of the Offas”, Christ of Revelations<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> * ''The Life of [[Edward the Confessor|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 Paris's text and framed illustrations.<ref>[http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/MSS/Ee.3.59/index.html Life of King Edward the Confessor<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> * ''Flores Historiarum'' [[Chetham's Library|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.<ref>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</ref> * ''Flores Historiarum'' [[The Huntington Library|Huntington Library]], [[Berkeley, California]], HM 30319 <ref>[http://dpg.lib.berkeley.edu/webdb/dsheh/heh_brf?Description=&CallNumber=HM+30319 Digital Scriptorium<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> - 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 life of [[Thomas Becket]] with large illuminations, [[British Library]] * ''Liber Experimentarius'' of [[Bernard Silvestris|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,<ref>http://www.imagesonline.bl.uk/britishlibrary/controller/subjectidsearch?id=8541&&idx=1&startid=11208</ref> a map of the British Isles, and a [[Christ in Majesty]] 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]]. Also, Latin biographies of [[Stephen Langton]] and [[Edmund Rich]], and a verse biography of Rich. Various other works, especially maps. A panel painting on oak of [[Saint Peter|St Peter]], the only surviving part of a tabernacle shrine (1850 x 750 mm), in the Museum of [[University of Oslo|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. <ref>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</ref> ==Paris as an artist== [[Image:DublinTrinityCollegeMSEi40LifeAlbanFol38vHeracliusTakesDownAlbansHead.jpg|thumb|Framed tinted drawing of [[Heraclius]] taking down the head of Saint Alban, from the Trinity College ''Life'']] 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. 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. [[Image:Matthew Paris - William Marshal.jpg|thumb|Unframed marginal drawing of [[William Marshall]] from the Corpus Christi Chronica]] 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 emphasises 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 [[Roger of Wendover|Wendover]] 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 conversation with the eye-witnesses of events. Among his informants were [[Richard, Earl of Cornwall]] and King [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] himself, 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 therefore curious that the ''Chronica majora'' should give so unfavourable an account of the king's policy. [[Henry Richards Luard]] supposes that Paris 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 Paris'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. [[Image:Paris.elefant.jpg|thumb|Another elephant from the Chronica Maiora II, Corpus Christi College]] 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. Paris is a vehement supporter of the monastic orders against their rivals, the secular clergy and the [[mendicant friar]]s. 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. 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. ==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). 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 [[Edmund Rich|St Edmund of Canterbury]], which has been edited and translated by C.H. Lawrence (Oxford, 1996). Moreover, he wrote the [[Anglo-Norman language|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). Paris House at [[St Albans High School for Girls]] is named after him. ==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== {{commonscat|Matthew Paris}} <references/> *{{1911}} ==External links== *[http://www.all-art.org/history194-28a.html some good images] *[http://standish.stanford.edu/bin/search/simple/process?query=Matthew+Paris&offset=0 Stanford Digitized texts - Works by and about Paris, including Vaughan etc, in huge pdf files] *[http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266(195907)74%3A292%3C482%3AMP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1 JSTOR review of Vaughan book] *[http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/sacredtexts/mparis.html Matthew Paris's Jerusalem pilgrim's travel guide: information, zoomable image] British Library website *[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-58926046.html Art Bulletin article on his maps;Imagined Pilgrimage in the Itinerary Maps of Matthew Paris. 12/1/1999 by Connolly, Daniel K] *[http://www.bartleby.com/211/0919.html Latin Chroniclers from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Centuries:'''Matthew Paris'''] from ''[[The Cambridge History of English and American Literature]]'', Volume I, 1907–21. *{{CathEncy|wstitle=Matthew Paris}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Paris, Matthew}} [[Category:1200 births|Paris, Matthew]] [[Category:1259 deaths|Paris, Matthew]] [[Category:People from St Albans|Paris, Matthew]] [[Category:Benedictines]] [[Category:English historians|Paris, Matthew]] [[Category:Heraldists|Paris, Matthew]] [[Category:Medieval historians|Paris, Matthew]] [[Category:13th century writers]] [[Category:13th century English people]] [[Category:Chroniclers]] [[Category:Manuscript illuminators]] [[Category:English painters]] [[Category:English cartographers]] [[Category:Writers who illustrated their own writing]] [[Category:English Christian monks]] [[Category:Medieval European scribes]] [[cy:Mathew Paris]] [[de:Matthäus Paris]] [[es:Mateo de París]] [[fr:Mathieu Paris]] [[it:Matteo Paris]] [[no:Matthew Paris]] [[sv:Matthew Paris]]