Who's Who in Medieval History
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Matthew Paris was known for:
Occupations:
Places of Residence and Influence:
Important Dates:
About Matthew Paris:
Although Paris wrote voluminously, very little of his works shed any light on his own life. We do know he was a monk at St. Albans and that he occasionally visited the royal courts. In 1248 he went to Norway to reform the Benedictine Monastery of St. Benet Holm; on his journey he was entrusted with letters for King Haakon IV, with whom he formed a friendship. Paris was also personally acquainted with King Henry III of England and Richard, Earl of Cornwall. He spent most of his life at St. Albans, but he put his acquaintance with persons of import and his few trips outside the monastery to good use in acquiring news to include in his chronicles.
Among Paris's works are the Chronica majora ("Major Chronicles"), the Historia Anglorum ("History of the English") and the Gesta abbatum monasterii Sancti Albani (“Deeds of the Abbots of the Monastery of St. Albans”). He also wrote biographies of historical figures and saints, including Saint Alban, Edward the Confessor and Thomas Becket.
Matthew Paris was also something of an artist, and is believed to have illustrated his manuscripts himself.
More Matthew Paris Resources:
Matthew Paris on the Web
Matthew Paris
Concise bio by Herbert Thurston at the Catholic Encyclopedia.
Latin Chroniclers from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Centuries: § 19. Matthew Paris
An overview of the status of historical chronicle in the time period, from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, online at Bartleby.com.
Grant of a New Fair at Westminster, 1248
Brief document from the J.A. Giles translation, at Paul Halsall's Medieval Sourcebook.
King Henry III's Reformation of the Coinage, 1248
Interesting description of the problem, from the J.A. Giles translation at Paul Halsall's Medieval Sourcebook.
Matthew Paris' world map, 1250
Image of the map at the Cartographic Images site.
Matthew Paris in Print
The Illustrated Chronicles of Matthew Paris: Observations of Thirteenth-Century Life
(History/Prehistory and Medieval History)
by Matthew Paris; translated by Richard Vaughan; photographed by Ian Cannell
Matthew Paris
(Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: New Series)
by Richard Vaughan
The Maps of Matthew Paris: Medieval Journeys through Space, Time and Liturgy
by Daniel K. Connolly
Medieval Britain
Monasticism
Hagiography
Guide Note: This Who's Who Profile of Matthew Paris was originally posted in September of 2003, and was updated in March of 2012. Content is copyright ©2003-2012 Melissa Snell.
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