Matthew Paris is a major source of information on the Templars and Hospitallers. But we ask: ‘How far can this Mad Monk be trusted? Was he in the pay of the Evil Emperor?’
Narratives of resistance: arguments against the mendicants in the works of Matthew Paris and William of Saint-Amour
September 8, 2014 By
The rise of the new mendicant orders, foremost the Franciscans and Dominicans, is one of the great success stories of thirteenth-century Europe. Combining apostolic poverty with sophisticated organization and university learning, they brought much needed improvements to pastoral care in the growing cities.
Real and imaginary journeys in the later Middle Ages
September 1, 2014 By
For a proper understanding of the actions of men in the past it is necessary to have some idea of how they conceived the world and their place in it, yet for the medieval period there is a serious inbalance in the sources.
Matthew Paris and the Royal Christmas: Ritualised Communication in Text and Practice
November 24, 2013 By
In the Chronica majora, and its abbreviations, Paris opened each year with a description of how and where the king held Christmas.
The Eyes Have It: Blindness and Vision in Matthew Paris’s Estoire de seint Aedward le rei
September 14, 2013 By
La Estoire de seint Aedward le rei (The History of Saint Edward the King) is extant in only one manuscript—and it is stunning
Matthew Paris and Henry III’s elephant
September 5, 2013 By
Matthew Paris’s drawings of Henry III’s elephant are well-known, and popular accounts of the Tower of London often mention the elephant’s brief residence there.
Tartars on the Frontiers of Europe: The English Perspective
July 18, 2013 By
The relevant records in English chronicles reveal little about the actual historical events of the East Central European region in the thirteenth century but say a great deal about the perception and knowledge of a core country about the periphery of Western Christianity.
Matthew Paris in Norway
May 27, 2013 By
It appears that Matthew only ever left England once, when, in 1248-9, he visited Norway to assist in settling a dispute at the Benedictine abbey of Nidarholm near Trondheim. It is on this episode that the following will focus.
Queen of All Islands: The Imagined Cartography of Matthew Paris’s Britain
April 29, 2013 By
In the middle decade of the thirteenth century, the Benedictine monk and historian Matthew Paris drew four regional maps of Britain. The monk’s works stand as the earliest extant maps of the island and mark a distinct shift from the cartographic traditions of medieval Europe.
The Papal Bulls for the Invasions of England and Ireland
January 13, 2013 By
John has represented his master’s enterprise in the very best light, making him out as an enthusiast for the reformation of the lax moral and ecclesiastical condition of Ireland.
History and Hagiography in Matthew Paris’s Illustrated Life of Edward the Confessor
October 12, 2012 By
This thesis focuses on the Life of Edward the Confessor and explores the way in which Matthew visually represents the lengthy historical sequences that he has added to the more traditional account of the saint.
Constitutionalism and the Cloister: Matthew Paris and the Crisis of Royal Monastic Patronage in Thirteenth Century England
April 21, 2011 By
In a matter of two decades, the monastery had gone from total identification with the monarchy to supporting a rebellion against the Crown. How could such a change have come about? What could have led the monks to oppose the King?
Effigies ad Regem Angliae and the Representation of Kingship in Thirteenth-Century English Royal Culture
March 20, 2011 By
Effigies ad Regem Angliae and the Representation of Kingship in Thirteenth-Century English Royal Culture Collard, Judith eBLJ (2007), Article 9 Abstract In the ‘Treasures of the British Library’ display, in the section devoted to various manuscripts of Magna Carta, are three large reproductions of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century English manuscripts. Two reproduce a single image of the […]
A Thirteenth-Century Meditational Tool: Matthew Paris’s Itinerary Maps
March 13, 2011 By
A Thirteenth-Century Meditational Tool: Matthew Paris’s Itinerary Maps By Dana Vasiliu British and American Studies, Vol.15 (2009) Abstract: This paper looks into the way in which Matthew Paris’s itinerary maps served as prompts for cloistered monastics to conduct imagined pilgrimages to Jerusalem, the centre of Christianity. Moreover, this paper aims at discussing the relationship between […]
King John and Arthur of Brittany
February 6, 2011 By
King John and Arthur of Brittany Powicke, F.M. English Historical Review, Vol.24 (1909) Abstract After studying, in the order of their composition, the authorities which refer to or discuss the death of Arthur and the alleged condemnation of King John by his peers in the French court, I have been led to feel considerable doubt concerning […]
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