Matthew Paris
Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer
Years: 1200 - 1259
Matthew Paris (Latin: Matthæus Parisiensis, lit.
"Matthew the Parisian"; c. 1200 – 1259) is a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire.
He writes a number of works, mostly historical, which he scribes and illuminates himself, typically in drawings partly colored with watercolor washes, sometimes called "tinted drawings".
Some are written in Latin, some in Anglo-Norman or French verse.
His Chronica Majora is an oft-cited source, though modern historians recognize that Paris is not always reliable.
He tends to glorify Emperor Frederick II and denigrate the Pope.
