For the work of Bede called Chronica maiora, see The Reckoning of Time.
Elephant from Chronica maiora, Part II, Parker Library, MS 16, fol. 151v
The Chronica Majora is the seminal work of Matthew Paris, a member of the English Benedictine community of St Albans and long-celebrated historian. The work begins with Creation and contains annals down to the year of Paris' death of 1259. The Chronica has long been considered a contemporary attempt to present a universal history of the world.[1]
Written in Latin, the illustrated autograph copy of the Chronica Majora survives in three volumes. The first two parts, covering Creation up to 1188 as well as the years 1189 to 1253 (MS 26 and MS 16), are contained in the Parker Library at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.[2] The remainder of the Chronica, from 1254 until Matthew's death in 1259, is in the British Library, bound as Royal MS 14 C VII folios 157–218, following Matthew's Historia Anglorum (an abridgement of the Chronica covering the period from 1070 to 1253).[2]
The Chronica is also renowned for its author's unprecedented use of archival and documentary material. These sources, amounting to over 200 items, include charters dating back to the eighth century,[3] the rights of St Albans,[3] a dossier relating to the canonisation of St Edmund of Canterbury and even a documented list of precious gems and artefacts in possession of St Albans.[4] This exhaustive list of material required its own appendix which later became a separate volume, the Liber Additamentorum.
The Chronica is one of the most important surviving documents for the history of Latin Europe.[5] Despite its focus on England, Matthew's work extends to regions as far afield as Norway, Hungary, and Sicily as well as the crusader states.[5] It continues to be mined for its coverage of the Mongol invasions, its detailed report of the conflict between Frederick II and successive popes, as well as its commentary on the outbreak of the Second Barons' War of 1258–1267.[5] In addition to Matthew's literary abilities, he was an accomplished draughtsman. The surviving manuscripts are considered to be the foremost examples of English Gothic Manuscript, and they include some of the earliest surviving maps of Britain and the Holy Land.[5]
^Lewis, Suzanne (1987). The Art of Matthew Paris in the Chronica Majora. University of California. p. 9.
^ abParker Library on the web: MS 26, MS 16I, MS 16II 362 x 244/248 mm. ff 141 + 281
^ abChronica Majora, vol. 6, pp. 1–62
^Chronica Majora, vol. 6, pp. 383–92
^ abcdBjorn Weiler, 'Matthew Paris on the Writing of History', Journal of Medieval History 35:3 (2006), p. 255.
The ChronicaMajora is the seminal work of Matthew Paris, a member of the English Benedictine community of St Albans and long-celebrated historian. The...
sometimes confused with the nonexistent Matthew of Westminster. His ChronicaMajora is a renowned Medieval work, in many cases being a key source for mid-13th...
H. W. C. Davis ChronicaMajora, Matthew Paris; Vol i. pp. 440,422. ChronicaMajora, Matthew Paris; Vol iii. p. 153. ChronicaMajora, Matthew Paris; Vol...
1991, p. 33. Lewis, Suzanne (1987). The Art of Matthew Paris in the ChronicaMajora. California studies in the history of art. Vol. 21. University of California...
version adapted by Matthew Paris which forms the first part of his ChronicaMajora (ed. Henry Richards Luard, Rolls Series, seven volumes). The sources...
in his attempt to recruit Haakon IV and wrote of the Crusade in his ChronicaMajora but did not travel to the Holy Land. Louis’ expenses on the Crusade...
double-headed eagle is attributed as the arms of Frederick II in the ChronicaMajora (c. 1250). In 1433 the double-headed eagle was adopted by Sigismund...
cruelty during the Mongol invasion of Europe, and a drawing in the ChronicaMajora (compiled by Matthew Paris) shows Mongol fighters spit-roasting a human...
on the 1593 outbreak is given in William Wats's edition of Paris's ChronicaMajora (London, 1640). Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria...
a Reading Abbey manuscript now in Lambeth Palace Library, and the ChronicaMajora and Liber Additamentorum of Matthew Paris. The process of appointment...
was included among the c. 1250 heraldic shields in Matthew Paris' ChronicaMajora, while the c. 1260 allegorical illustrations of a knight battling the...
History of the Jews in England and Edict of Expulsion. Matthew Paris, ChronicaMajora, ed. H. R. Luard, London, 1880, v. 340–341 Anderson 1991, pp. 22–23...
sketched and, in some cases, water-coloured, in the margins of the ChronicaMajora. Paris first met Henry in 1236 and enjoyed an extended relationship...
Tower of London. A drawing by the historian Matthew Paris for his ChronicaMajora can be seen in his bestiary at Parker Library of Corpus Christi College...
Paris, Matthew (1991) [First published 1908; republished 1991]. "ChronicaMajora (excerpt)". In Anderson, Alan Orr; Anderson, Marjorie O (eds.). Scottish...
William III de Braose (d.1211) by Matthew Paris in Historia Anglorum, ChronicaMajora, Part III (1250–59) British Library MS Royal 14 C VII f. 29v (shown...
to William I and his successors Henry I, Stephen, Henry II, John and Henry III by Matthew Paris in Historia Anglorum and ChronicaMajora in the 1250s....
alleged events at Coldingham date to the 13th century. They include Chronicamajora, and both the Wendover and Paris versions of Flores historiarum. According...
shield, attributed to Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, is found in the ChronicaMajora by Matthew Paris (circa 1250). Segar's Roll (circa 1280) likewise depicts...
century. Medieval and early modern depictions of Noah's Ark on Ararat ChronicaMajora (c. 1240–1253) by Matthew Paris Catalan Atlas, c. 1375 by Abraham Cresques...
States The Battle of Hattin, from a 13th-century manuscript of the ChronicaMajora. Belligerents Kingdom of Jerusalem County of Tripoli Knights Templar...
caused a sensation. Chronicler Matthew Paris recorded the event in his ChronicaMajora and noted that "people flocked together to see the novel sight". Paris...
University Press. Lewis, Suzanne (1987). The Art of Matthew Paris in the ChronicaMajora. University of California Press. Marshall, Christopher John (1987)...
Cambridge Corpus Christi College Parker Library MS 16 II, fol. 170r (ChronicaMajora, c. 1250). "Medieval copper alloy armorial mount". Museum Wales. Retrieved...
likely authored the Flores to serve as an abridgement of his larger Chronicamajora, and from Westminster Abbey, where the work was continued and copied...
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