The English Benedictine monk Matthew Paris (ca. 1200-1259) was the most important chronicler of the 13th century. He was also an accomplished manuscript illustrator, biographer, and cartographer.

Matthew Paris, sometimes referred to as Matthew of Paris, probably had no connection with France by birth or education. Although no information exists concerning his parentage or his early life, he became a monk at St. Albans, a monastery on a main road about 15 miles northwest of London, on Jan. 21, 1217. There he received his training as a scribe and artist and, under Roger Wendover, as the abbey's historiographer. In 1248-1249 Matthew was called upon by Norway's King Haakon IV and by Pope Innocent IV to adjust the financial and spiritual affairs of the Benedictine abbey of St. Benet Holm on the island of Niderholm in Norway. Except for this successful journey, Matthew, for the most part, remained at St. Albans until...