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Modernizing Matthew Paris: The Standards And Practices Of The First Printed Editions, Kristen Geaman

Quidditas

This article discusses the first printed editions of Mathew Paris’s thirteenth-century chronicle, Chronica Maiora, arguing that these editions show a much higher level of editorial sophistication than has yet been recognized. Written between 1235 and 1259, the Chronica Maiora is one of the most extensive and detailed chronicles of medieval England; yet the work was not printed until 1571, as part of a series of historical publications overseen by Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury. Although the text of Parker’s edition has been almost universally criticized by scholars, this work suggests that he actually set a high editorial standard, especially by …