114-521: 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. Written in Latin , the illustrated autograph copy of
228-465: A tyrant , which allowed the Caesarians to have lawful support and kept Caesar's reforms and policies intact. In April 43 BC, "diehard republicans" may have revived the ancient position of princeps senatus (leader of the senate) for Cicero. This position had been very prestigious until the constitutional reforms of Sulla in 82–80 BC, which removed most of its importance. On the other side, Antony
342-516: A "tyrant" who "committed disgraceful crimes". In spite of his surname and knowledge of the French language, Paris was of English birth, and is believed by some chroniclers to be of the Paris family of Hildersham , Cambridgeshire . He may have studied at Paris in his youth after early education at St Albans School , however this is simply conjecture. The first we know of Matthew Paris (from his own writings)
456-458: A Parthian invasion, causing unrest in Syria and Cilicia. Cicero restored calm by his mild system of government. He discovered that a great amount of public property had been embezzled by corrupt previous governors and members of their staff, and did his utmost to restore it. Thus he greatly improved the condition of the cities. He retained the civil rights of, and exempted from penalties, the men who gave
570-517: A Roman citizen without a trial. Cicero, having executed members of the Catiline conspiracy four years previously without formal trial, was clearly the intended target. Furthermore, many believed that Clodius acted in concert with the triumvirate who feared that Cicero would seek to abolish many of Caesar's accomplishments while consul the year before. Cicero argued that the senatus consultum ultimum indemnified him from punishment, and he attempted to gain
684-517: A School of St Albans surviving after Paris's death, influenced by him. Paris's style suggests that it was formed by works from around 1200. He was somewhat old-fashioned in retaining a roundness in his figures, rather than adopting the thin angularity of most of his artist contemporaries, especially those in London. His compositions are very inventive; his position as a well-connected monk may have given him more confidence in creating new compositions, whereas
798-458: A cleft in the tip of his nose resembling a chickpea. The famous family names of Fabius , Lentulus , and Piso come from the Latin names of beans, lentils, and peas, respectively. Plutarch writes that Cicero was urged to change this deprecatory name when he entered politics, but refused, saying that he would make Cicero more glorious than Scaurus ("Swollen-ankled") and Catulus ("Puppy"). At
912-612: A comprehensive account of Greek philosophy for a Roman audience, including creating a philosophical vocabulary in Latin. In 87 BC, Philo of Larissa , the head of the Platonic Academy that had been founded by Plato in Athens about 300 years earlier, arrived in Rome. Cicero, "inspired by an extraordinary zeal for philosophy", sat enthusiastically at his feet and absorbed Carneades ' Academic Skeptic philosophy. According to Plutarch, Cicero
1026-675: A conspiracy led by Lucius Sergius Catilina to overthrow the Roman Republic with the help of foreign armed forces. Cicero procured a senatus consultum ultimum (a recommendation from the senate attempting to legitimise the use of force) and drove Catiline from the city with four vehement speeches (the Catilinarian orations ), which remain outstanding examples of his rhetorical style. The Orations listed Catiline and his followers' debaucheries, and denounced Catiline's senatorial sympathizers as roguish and dissolute debtors clinging to Catiline as
1140-461: A consul in 30 BC, avenged his father's death, to a certain extent, when he announced to the Senate Mark Antony's naval defeat at Actium in 31 BC by Octavian. Octavian is reported to have praised Cicero as a patriot and a scholar of meaning in later times, within the circle of his family. However, it was Octavian's acquiescence that had allowed Cicero to be killed, as Cicero was condemned by
1254-603: A cowed Cicero concentrated on his literary works. It is uncertain whether he was directly involved in politics for the following few years. His legal work largely consisted of defending allies of the ruling triumvirs and his own personal friends and allies; he defended his former pupil Marcus Caelius Rufus against a charge of murder in 56. Under the influence of the triumvirs, he had also defended his former enemies Publius Vatinius (in August 54 BCE), Marcus Aemilius Scaurus (between July and September) and Gnaeus Plancius (with
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#17328475028391368-536: A final and desperate hope. Cicero demanded that Catiline and his followers leave the city. At the conclusion of Cicero's first speech (which was made in the Temple of Jupiter Stator ), Catiline hurriedly left the Senate. In his following speeches, Cicero did not directly address Catiline. He delivered the second and third orations before the people, and the last one again before the Senate. By these speeches, Cicero wanted to prepare
1482-464: A framed miniature occupies the upper half of the page, and in others, they are "marginal" – unframed and occupying the bottom quarter (approximately) of the page. Tinted drawings were an established style well before Paris, and became especially popular in the first half of the 13th century. They were certainly much cheaper and quicker than fully painted illuminations. The tradition of tinted drawings or outline drawings with ink supplemented by coloured wash
1596-415: A large amount of Latin philosophical vocabulary via lexical innovation (e.g. neologisms such as evidentia , generator , humanitas , infinitio , qualitas , quantitas ), almost 150 of which were the result of translating Greek philosophical terms . Though he was an accomplished orator and successful lawyer, Cicero believed his political career was his most important achievement. It
1710-575: A large assortment of prefatory material, often including full-page miniatures. Some have survived incomplete, and the various elements now bound together may not have been intended to be so by Paris. Unless stated otherwise, all were given by Paris to his monastery (from some inscriptions it seems they were regarded as his property to dispose of). The monastic libraries were broken up at the Dissolution . These MSS seem to have been appreciated, and were quickly collected by bibliophiles. Many of his manuscripts in
1824-566: A lay artist would prefer to stick to traditional formulae. It may also reflect the lack of full training in the art of the period. His colouring emphasises green and blue, and together with his characteristic layout of a picture in the top half of a page, is relatively distinctive. What are probably his final sketches are found in Vitae duorum Offarum in BL MS Cotton Nero D I. From 1235, the point at which Wendover dropped his pen, Paris continued
1938-554: A legislative requirement enacted by Pompey in 52 BC specifying an interval of five years between a consulship or praetorship and a provincial command . He served as proconsul of Cilicia from May 51 BC, arriving in the provinces three months later around August. In 53 BC Marcus Licinius Crassus had been defeated by the Parthians at the Battle of Carrhae . This opened the Roman East for
2052-447: A long trip spanning most of 79 through 77 BC. Returning to Rome in 77 BC, Cicero again busied himself with legal defence. In 76 BC, at the quaestorian elections, Cicero was elected at the minimum age required – 30 years – in the first returns from the comitia tributa , to the post of quaestor . Ex officio, he also became a member of the Senate . In the quaestorian lot, he
2166-600: A moral polemic was often achieved by presenting narratives exemplifying good and evil for the edification of the reader. This convention is woven into the Chronica with great dexterity by Matthew. He posed rhetorical questions concerning the deeds and actions of people and why such things warranted being written down. In the eyes of Matthew, who was a conservative Benedictine monk, signs and portents forewarned of famine and other miseries that would befall humanity in retribution for their sins. In essence Matthew believed that history, and
2280-425: A multi-layered pastiche because he continued the monastic practices of revising and augmenting entries retrospectively. Suzanne Lewis claims that Roger of Wendover , Matthew's predecessor, had a resounding influence on Matthew's works. Matthew's Chronica was largely a continuation of Roger's annals up to 1235 with the occasional addition of phrases and anecdotes for dramatic effect. However, Matthew went beyond what
2394-483: A pamphlet titled On Invention relating to rhetorical argumentation and studying philosophy with Greek academics who had fled the ongoing First Mithridatic War . During this period in Roman history, Greek language and cultural studies were highly valued by the elite classes. Cicero was therefore educated in the teachings of the ancient Greek philosophers , poets and historians ; as he obtained much of his understanding of
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#17328475028392508-465: A part of the property in order to extend his own house. After demolishing Cicero's house, Clodius had the land consecrated and symbolically erected a temple of Liberty ( aedes Libertatis ) on the vacant land. Cicero's exile caused him to fall into depression. He wrote to Atticus: "Your pleas have prevented me from committing suicide. But what is there to live for? Don't blame me for complaining. My afflictions surpass any you ever heard of earlier". After
2622-402: A semi-invalid, he could not enter public life and studied extensively to compensate. Little is known about Cicero's mother Helvia, but Cicero's brother Quintus wrote in a letter that she was a thrifty housewife. Cicero's cognomen , a hereditary nickname, comes from the Latin for chickpea , cicer . Plutarch explains that the name was originally given to one of Cicero's ancestors who had
2736-542: A senior senator, courted Cicero's favor, but even so Cicero slipped out of Italy and traveled to Dyrrhachium where Pompey's staff was situated. Cicero traveled with the Pompeian forces to Pharsalus in Macedonia in 48 BC, though he was quickly losing faith in the competence and righteousness of the Pompeian side. Eventually, he provoked the hostility of his fellow senator Cato, who told him that he would have been of more use to
2850-632: A separate volume, the Liber Additamentorum. The Chronica is one of the most important surviving documents for the history of Latin Europe. 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. 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
2964-490: A time of civil unrest and war. Sulla's victory in the first of a series of civil wars led to a new constitutional framework that undermined libertas (liberty), the fundamental value of the Roman Republic. Nonetheless, Sulla's reforms strengthened the position of the equestrian class, contributing to that class's growing political power. Cicero was both an Italian eques and a novus homo , but more importantly he
3078-600: A work named like that of Wendover, the Flores Historiarum . This manuscript, unlike his Chronica , was copied multiple times and at multiple places and within 250 years of the writing of Paris's Flores , over 20 copies were made. Paris also is known for his illustrations and cartographic ability, often found as marginalia however sometimes being given full pages. The Dublin MS (see below) contains interesting notes, which shed light on Paris's involvement in other manuscripts, and on
3192-603: Is sometimes confused with Matthew of Westminster , the reputed author of the Flores historiarum edited by Luard (3 vols., Rolls series, 1890). This work, compiled by various hands, is an edition of Matthew Paris, with continuations extending to 1326. He wrote a life of St Edmund of Abingdon , sometime Archbishop of Canterbury . He also wrote the Anglo-Norman La Estoire de Seint Aedward le Rei (the History of Saint Edward
3306-477: Is sometimes confused with the nonexistent Matthew of Westminster . His Chronica Majora is a renowned Medieval work, in many cases being a key source for mid-13th century Europe, partially due to his verbose insertion of personal opinions into his narrative and his use of sources such as records, letters, and conversations with witnesses to events including the English king Henry III , earl Richard of Cornwall ,
3420-483: Is that he was admitted as a monk to St Albans in 1217. It is on the assumption that he was in his teens on admission that his birth date is estimated; some scholars suspect he may have been ten years or older; many monks only entered monastic life after pursuing a career in the world outside. He was clearly at ease with the nobility and even royalty, which may indicate that he came from a family of some status, although it also seems an indication of his personality. His life
3534-556: The Pro Plancio ) in September, which weakened his prestige and sparked attacks on his integrity: Luca Grillo has suggested these cases as the source of the poet Catullus 's double-edged comment that Cicero was "the best defender of anybody". In 51 BC he reluctantly accepted a promagistracy (as proconsul) in Cilicia for the year; there were few other former consuls eligible as a result of
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3648-460: The Chronica Majora , was thus not only useful to readers of Paris's time, and has been used by modern historians as a source document for the period between 1235 and 1259. While this makes Paris's Chronica currently his most famous work, within the first few hundred years after Paris's death this was not the case. Paris scribed 2 major abridgements of his Chronica : his Historia Anglorum , and
3762-402: The lex Titia , passed on 27 November 43 BC, which gave each triumvir a consular imperium for five years. The Triumvirate immediately began a proscription of their enemies, modeled after that of Sulla in 82 BC. Cicero and all of his contacts and supporters were numbered among the enemies of the state, even though Octavian argued for two days against Cicero being added to the list. Cicero
3876-659: The British Library are from the Cotton Library . Also, fragments of a Latin biography of Stephen Langton . Various other works, especially maps. A panel painting on oak of St Peter , the only surviving part of a tabernacle shrine (1850 × 750 mm), in the Museum of Oslo University has been attributed to Paris, presumably dating from his visit in 1248. Local paintings are usually on pine, so he may have brought this with him, or sent it later. In some of Paris's manuscripts,
3990-514: The Chronica covering the period from 1070 to 1253). 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, the rights of St Albans, 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. This exhaustive list of material required its own appendix which later became
4104-547: 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 . 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
4218-539: The College of Pontiffs to rule that the consecration of his land was invalid, thereby allowing him to regain his property and rebuild his house on the Palatine. Cicero tried to re-enter politics as an independent operator, but his attempts to attack portions of Caesar's legislation were unsuccessful and encouraged Caesar to re-solidify his political alliance with Pompey and Crassus. The conference at Luca in 56 BC left
4332-469: The Roxburghe Club was edited by M. R. James , and the whole manuscript has been digitalized and can be seen online. Paris House at St Albans High School for Girls is named after him. Cicero People Events Places Marcus Tullius Cicero ( / ˈ s ɪ s ə r oʊ / SISS -ə-roh ; Latin: [ˈmaːrkʊs ˈtʊlli.ʊs ˈkɪkɛroː] ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC)
4446-484: The monastic annal-writers. Gervase of Canterbury , whose work influenced Matthew Paris's writing, wrote the following in 1188: "The historian proceeds diffusely and elegantly, whereas the chronicler proceeds simply, gradually and briefly. The Chronicler computes the years Anno Domini and months kalends, and briefly describes the actions of kings and princes which occurred at those times; he also commemorates events, portents and wonders." Although Matthew stands alone in
4560-463: The note offendiculum , which shows that the writer understood the danger which he ran. On the other hand, unexpurgated copies were made in Paris's lifetime. Although the offending passages are duly omitted or softened in his abridgement of his longer work, the Historia Anglorum (written about 1253), Paris's real feelings must have been an open secret. There is no ground for the old theory that he
4674-462: The pomerium , to retain his promagisterial powers: either in expectation of a triumph or to retain his independent command authority in the coming civil war. The struggle between Pompey and Julius Caesar grew more intense in 50 BC. Cicero favored Pompey, seeing him as a defender of the senate and Republican tradition, but at that time avoided openly alienating Caesar. When Caesar invaded Italy in 49 BC, Cicero fled Rome. Caesar, seeking an endorsement by
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4788-438: The senatus consultum ultimum gave some legitimacy to the use of force against the conspirators, Cicero also argued that Catiline's conspiracy, by virtue of its treason, made the conspirators enemies of the state and forfeited the protections intrinsically possessed by Roman citizens. The consuls moved decisively. Antonius Hybrida was dispatched to defeat Catiline in battle that year, preventing Crassus or Pompey from exploiting
4902-408: The 'Old Academic' and initiator of Middle Platonism . In Asia Minor, he met the leading orators of the region and continued to study with them. Cicero then journeyed to Rhodes to meet his former teacher, Apollonius Molon, who had taught him in Rome. Molon helped Cicero hone the excesses in his style, as well as train his body and lungs for the demands of public speaking. Charting a middle path between
5016-476: The Gauls, was able to seize letters that incriminated the five conspirators and forced them to confess in front of the Senate . The senate then deliberated upon the conspirators' punishment. As it was the dominant advisory body to the various legislative assemblies rather than a judicial body, there were limits to its power; however, martial law was in effect, and it was feared that simple house arrest or exile –
5130-625: The Italian peninsula. His severed hands and head (taken by order of Antony and displayed representing the repercussions of his anti-Antonian actions as a writer and as an orator, respectively) were then displayed on the Rostra . Petrarch 's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited for initiating the 14th-century Renaissance in public affairs , humanism , and classical Roman culture. According to Polish historian Tadeusz Zieliński , "the Renaissance
5244-539: The Jews to his coverage of the Mongol invasion, Matthew wrote from a position of self-interest. He tended to distort history and his source material in order to preserve the integrity of his abbey and kingdom. What has been agreed upon is that the Chronica , at the very least, provides insight into what history meant to contemporaries and how they used it to reconcile their place within their world. It provides an encyclopedic history of
5358-636: The King), which survives in a beautifully illuminated manuscript version, Cambridge, Cambridge University Library MS. Ee.3.59. The manuscript has had a varied publication history. Sections were printed in Francisque Michel 's Chroniques Anglo-Normandes . Luard's edition for the Rolls series was severely criticised; it was re-edited for the Anglo-Norman Text Society by K. Y. Wallace. A facsimile for
5472-469: The Norwegian king Haakon IV , a number of English bishops, and many others. Modern historians recognise Paris's biases. He often tended to glorify Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and denigrate the pope, expressing strong criticism of centralised church authority and at times royal power. However, in his Historia Anglorum , Paris displays a highly negative view of Frederick, going as far as to describe him as
5586-633: The Parisian';; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler , artist in illuminated manuscripts , and cartographer who was based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire . He authored a number of historical works, many of which he scribed and illuminated himself, typically in drawings partly coloured with watercolour washes, sometimes called "tinted drawings". Some were written in Latin, others in Anglo-Norman or French verse. He
5700-492: The Senate for the worst possible case; he also delivered more evidence, against Catiline. Catiline fled and left behind his followers to start the revolution from within while he himself assaulted the city with an army of "moral and financial bankrupts, or of honest fanatics and adventurers". It is alleged that Catiline had attempted to involve the Allobroges , a tribe of Transalpine Gaul , in their plot, but Cicero, working with
5814-497: The adoption of patrician Publius Clodius Pulcher into a plebeian family and had him elected as one of the ten tribunes of the plebs for 58 BC. Clodius used the triumvirate's backing to push through legislation that benefited them. He introduced several laws (the leges Clodiae ) that made him popular with the people, strengthening his power base, then he turned on Cicero. Clodius passed a law which made it illegal to offer "fire and water" (i.e. shelter or food) to anyone who executed
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#17328475028395928-654: The affairs of his community and an unprecedented number of insightful sources and documents which would never otherwise have survived. Matthew Paris's Chronica Majora contains one of the first extant descriptions and images of the Wandering Jew , a legendary figure who struck and scolded Jesus on his way to the crucifixion, thereby becoming doomed to walk the earth until the Second Coming . Matthew Paris Matthew Paris , also known as Matthew of Paris ( Latin : Matthæus Parisiensis , lit. 'Matthew
6042-603: The age of 15, in 90 BC, Cicero started serving under Pompey Strabo and later Sulla in the Social war between Rome and its Italian allies. When in Rome during the turbulent plebeian tribunate of Publius Sulpicius Rufus in 88 BC which saw a short bout of fighting between the Sulpicius and Sulla, who had been elected consul for that year, Cicero found himself greatly impressed by Sulpicius' oratory even if he disagreed with his politics. He continued his studies at Rome, writing
6156-502: The age of 36, Cicero launched his first high-profile prosecution against Verres, an emblem of the corrupt Sullan supporters who had risen in the chaos of the civil war. The prosecution of Gaius Verres was a great forensic success for Cicero. While Verres hired the prominent lawyer, Quintus Hortensius , after a lengthy period in Sicily collecting testimonials and evidence and persuading witnesses to come forward, Cicero returned to Rome and won
6270-501: The area, and local potentates. Adeptly balancing those responsibilities, he won their gratitude. He was also appreciated by local Syracusans for the rediscovery of the lost tomb of Archimedes , which he personally financed. Promising to lend the Sicilians his oratorical voice, he was called on a few years after his quaestorship to prosecute the Roman province's governor Gaius Verres , for abuse of power and corruption. In 70 BC, at
6384-421: The birth of a two-headed calf." Matthew placed great importance on reference to portents and marvels, notably in his preface and in the closing pages of the Chronica . The latter contained a list of marvels which he claimed to have occurred over a fifty-year period. Such reporting was undoubtedly rooted in the Latin models, such as Cicero , who influenced both Matthew and his contemporaries. In Classical writings
6498-422: The breadth of his research and in his illustrations, his writing is characteristic of thirteenth-century attempts to synthesize and consolidate historical writing, by broadening the annalistic genre into a more universal form of expression. This process of evolution helps to account for the quasi-journalistic structure of the Chronica . Matthew set out to shape the work in a chronological order, but it developed into
6612-400: The case in a series of dramatic court battles. His unique style of oratory set him apart from the flamboyant Hortensius. On the conclusion of this case, Cicero came to be considered the greatest orator in Rome. The view that Cicero may have taken the case for reasons of his own is viable. Hortensius was, at this point, known as the best lawyer in Rome; to beat him would guarantee much success and
6726-532: The cause of the optimates if he had stayed in Rome. After Caesar's victory at the Battle of Pharsalus on 9 August, Cicero refused to take command of the Pompeian forces and continue the war. He returned to Rome, still as a promagistrate with his lictors , in 47 BC, and dismissed them upon his crossing the pomerium and renouncing his command. In a letter to Varro on c. 20 April 46 BC , Cicero outlined his strategy under Caesar's dictatorship. Cicero, however,
6840-474: The competing Attic and Asiatic styles , Cicero would ultimately become considered second only to Demosthenes among history's orators. While Cicero had feared that the law courts would be closed forever, they were reopened in the aftermath of Sulla's civil war and the purging of Sulla's political opponents in the proscriptions . Many of the orators whom Cicero had admired in his youth were now dead from age or political violence. His first major appearance in
6954-468: The conspirators, began, "How I could wish that you had invited me to that most glorious banquet on the Ides of March!" Cicero became a popular leader during the period of instability following the assassination. He had no respect for Mark Antony, who was scheming to take revenge upon Caesar's murderers. In exchange for amnesty for the assassins, he arranged for the Senate to agree not to declare Caesar to have been
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#17328475028397068-444: The countryside again. Cassius and his legions followed them, harrying them wherever they went, eventually ambushing and defeating them near Antigonea. Another large troop of Parthian horsemen was defeated by Cicero's cavalry who happened to run into them while scouting ahead of the main army. Cicero next defeated some robbers who were based on Mount Amanus and was hailed as imperator by his troops. Afterwards he led his army against
7182-474: The course of a week's visit to St Albans, Henry kept the chronicler beside him night and day, "and guided my pen," says Paris, "with much goodwill and diligence." It is curious that the Chronica Majora gives so unfavourable an account of the king's policy. Henry Richards Luard supposes that Paris never intended his work to be read in its present form. Many passages of the autograph have written next to them,
7296-411: The courts was in 81 BC at the age of 26 when he delivered Pro Quinctio , a speech defending certain commercial transactions which Cicero had recorded and disseminated. His more famous speech defending Sextus Roscius of Ameria – Pro Roscio Amerino – on charges of parricide in 80 BC was his first appearance in criminal court. In this high-profile case, Cicero accused a freedman of
7410-559: The death penalty. Cicero had the conspirators taken to the Tullianum , the notorious Roman prison, where they were strangled. Cicero himself accompanied the former consul Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura , one of the conspirators, to the Tullianum. Cicero received the honorific " pater patriae " for his efforts to suppress the conspiracy, but lived thereafter in fear of trial or exile for having put Roman citizens to death without trial. While
7524-835: The dictator Sulla, Chrysogonus , of fabricating Roscius' father's proscription to obtain Roscius' family's property. Successful in his defence, Cicero tactfully avoided incriminating Sulla of any wrongdoing and developed a positive oratorical reputation for himself. While Plutarch claims that Cicero left Rome shortly thereafter out of fear of Sulla's response, according to Kathryn Tempest, "most scholars now dismiss this suggestion" because Cicero left Rome after Sulla resigned his dictatorship. Cicero, for his part, later claimed that he left Rome, headed for Asia, to develop his physique and develop his oratory. After marrying his wife, Terentia , in 80 BC, he eventually left for Asia Minor with his brother Quintus , his friend Titus Atticus , and others on
7638-544: The dictatorship of Julius Caesar , Cicero was a supporter of the Optimates faction. Following Caesar's death, Cicero became an enemy of Mark Antony in the ensuing power struggle, attacking him in a series of speeches . He was proscribed as an enemy of the state by the Second Triumvirate and consequently executed by soldiers operating on their behalf in 43 BC, having been intercepted during an attempted flight from
7752-406: The historiographical nature of his writing. Matthew's status as an historian has long been the subject of academic debate. While many maintain that Matthew never intended to be a "humble compiler of dated events" (as Lewis explains), some still regard his work as a cumbersome annalistic production. Lewis observed that, in the Chronica , "the downfall of a great king must compete for attention with
7866-461: The history on the plan which his predecessors had followed. He derived much of his information from the letters of important people, which he sometimes inserts, but much more from conversations with the eyewitnesses of events. Among his informants were Richard, Earl of Cornwall , and King Henry III , with whom he appears to have been on intimate terms. The king knew that Paris was writing a history, and wanted it to be as exact as possible. In 1257, in
7980-610: The independent Cilician mountain tribes, besieging their fortress of Pindenissum . It took him 47 days to reduce the place, which fell in December. On 30 July 50 BC Cicero left the province to his brother Quintus , who had accompanied him on his governorship as his legate . On his way back to Rome he stopped in Rhodes and then went to Athens, where he caught up with his old friend Titus Pomponius Atticus and met men of great learning. Cicero arrived in Rome on 4 January 49 BC. He stayed outside
8094-459: The intervention of recently elected tribune Titus Annius Milo , acting on the behalf of Pompey who wanted Cicero as a client , the Senate voted in favor of recalling Cicero from exile. Clodius cast the single vote against the decree. Cicero returned to Italy on 5 August 57 BC, landing at Brundisium . He was greeted by a cheering crowd, and, to his delight, his beloved daughter Tullia. In his Oratio De Domo Sua Ad Pontifices , Cicero convinced
8208-662: The king of the Parthians, had crossed the Euphrates , and was ravaging the Syrian countryside and had even besieged Cassius (the interim Roman commander in Syria) in Antioch . Cicero eventually marched with two understrength legions and a large contingent of auxiliary cavalry to Cassius's relief. Pacorus and his army had already given up on besieging Antioch and were heading south through Syria, ravaging
8322-520: The litter in a gladiatorial gesture to ease the task. By baring his neck and throat to the soldiers, he was indicating that he would not resist. According to Plutarch, Herennius first slew him, then cut off his head. On Antony's instructions his hands, which had penned the Philippics against Antony, were cut off as well; these were nailed along with his head on the Rostra in the Forum Romanum according to
8436-408: The monks of St Albans had long been famous. He inherited the mantle of Roger of Wendover , at that time the abbey's foremost chronicler, after Wendover's death in 1236. Paris revised Wendover's work, a chronicle covering Creation to 1235 known as the Flores Historiarum , and added new material of an annalistic nature from 1236 onwards which Paris sustained until his death in 1259. This work, known as
8550-480: The most important bodies of primary material for the writing and revision of Roman history , especially the last days of the Roman Republic . Marcus Tullius Cicero was born on 3 January 106 BC in Arpinum , a hill town 100 kilometers (62 mi) southeast of Rome. He belonged to the tribus Cornelia. His father was a wealthy member of the equestrian order and possessed good connections in Rome. However, being
8664-519: The nickname "Atticus", and whose sister married Cicero's brother) would become, in Cicero's own words, "as a second brother", with both maintaining a lifelong correspondence. In 79 BC, Cicero left for Greece, Asia Minor and Rhodes . This was perhaps to avoid the potential wrath of Sulla , as Plutarch claims, though Cicero himself says it was to hone his skills and improve his physical fitness. In Athens he studied philosophy with Antiochus of Ascalon ,
8778-534: The outbreak of the Second Barons' War of 1258–1267. 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 . During the late twelfth century, historians sought to differentiate between their own work and that of
8892-444: The period has been exaggerated. This is likely because so much more is known about him than other English illuminators of the period, who are mostly anonymous. Most manuscripts seem to have been produced by lay artists in this period. William de Brailes is shown with a clerical tonsure, but he was married, which suggests he had minor orders only. The manuscripts produced by Paris show few signs of collaboration, but art historians detect
9006-452: The post-Sullan establishment, and the leaders of municipalities throughout post-Social War Italy. His co-consul for the year, Gaius Antonius Hybrida , played a minor role. He began his consular year by opposing a land bill proposed by a plebeian tribune which would have appointed commissioners with semi-permanent authority over land reform. Cicero was also active in the courts, defending Gaius Rabirius from accusations of participating in
9120-412: The prestige that Cicero needed to start his career. Cicero's oratorical ability is shown in his character assassination of Verres and various other techniques of persuasion used on the jury. One such example is found in the speech In Verrem , where he states "with you on this bench, gentlemen, with Marcus Acilius Glabrio as your president, I do not understand what Verres can hope to achieve". Oratory
9234-418: The proconsul's tent. Everyone seemed to have abandoned Cicero. After Clodius passed a law to deny to Cicero fire and water (i.e. shelter) within four hundred miles of Rome, Cicero went into exile. He arrived at Thessalonica , on 23 May 58 BC. In his absence, Clodius, who lived next door to Cicero on the Palatine, arranged for Cicero's house to be confiscated by the state, and was even able to purchase
9348-415: The property back. Besides this, he was extremely frugal in his outlays for staff and private expenses during his governorship, and this made him highly popular among the natives. Besides his activity in ameliorating the hard pecuniary situation of the province, Cicero was also creditably active in the military sphere. Early in his governorship he received information that prince Pacorus , son of Orodes II
9462-482: The republic would be restored along with him. Shortly after completing his consulship, in late 62 BC, Cicero arranged the purchase of a large townhouse on the Palatine Hill previously owned by Rome's richest citizen, Marcus Licinius Crassus. To finance the purchase, Cicero borrowed some two million sesterces from Publius Cornelius Sulla , whom he had previously defended from court. Cicero boasted his house
9576-656: The route marked the terminus of each day's travel, enabling the viewer to envisage and follow the whole journey rather like a comic strip – an achievement unprecedented elsewhere in the medieval world. The relation of Matthew Paris's work to those of John de Celia ( John of Wallingford ) and Roger of Wendover may be studied in Henry Luard 's edition of the Chronica Majora (7 vols., Rolls series , 1872–1881), which contains valuable prefaces. The Historia Anglorum sive historia minor (1067–1253) has been edited by Frederic Madden (3 vols., Rolls series, 1866–1869). Matthew Paris
9690-450: The same mistakes as his father. He attacked Antony in a series of speeches he called the Philippics , named after Demosthenes's denunciations of Philip II of Macedon . At the time, Cicero's popularity as a public figure was unrivalled. Cicero supported Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus as governor of Cisalpine Gaul ( Gallia Cisalpina ) and urged the Senate to name Antony an enemy of
9804-405: The sinful actions that forged it, would prompt sinners to hasten quickly to seek God's forgiveness. To Matthew, history was a matter of moral instruction and a means to provide guidance to the earthly and celestial well-being of God's people. Matthew saw the reporting of history as a platform through which the mistakes of men could be presented as a lesson from which to learn. From his treatment of
9918-405: The situation for their own political aims. After the suppression of the conspiracy, Cicero was proud of his accomplishment. Some of his political enemies argued that though the act gained Cicero popularity, he exaggerated the extent of his success. He overestimated his popularity again several years later after being exiled from Italy and then allowed back from exile. At this time, he claimed that
10032-483: The standard options – would not remove the threat to the state. At first Decimus Junius Silanus spoke for the "extreme penalty"; but during the debate many were swayed by Julius Caesar, who decried the precedent it would set and argued in favor of life imprisonment in various Italian towns. Cato the Younger then rose in defense of the death penalty and the Senate finally agreed on the matter, and came down in support of
10146-538: The state. The speech of Lucius Piso , Caesar's father-in-law, delayed proceedings against Antony. Antony was later declared an enemy of the state when he refused to lift the siege of Mutina , which was in the hands of Decimus Brutus. Cicero's plan to drive out Antony failed. Antony and Octavian reconciled and allied with Lepidus to form the Second Triumvirate after the successive battles of Forum Gallorum and Mutina . The alliance came into official existence with
10260-446: The support of the senators and consuls, especially of Pompey. Cicero grew out his hair, dressed in mourning and toured the streets. Clodius' gangs dogged him, hurling abuse, stones and even excrement. Hortensius, trying to rally to his old rival's support, was almost lynched. The Senate and the consuls were cowed. Caesar, who was still encamped near Rome, was apologetic but said he could do nothing when Cicero brought himself to grovel in
10374-475: The theory and practice of rhetoric from the Greek poet Archias . Cicero used his knowledge of Greek to translate many of the theoretical concepts of Greek philosophy into Latin, thus translating Greek philosophical works for a larger audience. It was precisely his broad education that tied him to the traditional Roman elite. Cicero's interest in philosophy figured heavily in his later career and led to him providing
10488-590: The three-man alliance in domination of the republic's politics; this forced Cicero to recant and support the triumvirate out of fear from being entirely excluded from public life. After the conference, Cicero lavishly praised Caesar's achievements, got the Senate to vote a thanksgiving for Caesar's victories, and grant money to pay his troops. He also delivered a speech 'On the consular provinces' ( Latin : de provinciis consularibus ) which checked an attempt by Caesar's enemies to strip him of his provinces in Gaul. After this,
10602-539: The tradition of Marius and Sulla, both of whom had displayed the heads of their enemies in the Forum. Cicero was the only victim of the proscriptions who was displayed in that manner. According to Cassius Dio , in a story often mistakenly attributed to Plutarch, Antony's wife Fulvia took Cicero's head, pulled out his tongue, and jabbed it repeatedly with her hairpin in final revenge against Cicero's power of speech. Cicero's son, Marcus Tullius Cicero Minor, during his year as
10716-537: The unlawful killing of plebeian tribune Lucius Appuleius Saturninus in 100 BC. The prosecution occurred before the comita centuriata and threatened to reopen conflict between the Marian and Sullan factions at Rome. Cicero defended the use of force as being authorised by a senatus consultum ultimum , which would prove similar to his own use of force under such conditions. Most famously – in part because of his own publicity – he thwarted
10830-554: The way his own were used. They are in French and in his handwriting: It is presumed the last relates to Paris acting as commissioning agent and iconographical consultant for the Countess with another artist. The lending of his manuscripts to aristocratic households, apparently for periods of weeks or months at a time, suggests why he made several different illustrated versions of his Chronicle. Many of Paris's manuscripts aside from his Chronica contain multiple texts and often begin with
10944-428: The youngest possible age: quaestor in 75 BC (age 30), aedile in 69 BC (age 36), and praetor in 66 BC (age 39), when he served as president of the "Reclamation" (or extortion) Court. He was then elected consul at age 42. Cicero, seizing the opportunity offered by optimate fear of reform, was elected consul for the year 63 BC; he was elected with the support of every unit of the centuriate assembly , rival members of
11058-587: Was "in conspectu prope totius urbis" ("in sight of nearly the whole city"), only a short walk from the Roman Forum . In 60 BC, Julius Caesar invited Cicero to be the fourth member of his existing partnership with Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus, an assembly that would eventually be called the First Triumvirate . Cicero refused the invitation because he suspected it would undermine the Republic, and because he
11172-495: Was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, writer and Academic skeptic , who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the establishment of the Roman Empire . His extensive writings include treatises on rhetoric , philosophy and politics. He is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists and the innovator of what became known as "Ciceronian rhetoric". Cicero
11286-426: Was a Roman constitutionalist . His social class and loyalty to the Republic ensured that he would "command the support and confidence of the people as well as the Italian middle classes". The optimates faction never truly accepted Cicero, and this undermined his efforts to reform the Republic while preserving the constitution. Nevertheless, he successfully ascended the cursus honorum, holding each magistracy at or near
11400-463: Was above all things a revival of Cicero, and only after him and through him of the rest of Classical antiquity ." The peak of Cicero's authority and prestige came during the 18th-century Enlightenment , and his impact on leading Enlightenment thinkers and political theorists such as John Locke , David Hume , Montesquieu , and Edmund Burke was substantial. His works rank among the most influential in global culture, and today still constitute one of
11514-461: Was an extremely talented student, whose learning attracted attention from all over Rome, affording him the opportunity to study Roman law under Quintus Mucius Scaevola . Cicero's fellow students were Gaius Marius Minor, Servius Sulpicius Rufus (who became a famous lawyer, one of the few whom Cicero considered superior to himself in legal matters), and Titus Pomponius . The latter two became Cicero's friends for life, and Pomponius (who later received
11628-422: Was an official historiographer. Naturalists have praised his descriptions of the English wildlife of his time, brief though they are: in particular his valuable description of the first irruption into England in 1254 of the common crossbill . Outstanding among his other maps were (four versions of) a pilgrim itinerary charting the route from London to Rome in graphic form. A sequence of pictures of towns on
11742-401: Was assigned to Sicily for 75 BC. The post, which was largely one related to financial administration in support of the state or provincial governors, proved for Cicero an important place where he could gain clients in the provinces. His time in Sicily saw him balance his duties – largely in terms of sending more grain back to Rome – with his support for the provincials, Roman businessmen in
11856-403: Was considered a great art in ancient Rome and an important tool for disseminating knowledge and promoting oneself in elections, in part because there were no regular newspapers or mass media. Cicero was neither a patrician nor a plebeian noble ; his rise to political office despite his relatively humble origins has traditionally been attributed to his brilliance as an orator. Cicero grew up in
11970-471: Was consul and leader of the Caesarian faction, and unofficial executor of Caesar's public will. Relations between the two were never friendly and worsened after Cicero claimed that Antony was taking liberties in interpreting Caesar's wishes and intentions. Octavian was Caesar's adopted son and heir. After he returned to Italy, Cicero began to play him against Antony. He praised Octavian, declaring he would not make
12084-490: Was customary by his very extensive inclusion of sources and evidences. Although it had long been usual to include the texts of documents in Christian historical narratives, the Chronica incorporated a hitherto unparalleled amount of such material. In addition, the number of changes made to the Chronica suggests that Matthew adapted and reworked much of his material, and in so molding it he enlarged both his own role as author and
12198-807: Was distinctively English, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon art of the mid-10th century, and connected with the English Benedictine Reform of the period. A strong influence on one branch of the style was the Carolingian Utrecht Psalter , which was at Canterbury from about 1000 to 1640. This was copied in the 1020s in the Harley Psalter , and in the Eadwine Psalter of the mid-12th century. Recent scholarship, notably that of Nigel Morgan, suggests that Paris's influence on other artists of
12312-452: Was during his consulship that the Catiline conspiracy attempted to overthrow the government through an attack on the city by outside forces, and Cicero (by his own account) suppressed the revolt by summarily and controversially executing five conspirators without trial, an act which would later lead to his exile. During the chaotic middle period of the first century BC, marked by civil wars and
12426-541: Was educated in Rome and in Greece. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order , and served as consul in 63 BC. He greatly influenced both ancient and modern reception of the Latin language. A substantial percentage of his work has survived, and he was admired by both ancient and modern authors alike. Cicero adapted the arguments of the chief schools of Hellenistic philosophy in Latin and created
12540-507: Was given away by Philologus, a freedman of his brother Quintus Cicero. As reported by Seneca the Elder , according to the historian Aufidius Bassus , Cicero's last words are said to have been: Ego vero consisto. Accede, veterane, et, si hoc saltim potes recte facere, incide cervicem. I go no further: approach, veteran soldier, and, if you can at least do so much properly, sever this neck. He bowed to his captors, leaning his head out of
12654-485: Was mainly spent in this religious house. In 1248, Paris was sent to Norway as the bearer of a message from Louis IX to Haakon IV ; he made himself so agreeable to the Norwegian sovereign that he was invited to superintend the reformation of the Benedictine Nidarholm Abbey outside Trondheim . Apart from these missions, his known activities were devoted to the composition of history, a pursuit for which
12768-541: Was one of the most viciously and doggedly hunted among the proscribed. He was viewed with sympathy by a large segment of the public and many people refused to report that they had seen him. He was caught on 7 December 43 BC leaving his villa in Formiae in a litter heading to the seaside, where he hoped to embark on a ship destined for Macedonia. When his killers – Herennius (a Centurion) and Popilius (a Tribune) – arrived, Cicero's own slaves said they had not seen him, but he
12882-410: Was strongly opposed to anything unconstitutional that limited the powers of the consuls and replaced them with non-elected officials. During Caesar's consulship of 59 BC, the triumvirate had achieved many of their goals of land reform, publicani debt forgiveness, ratification of Pompeian conquests, etc. With Caesar leaving for his provinces, they wished to maintain their hold on politics. They engineered
12996-508: Was taken by surprise when the Liberatores assassinated Caesar on the ides of March , 44 BC. Cicero was not included in the conspiracy, even though the conspirators were sure of his sympathy. Marcus Junius Brutus called out Cicero's name, asking him to restore the republic when he lifted his bloodstained dagger after the assassination. A letter Cicero wrote in February 43 BC to Trebonius , one of
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