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Steamy Syrian Scandals: Matthew Paris on the Templars and Hospitallers by Helen J

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Steamy Syrian Scandals: Matthew Paris on the Templars and Hospitallers by Helen J Published in Medieval History, 2.2 (1992), 68–85 (ISSN 0960-0752) Steamy Syrian Scandals: Matthew Paris on the Templars and Hospitallers by Helen J. Nicholson Matthew Paris is a MAJOR source of information on the Templars and Hospitallers. But we ask: ‘How far can this Mad Monk be trusted? Was he in the pay of the Evil Emperor?’ With his racy, popular style and nose for scandal, Matthew Paris is one of the best known and most controversial of medieval historians. A Benedictine monk, he was chronicler of St. Alban‘s Abbey from around 1236 until his death in 1259. The aim of this article is to examine Matthew’s value as an historian in one important area: events in the Holy Land from 1229 to 1259, of which he was a contemporary and for which he is an important source for modern historians. Matthew was a prolific writer. Along with a number of short histories, he composed four major historical works: the Chronica Maiora (Greater Chronicle),1 the Flores Historiarum (Highlights of History),2 the Historia Anglorum (History of the English) and the Abbreviatio Chronicorum Angliae (Abbreviation of the Chronicles of England)3 These contain a wealth of historical material, much that is unique, a veritable treasure trove for historians.4 In common with many other monastic chroniclers, Matthew did not confine himself to simply noting important events. He collected information from a vast number of sources, and built it into lively, detailed histories spiced with plenty of his own opinions. He began by rewriting and continuing the chronicle written by Roger of Wendover, his predecessor at St. Alban’s, widening its scope and improving its style. The result was the Chronica Maiora, a vast work which described events throughout the known world, and included many valuable documents. The Chronica was probably aimed only at Matthew’s immediate monastic circle, as it seems never to have passed into general circulation. Few copies were made, although a number of chroniclers later drew on parts of it.5 For wider circulation, Matthew produced shorter, sharper histories. He began to write the Flores Historiarum soon after 1250. The detail and breadth of the Chronica vanished; instead, Matthew concentrated on major events, particularly of the disastrous and scandalous sort. It has the air of a work designed for the ‘popular market. ‘ Perhaps some of Matthew’s numerous friends and contacts outside his monastery, clergy or nobility, had asked him for a shorter, more readable version of his Chronica. In any case, the Flores enjoyed immediate success, and was frequently copied; at least nineteen manuscripts 1 Matthew Paris, Chronica Maiora, ed. H. R. Luard, 7 vols, Rolls Series 57 (London, 1872–83) , henceforth cited as CM. 2 Matthew Paris, Flores Historiarum, ed. H. R. Luard, 3 vols, Rolls Series 95 (London, 1890), henceforth cited as Flores. 3 Matthew Paris, Historia Anglorum, sive Historia Minor, item. Abbreviatio Chronicorum Angliae, ed. F. Madden, 3 vols, Rolls Series 44 (London, 1866–9), henceforth cited as HA and Abb. 4 On Matthew as an historian, his sources, and for discussion of his works see: R. Vaughan, Matthew Paris (Cambridge, 1958) and A. Grandsen, Historical Writing in England c.550 to c.1307 (London, 1974), pp. 356–79. 5 See Vaughan, pp. 153–4. 1 Published in Medieval History, 2.2 (1992), 68–85 (ISSN 0960-0752) survive.6 The Historia Anglorum and the Abbreviatio were also written after 1250, concluding in 1253. They concentrated on the history of England, although Matthew included a number of overseas events for good measure, as we shall see below. Although we do not know for whom, precisely, Matthew wrote them, he had many friends among the English nobility who would probably have been interested in an ‘English ‘ history. It is even possible that they were written for the king, Henry III, as many of the alterations which Matthew made from his earlier works would have made them more acceptable to the king. All Matthew’s major historical works were full of juicy passages in which Matthew vented his scorn of the papacy, the king, the friars, or others, and unmasked the depravity of the modern world. But in time Matthew seems to have realized that his histories were too outspoken, and he revised them, removing passages that could cause offence. Richard Vaughan hascounted sixty-one passages removed from the Chronica Maiora, including fifteen offensive to the papacy, nine offensive to the king and three offensive to the friars.7 Matthew’s work needs a great deal of analysis before it can be used as historical evidence. The problems of interpretation which his works present are common to monastic chronicles.8 His reporting of events was distorted; partly because his informants were sometimes unreliable, but mainly by his own prejudices. Because of his hatred of the pope, the king, foreigners, the friars and others, he sometimes misinterpreted his information. He has been accused of forging some of the documents he inserted into his chronicle. He passed off his own personal view as general opinion. At the same time, however, Matthew’s prejudice is interesting in itself. It offers us a window into the thoughts of one well-informed but narrow-minded thirteenth-century monk, and casts some light on the prejudices of his immediate audience. For Matthew must have expected his audience to agree with at least some of his opinions! For this reason, Matthew Paris’ treatment of the Templars and Hospitallers is particularly revealing and significant for historians of the crusades and of the military orders.9 Matthew is an important source for the history of the Holy Land during the thirteenth century, up to his death in 1259. His writings reveal him to have been very much in favour of Christian control of the holy places in Palestine. But he was hotly critical of the failure of those whose duty it was to protect them: the crusaders and the military orders. The military orders had been founded to protect Christian pilgrims travelling to the holy places, and were responsible for the day-to-day defence of the Holy Land from the Muslims. Their members were principally knights and other fighting men, living together under a monastic rule. They were regarded as ‘Christ’s knights’, warriors dedicated to Christ, and it was popularly 6 Vaughan, p. 152. 7 Vaughan, p. 119. 8 The problem was conveniently summarized by Emma Mason in ‘William Rufus and the historians’, Medieval History, 1.1 (1991), 8. 9 This paper does not set out to be an introduction to either the crusades or the military orders. A good introduction to the crusades is H. E. Mayer, The Crusades, trans. J. Gillingham, 2nd edition (Oxford, 1988). At the time of writing, there is little in the way of good general studies of the military orders in English. On the Hospitallers, see J. Riley-Smith, The Knights of St. John in Jerusalem and Cyprus, c. 1050–1310 (London, 1967). A general history of the Templars is being prepared by Malcolm Barber. Alan Forey has produced numerous articles on the military orders over the last few years. 2 Published in Medieval History, 2.2 (1992), 68–85 (ISSN 0960-0752) supposed that they were invincible, because God was on their side. Therefore any defeat which they suffered, it was thought, must be due to their sin, or deliberate on their part. In brief, because of this superstitious mystique which had grown up around them, the military orders were usually the first to be blamed for any failure of the Christians in the Holy Land. The Templars and Hospitallers were the major military orders, and the butt of Matthew’s particular venom; his chronicles were almost invariably hostile towards them. To judge from Matthew’s work, support for military expeditions to the Holy Land was declining by the mid-thirteenth century, along with confidence in the military orders. Yet it is not certain that Matthew’s attitude was typical. He was better informed than many of his contemporaries, and was untypically outspoken in expressing his opinions. Again, from time to time Matthew „was € favourable towards the Templars and Hospitallers. Clearly a closer examination of Matthew’s work is necessary in order to draw any conclusions from his treatment of these military orders. In this paper I will discuss the following questions: What does Matthew say about the Templars and Hospitallers? How far can this be shown to be distorted? What causes this distortion - Matthew’s source, his own individual prejudices, or popular prejudice? The ‘correct’ scholarly approach would be to discuss Matthew’s attitude towards the military orders theme by theme. This approach assumes that the reader is familiar with the text. But as this article is intended as an introduction to Matthew Paris for readers unfamiliar with his work, I shall adopt a simpler approach and discuss each of his anecdotes in the order that he wrote them. I shall take each anecdote on the military orders from the Chronica Maiora, which Matthew wrote first and which is his most detailed work, and then discuss how he altered it in his later works. We shall begin in 1229, where Matthew’s account of the military orders first appears to be contemporary and personal. The earlier part of Matthew’s Chronica Majora, up to the year 1236, was taken from the work of his predecessor as chronicler at St. Albans, Roger of Wendover.10 Roger was generally favourable towards the military orders, and so, at first, was Matthew’s account. While transcribing Roger’s record of the events of 1229, however, Matthew inserted a savage attack on the Templars and Hospitallers.
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