{"product_id":"the-illustrated-chronicles-of-matthew-paris","title":"The Illustrated Chronicles of Matthew Paris","description":"A unique record of life and events in the thirteenth century with full-colour reproductions of over a hundred of the original manuscript decorations.   'This, to put it plainly, is a tabloid monk, not a broadsheet monk. In this selection from his writings – a wonderfully relaxed translation from the Latin and French in which Brother Matthew wrote – he comes across, down all those intervening 750 years, as warm, cheerful, lively and violently prejudiced ... a wonderful book.' - Matthew Parris, The Times'Between the bravura set-pieces – chainmail-clad Archbishop Boniface ferociously battering a sub-prior against a pillar, a flood engulfing Winchelsea, the drunken prior of Thetford disembowelled by a Welsh monk – the writer's eye darts to and fro in search of the world's variety. While poison kills the Sultan of Babylon and the King of Scots drops dead mounting his horse, a Norfolk knight is castrated by a lynch mob, relic-hunters cut off St Edmund's right arm and Queen Eleanor buys a dwarf in the Isle of Wight ... Brother Matthew says it all.' - Jonathan Keates, The Observer'... sumptuously illustrated ... a triumph ... Anyone looking for a gift that combines artistic beauty with a fascinating historical text need look no further.' - Nicholas Vincent, Catholic Herald'... splendid ... beautifully illustrated ... a credit to the publishers.' - Contemporary Review'My book of the year.' - The Good Book Guide","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57507874275701,"sku":"9781837054473","price":22.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/the-illustrated-chronicles-of-matthew-paris","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}