Matthew of Westminster, long regarded as the author of the Flores Historiarum

Flores Historiarum

The Flores Historiarum is a Latin chronicle dealing with English history from the creation to 1326 . It was compiled by various persons and quickly acquired contemporary popularity, for it was continued by many hands in many manuscript traditions...

, is now thought never to have existed.

The error was first discovered in 1826 by Francis Turner Palgrave

Francis Turner Palgrave

Francis Turner Palgrave was a British critic and poet.He was born at Great Yarmouth, the eldest son of Sir Francis Palgrave, the historian and his wife Elizabeth Turner, daughter of the banker Dawson Turner. His brothers were William Gifford Palgrave, Inglis Palgrave and Reginald Palgrave...

, who said that Matthew was "a phantom who never existed," and later the truth of this statement was completely proved by Henry Richards Luard

Henry Richards Luard

Henry Richards Luard was a British medieval historian and antiquary.-Biography:Luard was the son of Henry Luard. He received his early education at Cheam. He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1847, and 1849 was elected to a Fellowship. He entered holy orders, and served as vicar of...

. The name appears to have been taken from that of Matthew Paris

Matthew Paris

Matthew Paris was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire...

, from whose Chronica majora the earlier part of the work was mainly copied, and from Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

, where the work was partially written.