Matthias of Arras was a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 architect, famed for his work on St. Vitus Cathedral

St. Vitus Cathedral

Saint Vitus' Cathedral is as a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prague, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. The full name of the cathedral is St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert Cathedral...

 in Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

.

Little is known about his early life. In 1344 he was summoned to Prague from the papal court of Avignon

Avignon

Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...

 by Charles IV

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....

 to lead works on the newly founded Saint Vitus Cathedral. He is also widely recognized as the architect of Karlstein Castle, although this fact is not fully authenticated. His involvement in the design of the New Town of Prague

New Town, Prague

The New Town is a quarter in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic. New Town is the youngest and largest of the five independent towns that today comprise the historic center of modern Prague...

 is also not completely certain.

When Matthias died in 1352, Saint Vitus Cathedral was not yet completed. The role of its master mason and Charles' head architect fell to then twenty-three years old Peter Parler

Peter Parler

Peter Parler, , Schwäbisch Gmünd – July 13, 1399, Prague) was a German architect, best known for building Saint Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge in Prague, where he lived from about 1356....

.

Literature

• V. Mencl: Česká architektura doby lucemburské, Prag, 1948
• České umění gotické, Prag, 1970
• V. Mencl: Poklasická gotika jižní Francie a Švábska a její vztah ke gotice české, Zeitschrift Umění 19, 1971, Seite 217
• A. Merhautová: Katedrála sv. Víta v Praze, Prag 1994