*disputed*
 |
| Depiction in the Gospels of Henry the Lion (c. 1180s) |
Birth name: Mathilde de Normaundie
Born: 07 February 1102, Winchester, Hampshire, Kingdom of England
Father: King Henry I of England 'Beauclerc'
Mother: Princess Matilda of Scotland
House: Normandy
Nationality: Norman
Religion: Catholicism
Claim: Child of Henry I 'Beauclerc'
Reign: 07 April 1141 - 01 November 1141 (7 months)
Coronation: N/A
Predecessor: Henry I 'Beauclerc' *disputed* then Stephen *disputed*
Successor: Stephen *disputed*
Died: 10 September 1167 (aged 65), Rouen, Duchy of Normandy, Kingdom of France
Cause: *Unknown*
Burial: Bec Abbey then Rouen Cathedral
Motto: N/A
Spouse(s):
- Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (m. 1114 - 1125)
- Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou (m. 1128 - 1151)
Children:
- With Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou
- King Henry II of England 'Curtmantle' (1133 - 1189)
- Geoffrey, Count of Nantes (1134 - 1158)
- William, Viscount of Dieppe (1136 - 1164)
Appearance:
It was not known what Matilda looked like, with only one surviving contemporary description describing her as beautiful.
Character:
Matilda was known for being very headstrong, opinionated, and was described as a bit of a snob. She possessed a strong sense of self-importance, especially after becoming Holy Roman Empress. Because of this, she often looked down on others, especially her second husband, as he was only a mere count compared to her pedigree. She was difficult to get along with for most people, and most of her allies would frequently abandon her due to her inability to compromise.
However, she did eventually become quite close to her second husband, who would become one of her biggest supporters in her claim to the throne of England. She was also particularly close with her youngest son, William, and her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester.
Matilda was also described as rather tyrannical in her behaviour. However, she was also determined, not allowing her sex to get in the way of what was rightfully hers. She demonstrated a great deal of resilience during the Anarchy, and was able to narrowly escape capture and death many times.
Despite her arrogance, she was an intelligent woman who received an excellent education for the time period, and was able to fluently speak English, French, Latin, and German.
Biography:
Matilda was the eldest of two children born to King Henry I of England, and his first wife, Princess Matilda of Scotland, in the Kingdom of England in 1102. She also had many half-siblings from her father's many mistresses.
Not much is known about her early life, but it's likely she grew up primarily in the care of her mother. She was taught to read, and received a more religiously based upbringing. As she grew up, both she and her younger brother, Prince William, were cared for and educated by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Some time around 1108, Henry V, King of the Germans, began expressing interest in marrying Matilda, a match which would have greatly increased England's power within Europe. Both of her parents were thrilled at the match, and Matilda began her journey to the Holy Roman Empire in 1110 when she was just 8 years old, while her husband-to-be was 24.
Both Matilda and Henry were officially betrothed upon her arrival and she was crowned as the Queen of Germany. After this, Matilda was placed in the care of the Archbishop of Tier, who began her education on German customs to prepare her for her new life. Four years later in 1114, Matilda and Henry were officially married; Matilda was just 12 years old while her new husband was 28.
During her time as the German queen, Matilda played a key role in government matters, and supported her husband when he was excommunicated by the Pope, accompanying him on his march to Rome. While there, the two of them were crowned as Holy Roman Emperor and Empress respectively, making Matilda one of the most powerful women in Europe. In 1118, Matilda was even left as regent in the Italian kingdoms when rebellions broke out back in Germany.
Despite being married for eleven years, Matilda and Henry did not have any children together, which was largely suspected by people at the time to be God's punishment to Henry for his sins. In 1125, Henry died of cancer, leaving Matilda a widow at the age of 23.
Matilda was then placed in the care of her deceased husband's nephew, the Duke of Swabia, and because they had no children together, there was no role left for her to play within the Holy Roman Empire. A few German princes attempted to marry her, but she refused, and instead returned to her family's home territory of Normandy, giving up all of her estates in Germany.
However, by the time of her being widowed, Matilda was the only legitimate heir of her father, King Henry I of England, after her brother tragically drowned in the White Ship incident of 1120. A woman had never ruled England in their own right before, and therefore a succession crisis was looming on the horizon. Matilda's mother had also died, so her father re-married in a bid to produce more legitimate male heirs, but this would prove unsuccessful. Henry had legitimate nephews who he could recognise as his heir, particularly the son of his sister, Princess Adela, Stephen of Blois, whom he had also grown close to and showed favour towards.
Ultimately, Matilda became his preferred choice, and she would join him in his court after the death of her husband. Henry appears to not have held the typical view that a woman was incapable of ruling, with his main concern being whether others would recognise her as queen or not. As a result, her father held a gathering in which he made the barons swear an oath to recognise Matilda as his heir, which also likely included Stephen of Blois.
Because of this, and because he wished to ensure Matilda herself produced legitimate heirs for the still new Norman dynasty, Henry quickly began looking for a new husband for his daughter. In order to secure Normandy's southern borders, Henry's choice quickly fell on Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, creating an alliance with Anjou. Geoffrey's sister had originally been betrothed to Matilda's brother, but both of them had perished in the White Ship Disaster, which left England's alliance with Anjou in a precarious position. This idea was not popular with Matilda, who viewed the count as beneath her status. Geoffrey was also twelve years younger than her, being only 13 years of age when Matilda finally agreed to marry him in 1127.
Matilda once again travelled across the country to meet her second husband, where they were formally betrothed. During this time, Geoffrey was also knighted by Matilda's father. The two of them married in 1128, but the marriage got off to a very rocky start. Both Matilda and Geoffrey did not like each other and they frequently argued. Fed up, Matilda left her new husband soon afterwards and returned to her home in Normandy. Her father took her side in the dispute, but attempted to reconcile the two of them, and Matilda finally returned to Geoffrey in 1131. The relationship between them was much improved after this, and the two of them went on to have three sons together, much to the delight of her father, Henry. However, Matilda did nearly die during the birth of her second son, Geoffrey.
Viewing themselves as King Henry's heirs, Matilda and Geoffrey began expecting more land and castles in preparations for the roles as the future rulers of England, however, this did not happen. This fractured Matilda's relationship with her father, and she believed that she did not have popular support in England (which was in fact true). Henry likely didn't trust Geoffrey not to make a bid for power in Normandy while he remained alive, further fuelled by Geoffrey and Matilda siding with the rebels during an uprising in the area.
Matilda's father died suddenly in 1135, and she was now technically the new monarch of England. However, she remained stuck in Anjou amid rebellions, and many of her supporters had sworn an oath to not return to England until Henry I had been buried. This cleared the way for Matilda's cousin, Stephen of Blois, to seized the throne during her absence.
Stephen argued that Henry had changed his mind over Matilda being Henry's heir, and that he had named Stephen as his heir instead. He was able to reach England much faster than Matilda, and received popular support once he reached London, where he was crowned the new King of England. His new role as the king was even accepted by the Pope.
Initially, Matilda did not make any serious moves in her claim to the throne. It was her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester's, revolt against Stephen in 1138 that finally spurred her into action. Her husband, who also supported her claim, began his invasion of Normandy to assert her claims there as well. Her uncle, King David I of Scotland, also supported her claim, and began invading the north of England.
Stephen's reign in England fell into complete chaos as he faced invasions and rebellions from multiple different directions. Matilda, however, still did not play any major roles in the invasions, still remaining in Normandy, until she was persuaded by Robert to take part and finally assert her claim. During this time, Matilda also attempted to persuade the Pope of her right to the throne, but he refused to give up his support of Stephen.
In 1139, Matilda and her forces from the continent finally invaded England. Upon arriving, Matilda's step-mother, Adeliza of Louvain, invited her to stay with her, only for the castle to be held under siege by Stephen's forces. Likely not wanted to be involved in the conflict, Adeliza handed Matilda over to Stephen. For unknown reasons, however, Stephen soon backed down, and Matilda was able to escape, and established her own royal court in Gloucester, gaining control of the south west of England. A few nobles defected onto Matilda's side, but many still supported Stephen, and there would be frequent battles between the two factions over the throne.
Matilda finally came close to achieving her goals in 1141 when Stephen was captured by Robert's forces during the Battle of Lincoln. Stephen was now Matilda's prisoner, and she was able to gain more authority within the kingdom. She was able to finally gain the support of the clergy, who recognised her as the rightful monarch instead of Stephen.
Unfortunately, though, Matilda was never able to gain popular support. She now also had to contend with Stephen's wife, Matilda I, Countess of Boulogne, a strong and powerful woman who would stop at nothing to get her husband released and back on the throne. The people of London were unwilling to show her any support upon her arrival into the city, until finally, just before her coronation, Matilda and her forces were chased from the city by the citizens.
Upon her retreat, Matilda fell out with a few of her most crucial allies, and Stephen's wife refused to abandon her husband and his cause. Matilda of Boulogne managed to assemble new allies, and soon had Empress Matilda surrounded. She managed to escape, but many of her closest allies were captured, including her half-brother, Robert. Because of this, the two sides attempted to reach a peaceful agreement, which only resulted in the two sides exchanging prisoners; Stephen was released by Matilda in return for her brother.
By this point, many powerful people in England re-recognised Stephen as their true ruler, all the while Matilda was eventually surrounded by Stephen's forces in Oxford Castle. Under siege, and with her life in danger, Matilda managed to sneak out of the castle in the middle of the night, in a daring escape across a frozen river, while wearing all white to camouflage herself.
The war between Matilda and Stephen had reached a complete stalemate. Matilda's most staunch supporter, Robert, died in 1147, and some of her other followers left to join the Second Crusade. Growing old and exhausted, Matilda allowed her eldest son, Henry, to take up his mother's cause and fight for the throne of England. Matilda had largely given up on establishing her claim, but still styled herself as the true ruler of England. She maintained her court in Normandy, where she stayed with her husband and youngest sons. She displayed less and less interest in England, focusing all of her attentions on her lands in Normandy.
Her husband would then pass away suddenly in 1151, leaving even more land and duty to their son, Henry.
Meanwhile, back in England, Henry had reached an agreement with King Stephen that recognised him as Stephen's heir, becoming his adoptive son. This peace was shaky, and Henry returned to the continent soon afterwards after rumours of his planned assassination. All the while, Matilda struggled to maintain her lands in Normandy and faced frequent rebellions from the barons who lived there.
Luckily, Matilda's troubles did not last long, as Stephen died just a year after the peace agreement, and her eldest son became King Henry II of England, once again establishing stability in the Angevin Empire. She attended her son's coronation, giving him an imperial crown she had received while Empress in Germany.
For the remainder of her life, Matilda acted as her son's representative in Normandy, and would sometimes aid him in the creation of charters. She helped him during the early years of his reign and acted as a mediator within his court.
As her son became more accustomed to his role as king, Matilda began devoting more of her time to religion, and began to enjoy life a lot more.
She passed away in 1167, though the cause of her death is unknown.
Rule:
Unfortunately for Matilda, she was never fully recognised as the monarch of England, and any court she was able to maintain in the kingdom was small and unstable.
Though she came close to being officially crowned, her arrogance and inability to compromise would frequently lead to her own downfall, with allies turning against her, including the people of London who she needed the popular support of.
She was also unpopular for her high levels of taxation.
Even when exercising her authority in the Duchy of Normandy, she faced rebellions from barons, and her authority was always called into question. Though a lot of this would be down to her gender, it was also a result of her own authoritarian personality.
Trivia:
- Since the title of queen was usually reserved for the wife of the king at the time, Matilda instead styled herself as the 'Lady of the English', to distinguish herself as a ruler in her own right.
Quotes:
"One more thing I tell you truly, that you cannot recover the grace of the king except by great humility and most evident moderation."
Timeline of Reign:
| 1135: Stephen usurps the throne - Matilda's cousin, Stephen, claims the throne before she can.
| 1139: The Anarchy begins - War breaks out between Stephen and Matilda for the English throne.
| 1139: Matilda returns to England - Visits and stays with her step-mother, Adeliza of Louvain.
| 1139: Betrayed by Adeliza - Adeliza surrenders Matilda to Stephen who then releases her soon after.
| 1141: Isle of Ely defeat - Bishop of Ely fails to control East Anglia for Matilda.
| 1141: Battle of Lincoln - Victory for Matilda as her faction captures and imprisons Stephen.
| 1141: Lady of the English - Matilda is officially declared the reigning monarch of England.
| 1141: Increased taxation - Matilda increases taxes in England making her very unpopular.
| 1141: Coronation disaster - Matilda and her supporters are chased from London.
| 1141: Rout of Winchester - Matilda's forces defeated; her brother, Robert is captured.
| 1141: Prisoner exchange - Stephen and Robert are exchanged by both sides.
| 1141: Stephen retakes the throne - Stephen is once again declared official reigning monarch.
| 1142: Siege of Oxford Castle - Matilda held prisoner before she is able to escape.
| 1148: End of the Anarchy - Due to lack of support, Matilda returns to Normandy.
Sources & Further Reading:
Empress Matilda.png - Wikimedia Commons. (2022). Wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Empress_Matilda.png
Johnson, B. (n.d.). Queen Matilda, Empress Maud and the Civil War with King Stephen. Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Empress-Maud/
Matilda - an Empress in the Thames Valley. (2023). Reading Museum. https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/blog/matilda-empress-thames-valley
Matilda | Daughter of Henry I. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Matilda-daughter-of-Henry-I
Museum of Oxford & XIST2. (2021). Empress Matilda: Lady of the English - Museum of Oxford. Museum of Oxford. https://museumofoxford.org/empress-matilda-lady-of-the-english/
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