Matilda (Normandie) of England (1102 - 1167)

Born 7 Feb 1102 in Sutton Courtenay, Berkshire, England

Ancestors

Wife of Heinrich Salier — married 7 Jan 1114 (to 1125) in Mainz, Germany

Wife of Geoffrey (Anjou) d'Anjou — married 22 May 1128 in Le Mans Cathedral, Anjou

Descendants

Died 10 Sep 1167 at age 65 in Rouen, Normandie, France

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Biography

Maud (Normandie) of England is a member of the House of Normandie.

Early Life

Matilda was born in 1102, in Sutton Courtenay, Berkshire. She was the daughter of King Henry I of England and Eadgith Dunkeld of Scotland. Her paternal grandparents were William the Conquerer King of England, and Mathilde Flandre of England. Her maternal grandparents were Malcolm Dunkeld King of Scotland, and Margaret Wessex. She was the oldest legitimate child of King Henry I, the younger being her brother, William, Duke of Normandie.^[1][2][3]

Her education in morals and letters, tempered with instruction in culture and religion began at an early age. The responsibility for Matilda and her brother William's spiritual care was appointed to Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury and former abbot of Bec.^[1][4]

First Marriage

In 1109, when Matilda was about 7-years-old her father arranged her marriage to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Germany. The marriage arrangements were devised by Archbishop Anslem. Her dowry was set at 10,000 marks of silver. She married the 32-year-old Henry V, on the 7th of January in 1114 at the age of twelve, in Worms. She was crowned Empress a second time in 1117 with her husband at St Peter’s Basilica, Rome. The Emperor died at Utrecht on 23 May 1125, leaving the young Empress a widow with no heir.^[3][5][6][7]

Becoming the Heir

On 25 November 1120, Matilda's brother William Ætheling drowned after leaving Barfleur, Normandy on his way back to England. William sailed aboard the White Ship. The prince supplied the crew and passengers with barrels of wine. They were all intoxicated upon leaving Normandy. The captain hit a rock in the English Channel and the ship sank. All passengers and crew aboard drowned except for one survivor. William had been King Henry I's heir and one of his two legitimate children, the other being Matilda. At a time when it was not common for a woman to rule, the King desired to have his own legitimate child succeed him. The King wanted to secure his successor and in 1126, he declared Matilda his heir. On 1 January 1127 King Henry had his court swear to support his daughter as his heir to England and Normandy.^[1][5][8][9]

Second Marriage

Her father was concerned with keeping his own royal lines Anglo-Saxon. The answer to protect his royal bloodline and join it with the Norman bloodline, thus keeping peace with Anjou was to betroth Matilda to Geoffrey d'Anjou in 1127. Geoffrey was the son of Fulk d'Anjou Count of Anjou, King of Jerusalem and Ermengarde d'Maine. King Henry I, knighted Geoffrey in Rouen on Whitsunday, 10 June 1128. A week later in Le Mans on 17 June 1128, Matilda married Geoffrey. Upon their marriage, Geoffrey's father turned over the county of Anjou to him.^[1][3][5][6] At Man, Main, France in March of 1133, they had a son Henry Plantagenet the future King of England.^[2][10][9]

Civil War

Only a month after the death of Henry I in 1135, Stephen (his nephew and Matilda's cousin) rushed to take the throne, and be pronounced King. When Matilda's half-brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester, rebelled against Stephen, war broke out in 1136. Matilda arrived in England in 1139. After a series of battles Stephen was captured in February 1141 at the Battle of Lincoln. Her brother Robert was captured by Stephen's army.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Lady of the English

During the summer of 1141, Matilda almost tasted success. With Stephen out of the way, she was now "Lady of the English." ... Only to turn around and blow it.

That June, she rode into London with a bad attitude ... demanding money. It incensed the public and her coronation was met with the angry town folk. She fled to Oxford without being crowned the Queen of England as her father had intended.^[12][15]

Meanwhile... Stephen's wife hit the ground with an army from France. They caught the Earl of Gloucester, later ransomed in exchange for Stephen who had also been captured. Matilda escaped but her forces were routed at Winchester in September 1141. Thereafter she maintained a weak resistance out west.^[12][16]

• 1 NOV 1141: Robert is exchanged for Stephen.^[15]

• DEC 1142: Matilda escapes Oxford Castle and crosses the frozen Thames.^[17]

Stephen had his son, Eustace, crowned king while Stephen was still alive, but Eustace died in 1153. It was then decreed that Matilda's son, Henry II would inherit the throne after Stephen's death.^[18][19][10]

Death

In 1148, after the death of her half-brother, Matilda left her son (Henry II) behind and returned to Normandy. She died at Notre Dame du Pré near Rouen on 10 September 1169 and was buried in Fontevrault Abbey. Her remains were moved to Rouen Cathedral in 1847.^[20][21]

Matilda's epitaph reads: "Great by Birth, Greater by Marriage, Greatest in her Offspring: Here lies Matilda, the daughter, wife, and mother of Henry."^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Marjorie Chibnall. Matilda (Matilda of England) (1102–1167). Published 23 September 2004. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, oxforddnb.com.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Stewart Baldwin, 27 June 2004. Matilda of England (The Empress Matilda), Holy Roman Empress (as wife of Henry V), 1114-1125. Claimant to the throne of England, 1135-53. The Henry Project: The Ancestors of King Henry II of England. fasg.org
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Farrer, William, 1861-1924. An outline itinerary of King Henry the First. Published by Oxford : Printed by F. Hall, 1920. archive.org.
4. ↑ Paris, Matthew, 1200-1259. Matthæi Parisiensis, monachi Sancti Albani, Chronica majora. Published by London, Longman & co, 1872. archive.org.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} C. Warren Hollister. Henry I (1068/9–1135). Published 23 September 2004. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, oxforddnb.com.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Ordericus Vitalis, 1075-1143. The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis. 6 Vol. Published by Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1969. archive.org
7. ↑ "The chronicle: To 1132," in Annales Cestrienses Chronicle of the Abbey of S. Werburg, At Chester, ed. Richard Copley Christie (London: Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 1887), 2-19. British History Online, accessed August 26, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/lancs-ches-record-soc/vol14/pp2-19.
8. ↑ E A Webb. "The founder: To 1123," in The Records of St. Bartholomew's Priory and St. Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield: Volume 1, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1921), 37-55. British History Online, accessed August 26, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/st-barts-records/vol1/pp37-55.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Farrer, William, 1861-1924. 'An outline itinerary of King Henry the First'. Published by Oxford : Printed by F. Hall, 1920. archive.org
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Flaherty, William Edward, d. 1878. 'The annals of England: an epitome of English history, from contemporary writers, the rolls of Parliament, and other public records', Vol 1. Published by Oxford : J. Henry and J. Parker, 1862. archive.org
11. ↑ https://www.royal.uk/stephen-and-matilda
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3} Medlands. Project Medlands England fmg.ac
13. ↑ "Brinkley - Broadgreen," in A Topographical Dictionary of England, ed. Samuel Lewis (London: S Lewis, 1848), 379-389. British History Online, accessed September 9, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp379-389.
14. ↑ Francis Blomefield. "The city of Norwich, chapter 8: Of the city in the time of King Stephen," in An Essay Towards A Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: Volume 3, the History of the City and County of Norwich, Part I, (London: W Miller, 1806), 24-29. British History Online, accessed August 26, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-hist-norfolk/vol3/pp24-29.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} John Noorthouck. "Book 1, Ch. 2: The Conquest to King John," in A New History of London Including Westminster and Southwark, (London: R Baldwin, 1773), 21-37. British History Online, accessed September 9, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/new-history-london/pp21-37.
16. ↑ "Lissett - Littleport," in A Topographical Dictionary of England, ed. Samuel Lewis (London: S Lewis, 1848), 101-104. British History Online, accessed August 26, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp101-104.
17. ↑ "Stoak - Stocklinch, Ottersay," in A Topographical Dictionary of England, ed. Samuel Lewis (London: S Lewis, 1848), 207-209. British History Online, accessed September 9, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp207-209.
18. ↑ Stephen (c. 1092–1154). Published 23 September 2004. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, oxforddnb.com.
19. ↑ Sewell, Richard Clarke, 1803-1864. Gesta Stephani, regis Anglorum, et ducis Normannorum. Published by Londini, sumptibus Societatis, 1846. archive.org.
20. ↑ "The chronicle: 1133-86," in Annales Cestrienses Chronicle of the Abbey of S. Werburg, At Chester, ed. Richard Copley Christie (London: Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 1887), 20-35. British History Online, accessed September 12, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/lancs-ches-record-soc/vol14/pp20-35.
21. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8619917/matilda-of_england : accessed 08 September 2021), memorial page for Matilda “Empress Maud” of England (7 Feb 1102–10 Sep 1167), Find a Grave Memorial ID 8619917, citing Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen, Rouen, Departement de la Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France ; Maintained by Find A Grave. Find A Grave: Memorial #8619917

• Royal Ancestry" 2013 by Douglas Richardson Vol. I, page 18-20
• Royal Ancestry" 2013 Douglas Richardson Vol. I. page 159, 197, 448, 479, and 536

See Also

• Camelot
• findagrave.com
• Wikipedia: Empress Matilda
• Wikipedia: Plantagenet
• Time Team Season 16, Episode 7 "Anarchy in the UK" (Radcot, Oxfordshire)