"news began to spread of Henry I's death, Matilda and Geoffrey were in Anjou, supporting the rebels in their campaign against the royal army, which included a number of Matilda's supporters such as Robert of Gloucester. Many of these barons had taken an oath to stay in Normandy until the late king was properly buried, which prevented them from returning to England. Nonetheless, Geoffrey and Matilda took the opportunity to march into southern Normandy and seize a number of key castles around Argentan that had formed Matilda's disputed dowry. They then stopped, unable to advance further, pillaging the countryside and"
"daughter of Henry I, King of England and Duke of Normandy. She was born into a powerful ruling class of Normans, who traditionally owned extensive estates in both England and Normandy, and her first husband had been the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. After her father's death in 1135, Matilda hoped to claim the English throne, but instead her cousin Stephen of Blois was crowned king and recognised as the Duke of Normandy, resulting in civil war between their rival supporters. Geoffrey took advantage of the confusion to attack the Duchy of Normandy but played no direct role in the"
"Matilda of Scotland Matilda of Scotland (c. 1080 – 1 May 1118), originally christened Edith, was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry I. She acted as regent of England in the absence of her spouse on several occasions. Matilda was the daughter of the English princess Saint Margaret and the Scottish king Malcolm III. She was descended from Alfred the Great. At the age of about six Matilda was sent with her sister to be educated in a convent in southern England, where her aunt Cristina was abbess. It is not clear if she spent much"
"Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony Matilda of England (, also called Maud; 6 January 1156 – 28 June 1189) was the eldest daughter of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Through her marriage with the Welf duke Henry the Lion, she was Duchess consort of Saxony and Bavaria from 1168 until her husband's deposition in 1180. She was named after her grandmother Matilda of England. Upon the disputed Papal election of 1159 and the succeeding schism, King Henry II established closer ties to the Holy Roman Empire; particularly when he himself came into conflict with the"
"them at Easter 1080. Matilda of Flanders Matilda of Flanders (; ) ( 1031 – 2 November 1083) was Queen of England and Duchess of Normandy by marriage to William the Conqueror, and sometime Regent of these realms during his absence. She was the mother of ten children who survived to adulthood, including two kings, William II and Henry I. As a niece and granddaughter of kings of France, Matilda was of grander birth than William, who was illegitimate, and, according to some suspiciously romantic tales, she initially refused his proposal on this account. Her descent from the Anglo-Saxon royal"
"Stephen and Matilda had three sons: They also had two daughters: Matilda of Boulogne Matilda I of Boulogne (c.1105 – 3 May 1152) was Queen of England as the wife of King Stephen, whom she supported in his struggle for the English throne against their cousin Empress Matilda. During this period, Matilda played an unusually active role for a woman of the period when her husband was captured, and proved herself an effective general who managed to force their cousin to release him. Under the agreement that settled the civil war, her children did not inherit the throne. She was"
"Matilda of Flanders Matilda of Flanders (; ) ( 1031 – 2 November 1083) was Queen of England and Duchess of Normandy by marriage to William the Conqueror, and sometime Regent of these realms during his absence. She was the mother of ten children who survived to adulthood, including two kings, William II and Henry I. As a niece and granddaughter of kings of France, Matilda was of grander birth than William, who was illegitimate, and, according to some suspiciously romantic tales, she initially refused his proposal on this account. Her descent from the Anglo-Saxon royal House of Wessex was"
"the Becket controversy. She worked extensively with the Church, founding Cistercian monasteries, and was known for her piety. She was buried under the high altar at Bec Abbey after her death in 1167. Matilda was born to Henry I, King of England and Duke of Normandy, and his first wife, Matilda of Scotland, possibly around 7 February 1102 at Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire. Henry was the youngest son of William the Conqueror, who had invaded England in 1066, creating an empire stretching into Wales. The invasion had created an Anglo-Norman elite, many with estates spread across both sides of the"
"was disputed between the Henry's nephews—Stephen and his elder brother, Theobald II, Count of Champagne—and Henry's surviving legitimate child Matilda, usually known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry V. Matilda's brother, and King Henry's only legitimate son, William died in 1120, leaving Matilda as Henry's only legitimate offspring. After Matilda was widowed in 1125, she returned to England, where her father married her to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou. All the magnates of England and Normandy were required to declare fealty to Matilda as Henry's heir, but when Henry I died in"
"was the sister of Edgar the Ætheling, proclaimed but uncrowned King of England after Harold, and, through her mother, Matilda was descended from Edmund Ironside and thus from the royal family of Wessex, which in the 10th century had become the royal family of a united England. This was extremely important because although Henry had been born in England, he needed a bride with ties to the ancient Wessex line to increase his popularity with the English and to reconcile the Normans and Anglo-Saxons. In their children, the two factions would be united, further unifying the new regime. Another benefit"
"Cultural depictions of Stephen, King of England King Stephen of England (c. 1092/6 – 25 October 1154) was a grandson of William the Conqueror, and has been depicted in various cultural works. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne ""jure uxoris"". His reign was marked by civil war with his cousin and rival the Empress Matilda, in a period called the Anarchy which has been dramatized by Beth Flintoff in her play ""Matilda the Empress"", first performed in November 2017 at St James's Church, Reading. Stephen was succeeded by Matilda's son,"
"would become Queen of England after marrying Matilda's son Henry I. During the christening, the baby pulled Queen Matilda's headdress down on top of herself, which was seen as an omen that the younger Matilda would be queen some day as well. Matilda fell ill during the summer of 1083 and died in November 1083. Her husband was present for her final confession. William died four years later in 1087. Contrary to the common belief that she was buried at St. Stephen's, also called l'Abbaye-aux-Hommes in Caen, Normandy, where William was eventually buried, she is entombed in Caen at l'Abbaye"
"William Adelin William Ætheling (; 5 August 1103 – 25 November 1120), commonly called Adelin, sometimes ""Adelinus"", ""Adelingus"", ""A(u)delin"" or other Latinised Norman-French variants of ""Ætheling"", was the son of Henry I of England by his wife Matilda of Scotland, and was thus heir apparent to the throne. His early death without issue caused a succession crisis, known in history as the Anarchy. William was born in Winchester. His father, Henry I of England, had married his mother, Matilda of Scotland, to conciliate his English subjects. Matilda was descended from Edmund Ironside and was a great-niece of Edward the Confessor;"
"brothers Henry IV, who succeeded their father as Holy Roman Emperor in 1056, and Conrad II, who also died in infancy, and a sister, Judith of Swabia, who was queen consort of Hungary from 1063 to 1074. In addition, Matilda had an older half-sister, Beatrix, Abbess of Quedlinburg and Gandersheim, born from her father's first marriage with Princess Gunhilda of Denmark. Matilda was probably born in October 1048 in Pöhlde, although some sources indicate that she was born before this, perhaps as early as 1045. When she was, at most, twelve years old, Matilda was betrothed to Rudolf of Rheinfelden"
"therefore free to marry, a judgement that Anselm then affirmed, allowing the marriage to proceed. Matilda proved an effective queen for Henry, acting as a regent in England on occasion, addressing and presiding over councils, and extensively supporting the arts. The couple soon had two children, Matilda, born in 1102, and William Adelin, born in 1103; it is possible that they also had a second son, Richard, who died young. Following the birth of these children, Matilda preferred to remain based in Westminster while Henry travelled across England and Normandy, either for religious reasons or because she enjoyed being involved"
"description of Matilda's appearance; contemporaries described Matilda as being very beautiful, but this may have simply reflected the conventional practice among the chroniclers. In late 1108 or early 1109, Henry V, then the King of the Romans, sent envoys to Normandy proposing that Matilda marry him, and wrote separately to her mother on the same matter. The match was attractive to the English king: his daughter would be marrying into one of the most prestigious dynasties in Europe, reaffirming his own, slightly questionable, status as the youngest son of a new royal house, and gaining him an ally in dealing"
"one of the most powerful magnates in the Kingdom of the English. Moreover, Matilda's father Waltheof had been Earl of Northumberland, a defunct lordship which had covered the far north of England and included Cumberland and Westmorland, Northumberland-proper, as well as overlordship of the bishopric of Durham. David would later revive the claim to this earldom for his son Henry, but that was in the future, only after the death of King Henry. Like his activities before 1113, David's activities and personal whereabouts after 1114 are not always easy to trace. He spent much of his time outside his principality."
"her death, when she was succeeded by her son, Eustace IV. She was born in Boulogne, France, the daughter of Eustace III, Count of Boulogne, and his wife Mary, daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Through her maternal grandmother, Matilda was descended from the pre-Conquest English kings. In 1125, Matilda married Stephen of Blois, Count of Mortain, who possessed a large honour in England. When Matilda's father abdicated and retired to a monastery the same year, this was joined with Boulogne and the similarly large English honour Matilda inherited. On Eustace III's death, Matilda"
"with France. In return, Henry V would receive a dowry of 10,000 marks, which he needed to fund an expedition to Rome for his coronation as the Holy Roman Emperor. The final details of the deal were negotiated at Westminster in June 1109 and, as a result of her changing status, Matilda attended a royal council for the first time that October. She left England in February 1110 to make her way to Germany. The couple met at Liège before travelling to Utrecht where, on 10 April, they became officially betrothed. On 25 July Matilda was crowned Queen of the"
"English clergy led by Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Sent by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, the Cologne archbishop Rainald of Dassel arrived at the court of King Henry II at Rouen in 1165 to negotiate an English–German matrimonial alliance and the Welf duke Henry the Lion was chosen as a match for Matilda. There was conflict during the negotiations, however, when Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester refused to greet the German archbishop, alleging him to be a schismatic and a supporter of the anti-pope, Victor IV. The original plan to match the second daughter of King Henry II, Eleanor"
"rushed to England, taking advantage of Boulogne's control of the closest seaports, and was crowned king, beating his rival, the Empress Matilda. Matilda of Boulogne was heavily pregnant at that time and crossed the Channel after giving birth to a son, Eustace, who would one day succeed her as count of Boulogne. Matilda was crowned queen at Easter, on 22 March 1136. Matilda was a supporter of the Knights Templar. She founded Cressing Temple in Essex in 1137 and Temple Cowley in Oxford in 1139. Like her predecessor, Matilda of Scotland, she had a close relationship with the Holy Trinity"
"Matilda of Boulogne Matilda I of Boulogne (c.1105 – 3 May 1152) was Queen of England as the wife of King Stephen, whom she supported in his struggle for the English throne against their cousin Empress Matilda. During this period, Matilda played an unusually active role for a woman of the period when her husband was captured, and proved herself an effective general who managed to force their cousin to release him. Under the agreement that settled the civil war, her children did not inherit the throne. She was also Countess of Boulogne in her own right from 1125 until"
"of his daughter, the former empress-consort Matilda. David indeed carried out his wars in her name, joined her when she arrived in England, and later knighted her son, the future Henry II. However, David's policy towards England can be interpreted another way. David is the independence-loving king trying to build a ""Scoto-Northumbrian"" realm by seizing the most northerly parts of the English kingdom. In this perspective, David's support for Matilda is used as a pretext for land grabbing. David's maternal descent from the House of Wessex and his son Henry's maternal descent from the Saxon earls of Northumberland is thought"
"interest in England, but he supported Matilda by entering Normandy to claim her inheritance. Matilda landed in England to challenge Stephen and was declared ""Lady of the English"" which resulted in a civil war called the Anarchy. Stephen was defeated and captured at the Battle of Lincoln (1141) and Matilda was the effective ruler. When Matilda was forced to release Stephen in a hostage exchange for her half-brother Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, Stephen was re-crowned. The conflict in England continued inconclusively. However, Geoffrey secured the Duchy of Normandy. Matilda's son, Henry II, by his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine"
"name, joined her when she arrived in England, and later knighted her son, the future Henry II. However, David's policy towards England can be interpreted in an additional way. David was the independence-loving king trying to build a ""Scoto-Northumbrian"" realm by seizing the most northerly parts of the English kingdom. In this perspective, David's support for Matilda is used as a pretext for land-grabbing. David's maternal descent from the House of Wessex and his son Henry's maternal descent from the English Earls of Northumberland is thought to have further encouraged such a project, a project which came to an end"
"English Channel. These barons typically had close links to the kingdom of France, which was then a loose collection of counties and smaller polities, under only the minimal control of the king. Her mother Matilda was the daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland, a member of the West Saxon royal family, and a descendant of Alfred the Great. For Henry, marrying Matilda of Scotland had given his reign increased legitimacy, and for her it had been an opportunity for high status and power in England. Matilda had a younger, legitimate brother, William Adelin, and her father's relationships with numerous"
"Caroline Matilda of Great Britain Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (; 22 July 1751 – 10 May 1775) was by birth a Princess of Great Britain and member of the House of Hanover and by marriage Queen consort of Denmark and Norway from 1766 to 1772. The youngest and posthumous daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales, by Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Caroline Matilda was raised in a secluded family atmosphere away from the royal court. At the age of fifteen, she was married to her first cousin, King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway, who suffered from a mental illness"
"when the Empress Matilda's husband, the Emperor Henry, died in 1125. King Henry recalled his daughter to England the next year and declared that, should he die without a male heir, she was to be his rightful successor. The Anglo-Norman barons were gathered together at Westminster at Christmas 1126, where they swore to recognise Matilda and any future legitimate heir she might have. Putting forward a woman as a potential heir in this way was unusual: opposition to Matilda continued to exist within the English court, and Louis was vehemently opposed to her candidacy. Fresh conflict broke out in 1127,"
"of her first marriage to the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry V. King Henry's only legitimate son, William, had died in 1120. After Matilda was widowed in 1125, she returned to her father, who married her to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou. All the magnates of England and Normandy were required to declare fealty to Matilda as Henry's heir, but when Henry I died in 1135, Stephen rushed to England and had himself crowned before either Theobald or Matilda could react. The Norman barons accepted Stephen as Duke of Normandy, and Theobald contented himself with his possessions in France. Matilda, though, was"
"Isabella of England Isabella of England (1214 – 1 December 1241) was Holy Roman Empress, Queen of the Germans, and queen consort of Sicily. She was the fourth child and second daughter of John, King of England and Isabella of Angoulême. At a friendly meeting at Rieti, Pope Gregory IX suggested to Emperor Frederick II that he marry princess Isabella, a sister of King Henry III of England. At first Frederick II was concerned to lose his French allies; but when he realized that an English marriage might end the ongoing Anglo-French feud and constitute an important step towards the"
"was a political move in order to win over the unruly Londoners who were vehement supporters of the Wessex kings. After Matilda and Henry were married on 11 November 1100 at Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury, she was crowned as ""Matilda,"" a hallowed Norman name. By courtiers, however, she and her husband were soon nicknamed 'Godric and Godiva'. These two names were typical English names from before The Conquest and mocked their more rustic style, especially when compared to the flamboyance of William II. Matilda gave birth to a daughter, Matilda, born in February 1102, and a son,"
"scattered through the shires of Northampton, Huntingdon, and Bedford; within a few years, Matilda bore a son, whom David named Henry after his patron. The new territories which David controlled were a valuable supplement to his income and manpower, increasing his status as one of the most powerful magnates in the Kingdom of the English. Moreover, Matilda's father Waltheof had been Earl of Northumberland, a defunct lordship which had covered the far north of England and included Cumberland and Westmorland, Northumberland-proper, as well as overlordship of the bishopric of Durham. After King Henry's death, David would revive the claim to"
"or go into exile. Henry returned to England, while this time Matilda remained at Brunswick to defend the interests of her husband. However, she died three months later at the age of 33. After her death, her husband again entered Germany and finally reconciled with Emperor Frederick's son Henry VI. In 1194, his first-born son Henry the Elder was enfeoffed with the County Palatine of the Rhine. Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony Matilda of England (, also called Maud; 6 January 1156 – 28 June 1189) was the eldest daughter of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of"