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Matilda

Female 1102 - 1167  (65 years)


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  • Name Matilda  
    Nickname Lady of the English (disp... 
    Born 7 Feb 1102  Sutton Courtnay Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    Nr Abingdon
    Nr Abingdon
    England 
    Christened R84 Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Female 
    Christening R84 Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Occupation Holy Roman Empress; Queen of England, April 7 to Nov. 1, 1141 (uncrowned), Princess, Empress Consort of the Holy Roman Empire, Princess of England, Empress of Germany, The Empress of Normandy, Procl. Queen of England 1141~1154, Queen of England, Empress 
    Died 10 Sep 1167  Abbey of Notre Dame des Prés Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    Rouen
    Rouen
    France 
    Buried 10 Sep 1167  Bec Abbey Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    Le Bec-Helouin
    Le Bec-Helouin
    France 
    Notes 
    • {geni:about_me}
      =Empress MATILDA born Adelaide=



      ===from Medlands===

      http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20Kings%201066-1603.htm#Matildadied1167

      2. MATILDA (Winchester or London 1102-Abbaye de Notre-Dame des Près, near Rouen 10 Sep 1167, bur Abbaye du Bec, Normandy, later moved to Rouen Cathedral). Her parentage is stated by Orderic Vitalis[144]. The Chronicle of Gervase records the birth "secundo anno regni" of "filiam…Matildis"[145]. According to Weir[146], she was christened Adelaide but adopted the name Matilda on her first marriage. The primary source on which this is based has not yet been identified. The chronology of Matilda´s first marriage is complicated. Negotiations for the marriage started in 1109: Henry of Huntingdon records that ambassadors were sent by “Henrico imperatore Romano” to request “filiam regis” in marriage for “domini sui”, that they were received in the English court “ad Pentecosten”, and that “filia regis” was given (“data”) to “imperatori” in the following year, dated to [1109/10] from the context[147]. The English king's presence in London at that time is confirmed by the Regesta Regum Anglorum which lists three charters dated 13 June 1109 “Pentecost” issued at Westminster in King Henry's name[148]. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records in 1109 that “before Whitsuntide” King Henry I returned to England from Normandy and “held his court at Westminster” where “the contracts were completed and the oaths sworn for the marriage of his daughter to the emperor” and in 1110 that “before Lent, the king sent his daughter oversea with innumerable treasures and gave her in marriage to the emperor”[149]. Florence of Worcester records that "rex Anglorum Henricus” granted “filiam suam...in conjugem" to "Heinrico regi Teutonicorum", dated to 1110 from the context[150]. In a later passage, the same source records that "Matildis filia regis Anglorum” who was “Heinrico, Romanorum imperatori...desponsata" was consecrated empress "VIII Id Jan" (6 January) at Mainz, dated to 1114 from the context[151]. The Continuatio of the Gesta Ducum Normannorum records that “Henricus quintus rex et quartus imperator Romanorum et Alemannorum” requested in marriage the daughter of the king of England who was brought to his kingdom, that the couple were betrothed (“desponsavit”) in Utrecht at Easter, and that Matilda was consecrated queen in Mainz “in festivitate sancti Iacobi” (25 July) by the archbishop of Köln. Matilda was then carefully brought up (“studiose nutriri precepit”) by Bruno archbishop of Trier, including learning the German language and customs, until the time for her marriage (“tempus nuptiarum”)[152]. Orderic Vitalis records that "Henricus rex Anglorum" gave “Mathildem filiam suam...in uxorem” to “Imperatori”, that “Rogerius filius Ricardi [identified as Roger FitzRichard de Clare] cognatus regis, cum nobili comitatu in Anglia” escorted her to Germany, and that her dowry was 10,000 marks, undated but dated to [1110] from the context[153]. The dating is confirmed approximately by a later passage in the same source, recording the death of Emperor Heinrich, which states that he married Matilda three years after succeeding his father (who died in August 1106)[154]. Another passage records that “Henricus rex” gave “Mathildem filiam suam...in conjugium” to “Karolo [error for Henrico] Henrici filio Imperatori Alemannorum”, that she was led to her husband by “Burchardus præsul Cameracensium”, in the presence of “Rogerius...filius Ricardi, aliique plures ex Normannis comitati”[155]. This last passage is dated to [1109] from the context. However, Burchard was not appointed bishop of Cambrai until 1114: the Annales Cameracensis record that “domnus Burgardus” was elected [as bishop] in 1114[156]. The Annals of Winchester record that “rex” sent “filiam suam Matildem” for betrothal (“desponsandam”) to “imperatori Henrico” with 5,000 marks of silver in 1110, adding that she was only 8 years and 15 days old[157]. The Annals of Winchelcombe, Gloucestershire record in 1114 that “Matildis filia regis Anglorum Henrici” married (“desponsatur...sponsam suscepit”) “Anglici regis filiam” and that the dowry was agreed (“more dotavit”) in Utrecht at Easter[158]. Simeon of Durham records in 1110 that "rex Anglorum Henricus" gave “filiam suam” in marriage (“in conjugem dedit”) to “Henrico imperatori”, adding that he sent her from Dover “usque ad Witsand” at the start of “Quadragesimæ...IV Id Apr”[159]. The same source records in 1114 that "Mathildis filia regis Anglorum Henrici" was married (“desponsata”) to “Henrico Romanorum imperatori” and was consecrated empress at Mainz “VIII Id Jan”[160]. The Annales Hildesheimensis record a synod held “Non Mar” in 1110 by Pope Paschal who sent legates to Liège (“Leodium ad regem”) and that there (“ibi”) “rex” received as wife (“sponsam suscepit”) “Anglici regis filiam” and that he granted her dower in accordance with the customs of the kingdom (“regio more dotavit”) in Utrecht at Easter[161]. The same source records in 1114 that Matilda married (“desponsatur”) “Henrico Romanorum imperatori”[162]. The Annales Sancti Disibodi record in 1109 that “Rex” was betrothed (“desponsata”) to “filia regis Anglorum” and in 1114 that “Imperator” passed Christmas at “Babinberg” and married (“nuptias fecit”) at Mainz “post epiphaniam”[163]. Matilda was crowned empress again in 1117 with her husband at St Peter’s Basilica, Rome.

      Her second marriage is recorded by Orderic Vitalis[164]. The Chronicle of Gervase records the second marriage of "filiam suam…viduam" to "Gaufrido comiti Andegaviæ"[165]. Matilda asserted the right to succeed after the death of her father and fought King Stephen in a civil war in which she was finally defeated 1 Nov 1141. Robert of Torigny records the death "1167…IV Id Sep Rothomagi" of "matris suæ [Henrici regis] Mathildis imperatricis" and her burial "Becci"[166]. The necrology of Angers Cathedral records the death "II Id Sep" of "Mathildis imperatrix filia Henrici regis uxor Goffredi comitis"[167].

      m firstly (betrothed Utrecht Easter 1110[168], Mainz 6 Jan 1114) Emperor HEINRICH V, son of Emperor HEINRICH IV & his first wife Berthe de Savoie (1081-Utrecht 23 May 1125, bur Speyer Cathedral).

      m secondly (Le Mans Cathedral, Anjou 17 Jun 1128) GEOFFROY d’Anjou, son of FOULQUES V Comte d’Anjou & his first wife Aremburge de Maine (24 Aug 1113-Château du Loire 7 Sep 1151, bur Le Mans Cathedral, Anjou). He succeeded on the abdication of his father in 1129 as GEOFFROI V “le Bel/Plantagenet” Comte d’Anjou. He was proclaimed Duke of Normandy 19 Jan 1144.

      Matilda & her second husband had three children:

      1. HENRI d’Anjou (Le Mans, Anjou 5 Mar 1133-Château de Chinon 6 Jul 1189, bur Abbaye de Fontevrault). William of Tyre names him and records his parentage[345]. The Chronicæ Sancti Albini records the birth "1133 III Non Mar" of "Henricus"[346]. Comte de Touraine et du Maine 1151. He succeeded his father in 1151 as HENRI Comte d’Anjou, Duke of Normandy. He became Duke of Aquitaine by right of his wife 18 May 1152. He succeeded King Stephen 19 Dec 1154 as HENRY II King of England, crowned in Westminster Abbey the same day. m (Bordeaux Cathedral 18 May 1152) as her second husband, ELEONORE Dss of Aquitaine, divorced wife of LOUIS VII King of France, daughter of GUILLAUME X Duke of Aquitaine, GUILLAUME VIII Comte de Poitou & his first wife Eléonore de Châtellerault (Nieul-sur-Autize, Vendée or Château de Belin, Guyenne or Palais d’Ombrière, Bordeaux 1122-Abbaye de Fontevrault 1 Apr 1204, bur Abbaye de Fontevrault). The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines names "Alienor Guilielmi filia comits Pictavorum et Aquitanie ducis" as wife of "regi Francie Ludovico"[347]. She was crowned Queen Consort of England with her husband 19 Dec 1154 at Westminster Abbey. She supported the revolt of her sons against their father in 1173, was captured and imprisoned in the château de Chinon, later at Salisbury until 1179. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines records the burial of "uxor [regis Henrici] regina Alienordis" in the same abbey as her husband[348].

      - KINGS of ENGLAND.

      2. GEOFFROY d’Anjou (Rouen, Normandy 1 Jun 1134-Nantes 26 Jul 1158, bur Nantes). Robert of Torigny records the birth "1134 mense Maio in Pentecoste Rothomagi" of "Gaufridus secundus filius Gaufridi comitis Andegavensis", specifying that his mother "Matildis imperatrix" was "infirmata…propter difficultatem partus usque ad desperationem"[349]. The Chronicæ Sancti Albini records the birth "1134 Kal Jun" of "Gaufridus"[350]. William of Tyre names him as his parents' second son[351]. "Goffridus comes filius Fulconis regis Jerusalem" renounced rights to Angers with the consent of "filiis meis Henrico et Goffrido" by charter dated [1136/1140] which also names "uxori meæ Mathildi"[352]. His father intended him to succeed as Comte d'Anjou, but his brother Henri did not permit this. Geoffroy revolted against his brother in 1152 and 1156, after which his castles of Chinon, Loudun and Mirebeau were confiscated. He was appointed Comte de Nantes by his brother in 1157 after the expulsion of Comte Hoël[353]. Matthew of Paris specifies that Geoffroy was the brother of King Henry II when he records his death in 1158, after which Nantes was transferred to his brother[354]. Robert of Torigny records the death "1158 mense Julio" of "Gaufrido comite Nannetensi fratre Henrici regis Julio"[355].

      3. GUILLAUME d’Anjou (Argentan 22 Jul 1136-Rouen 30 Jan 1164, bur Rouen Cathedral). Robert of Torigny records the birth "1136 mense Augusto apud Argentomagum" of "Guillermus tercius filius comitis Gaufridi"[356]. The Chronicæ Sancti Albini records the birth "1136 XI Kal Aug" of "Guillelmus"[357]. William of Tyre names him as his parents' third son "cognomento Longaspata"[358]. Comte de Poitou. His brother granted him extensive lordships in fifteen English counties and the vicomté of Dieppe[359]. Robert of Torigny records the death "apud Rothomagum III Kal Feb…1164" of "Willermus frater Henrici regis" and his burial "in ecclesia Sanctæ Mariæ"[360].


      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


      '''Matilda 'the Empress' of England'''


      ===From the Peerage===

      *[http://thepeerage.com/p10204.htm#i102037 The Peerage]


      F, #102037, b. circa August 1102, d. 10 September 1167

      Matilda 'the Empress' of England|b. c Aug 1102\nd. 10 Sep 1167|p10204.htm#i102037|Henry I 'Beauclerc', King of England|b. Sep 1068\nd. 1 Dec 1135|p10204.htm#i102033|Editha of Scotland|b. c 1079\nd. 1 May 1118|p10204.htm#i102034|William I 'the Conqueror', King of England|b. bt 1027 - 1028\nd. 9 Sep 1087|p10203.htm#i102022|Matilda de Flandre|b. c 1031\nd. 2 Nov 1083|p10203.htm#i102023|Malcolm III 'Caennmor', King of Scotland|b. 26 Mar 1031\nd. 13 Nov 1093|p10216.htm#i102153|Saint Margaret 'the Exile' (?)|b. 1045\nd. 16 Nov 1093|p10216.htm#i102154|

      Matilda 'the Empress' of England was born circa August 1102 at Winchester, Hampshire, England.2 She was also reported to have been born on 7 February 1102 at England. She was the daughter of Henry I 'Beauclerc', King of England and Editha of Scotland. She married, firstly, Heinrich V, Holy Roman Emperor, son of Heinrich IV, Holy Roman Emperor, on 7 January 1114 at Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.2 She married, secondly, Geoffrey V Plantagenet, Comte d'Anjou et Maine, son of Fulk V d'Anjou, 9th Comte d'Anjou and Aremburga de la Fleche, Comtesse de Maine, on 22 May 1128 at Le Mans Cathedral, Le Mans, France.3 She was also reported to have been married on 20 May 1127. She died on 10 September 1167 at Abbey of the Notre Dame des Prés, Rouen, Caux, France.2 She was buried at Rouen Cathedral, Rouen, Caux, France.2
      She was given the name of Adelaide at birth.2 As a result of her marriage, Matilda 'the Empress' of England was styled as Empress Matilda of Germany on 7 January 1114.2 She gained the title of Lady of the English on 7 April 1141.2 She was deposed as Lady of the English on 1 November 1141.2
      Daughter of Henry I and Editha of Scotland, she was nominated by her father as his successor. However, on the death of Henry I, the council considering a woman unfit to rule offered the throne to Stephen. Matilda invaded England and fought (1139 - 1148) to wrest rule from the usurping Stephen. She won much of the west, and after Stephen's capture in April 1141 a clerical council proclaimed Matilda 'Lady of the English'. She entered London but made cash demands that provoked Londoners to expel her before a coronation. On Stephen's release, she suffered defeats (fled from Oxford Castle Dec 1142), and eventually left England for Normandy, now controlled by her husband. The cause of her death is obscure. Although Matilda failed to secure the English throne, she laid a basis for successful claims by descendants of her husband Geoffrey of Anjou.


      '''Children of Matilda 'the Empress' of England and Geoffrey V Plantagenet, Comte d'Anjou et Maine'''


      1.Emma Plantagenet d. b 1214

      2.Henry II 'Curtmantle' d'Anjou, King of England+ b. 5 Mar 1133, d. 6 Jul 1189

      3.Geoffrey VI d'Anjou, Comte d'Anjou et Nantes b. 1 Jun 1134, d. 26 Jul 1158

      4.William de Poitou, Comte de Poitou b. c Jul 1136, d. 30 Jan 1164


      '''Citations'''

      1.[S106] Royal Genealogies Website (ROYAL92.GED), online ftp://ftp.cac.psu.edu/genealogy/public_html/royal/index.html. Hereinafter cited as Royal Genealogies Website.

      2.[S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 57. Hereinafter cited as Britain's Royal Family.

      3.[S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family, page 54.


      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      *''Lady of the English (disputed)'''

      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


      ===From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia===

      *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Matilda Wikipedia]



      =Matilda of England =

      Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Germany

      Tenure 7 January 1114 – 23 May 1125

      Lady of the English (disputed)

      Reign 7 April 1141 – 1 November 1141

      Predecessor Stephen (as King of England)

      Successor Stephen (as King of England)

      Spouse Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor

      m. 1114; dec. 1125

      Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou

      m. 1128; dec. 1151

      Issue

      * Henry II of England
      * Geoffrey, Count of Nantes
      * William X, Count of Poitou

      House Norman dynasty

      Father Henry I of England

      Mother Matilda of Scotland

      Born c. 7 February 1102

      Died 10 September 1167 (age 65)

      Rouen

      '''Empress Matilda''' (c. 7 February 1102 – 10 September 1167), also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood. However, her brother's death in the White Ship disaster in 1120 resulted in Matilda being her father's sole heir.

      As a child, Matilda was betrothed to and later married Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, acquiring the title Empress. The couple had no known children and after eleven years of marriage Henry died, leaving Matilda widowed. However, she was then married to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou in a union which her father hoped would produce a male heir and continue the dynasty. She had three sons by Geoffrey of Anjou, the eldest of whom eventually became King Henry II of England. Upon the death of her father in 1135, Matilda was usurped to the throne by her rival and cousin Stephen of Blois, who moved quickly and became crowned King of England whilst Matilda was in Normandy, pregnant with her third child.

      Their rivalry for the throne led to years of unrest and civil war in England that have been called The Anarchy. Matilda was the first female ruler of the Kingdom of England, though the length of her effective rule was brief - a few months in 1141. She was never crowned and failed to consolidate her rule (legally and politically). For this reason, she is normally excluded from lists of English monarchs, and her rival (and cousin) Stephen of Blois is listed as monarch for the period 1135–1154. She campaigned unstintingly for her oldest son's inheritance, living to see him ascend the throne of England in 1154.

      '''Early life and marriage to Henry V'''

      Matilda was the elder of the two children born to Henry I of England, son of William the Conqueror, and his wife Matilda of Scotland (also known as Edith) who survived infancy; her younger brother and heir to the throne was William Adelin.[nb 1] Her father sired at least twenty illegitimate children, half-siblings to Matilda.[2] Her maternal grandparents were Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Margaret was daughter of Edward the Exile and granddaughter of Edmund II of England. Most historians believe Matilda was born in Winchester, but one, John M. Fletcher, argues for the possibility of the royal palace at Sutton (now Sutton Courtenay) in Oxfordshire. Her paternal grandparents were William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. As a child her relationship with her father was probably not close, considering Henry I ventured to Normandy whilst Matilda was two years old, and the King stayed there for three years. It is likely she saw little of him upon his return either, as Matilda then commenced her education at the Abbey of Wilton, where she was educated by the nuns.[3]


      Emperor Henry V and MatildaWhen Matilda was still in early childhood, envoys from Henry V, King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor, travelled to England and asked for her hand in marriage. In spring of 1110 she was sent to Germany, taking with her a large dowry, estimated at 10,000 marks in silver, to become the bride of Henry V.[4] She met her husband-to-be at Liège before travelling to Utrecht where, on 10 April, Matilda became officially betrothed to Henry.[5] On 25 July of the same year she was crowned Queen in a ceremony at Mainz.[6][7] As well as being a young stranger in a foreign court, she also saw most of her English retinue dismissed by the Emperor; Henry V also wished that Matilda learn to speak German. She found herself continuing her education in Germany, being taught by Archbishop Bruno of Trier.[8] Matilda and the Emperor married in June 1114.[9] Her official title as Holy Roman Empress is somewhat dubious; she was never crowned by the Pope, though she was crowned in Rome by the archbishop of Braga, Maurice Bourdin, at Pentecost (13 May, 1117).[10] As Matilda later claimed to have been crowned twice, a ceremony may have take place earlier in the year at Easter. To add further ambiguity to the title, Archbishop Bourdin was declared excommunicate by the Pope in April of 1117, before Pentecost but after Easter.[10] However, as she was the betrothed wife and anointed queen at the time of her husband's coronation by Pope Paschal in 1111, her title held some legitimacy and official records addressed her as regina Romanorum.[10] Bourdin, following the death of Paschal in January 1118, became Antipope Gregory VIII, in opposition to Pope Gelasius II.[10] Later, she led Norman chroniclers to believe that she had been crowned by the Pope himself.[11]


      A 14th century depiction of the White Ship sinking of 1120Matilda acted as Henry's regent in Italy, gaining valuable political experience.[11] Her tenure as regent of the Italian lands of the Holy Roman Empire probably lasted from 1117 to 1119, whereupon she rejoined her husband in Lotharingia.[12] However, in 1120, England's heir and Matilda's brother William Adelin drowned in the White Ship sinking. Being the only legitimate male heir, his death cast uncertainty over the succession of the throne. Matilda was Henry I's only legitimate child, but as a female, she was at a substantial political disadvantage. The closest male blood heir at the time was William Clito,[13] but instead of naming a successor, Henry turned his attention to fathering another child. Widowed from Matilda of Scotland in 1118, Henry commenced negotiations for a remarriage following Adelin's death. In 1121 he married Adeliza of Louvain, though the union failed to produce any children.[13]

      Meanwhile, the marriage between Henry and Matilda remained childless, and Matilda's father was at the time unwilling to rest his hopes on his daughter providing an heir, assuming that she may be barren.[14] Henry V had already produced an illegitimate daughter, so it was presumed that he was not infertile.[14] Nonetheless, though she had failed to produce an heir for Henry V, she was not blamed; instead, the couple's childlessness was regarded as God's punishment to Henry V for his mistreatment of his father.[15] Henry V died on 23 May 1125, leaving Matilda a widow, aged 22.[15] The imperial couple had no surviving offspring, but Hermann of Tournai stated that Matilda bore a child who lived only a short while.[nb 2] On his deathbed, Henry V entrusted Matilda with the imperial insignia.[16] Having not produced a legitimate child, the Salian dynasty ended. Though the position of Holy Roman Emperor was an elected one, the title often passed from father to son. Matilda handed over the insignia, which were at Trifels Castle, to Adalbert, archbishop of Mainz, and he began proceedings towards the election.[17] The procedure was that the Bavarians, Swabians, Franconians (home of the Salians) and the Saxons elected a successor. Lothair, Duke of Saxony, and rival to the Salians, was elected.[18]

      '''Widowhood, heiress and second marriage'''

      Henry I summoned Matilda to Normandy following the Holy Roman Emperor's death. Matilda was displeased, considering Germany had been her home since a young age, German was now her first language and she was a respected figure in Germany.[19] Nonetheless, she had ceased to be involved in German political affairs and with an opponent on the throne, her future there did not promise anything significantly worthwhile.[18] Accepting that likeliness of his marriage providing him a boy was slim, Henry I decided that Matilda would be his heiress. After residing in Normandy for nearly a year with her father and step-mother, they set sail for England in 1126.[20] In January 1127, Henry made his court swear an oath of allegiance to Matilda and that if no male heir was provided, they must accept her as their ruler.[21] Stephen of Blois was present, and swore the oath of allegiance to Matilda. John of Worcester described a second oath, that was taken one year after the first, at Henry's Easter court (29 April, 1128).[22]


      Geoffrey of Anjou, Matilda's second husbandThe question of marriage was entirely down to Matilda's father. Louis VI, King of France, was discontented about Normandy and England united and as such, promoted the claim of William Clito as heir, in order to attempt to cause a rift in the court.[23] Furthermore, Fulk, Count of Anjou, was likely to support Clito's claim due to the longstanding hostility between Normandy and Anjou.[23] The animosity between Normandy and Anjou had temporarily been repaired with the marriage of Henry I's son William Adelin to Fulk's daughter Matilda.[23] However, Adelin's death meant the match was brief. Fulk then married his younger daughter Sibyl to William Clito, though Henry managed to sever the union by having Pope Calixtus II annul the marriage on the grounds of consanguinity.[23][21] However, Louis VI then offered his wife's half-sister Jeanne to Clito for marriage. Her dowry was the Vexin, an area of land bordering Normandy.[23] Furthermore, the murder of Charles I, Count of Flanders in 1127 gave Louis the opportunity to install William as the new Count of Flanders, thus setting him up to be a strong rival of Matilda.[24]

      Henry was faced with a predicament of Clito's rising power and he recognised that his daughter must marry in a union of diplomacy to counter this. He arranged for her to marry Geoffrey of Anjou, Fulk's son. Matilda was outraged, and viewed Geoffrey as entirely beneath her, though she could not do anything to prevent the marriage. Matilda was sent to Normandy early in 1127, under the care of Robert of Gloucester, her half-brother.[25] The wedding could not take place straight away, as Geoffrey was considered too young, having not yet turned 14. Nonetheless, he was considered handsome and intelligent, though neither of these traits served to console Matilda. The marriage took place in June 1128 at Le Mans.[26] A month after the marriage, her rival William Clito died suddenly from a battle wound, thus strengthening Matilda's position further.[27]

      The marriage, however, was a tempestuous relationship, and after little over a year since their wedding, Matilda left Geoffrey, travelling to Normandy, residing at Rouen.[26] The cause behind the soured relations is not fully known, though historian Marjorie Chibnall stated that, "historians have tended to put the blame on Matilda [...] This is a hasty judgement based on two or three hostile English chroniclers; such evidence as there is suggests Geoffrey was at least as much to blame".[28] Henry eventually summoned her from Normandy, whereupon Matilda returned to England in August 1131.[29] At a great council meeting on 8 September, it was decided that Matilda would return to her husband.[29] Here she received another oath of allegiance, where Stephen once more made his vow to Matilda.[26] The marriage proved a success when, in March 1133, Matilda gave birth to their first child, a son, named Henry in Le Mans.[30] In 1134 the couple's second son, Geoffrey, was born in Rouen.[31] Matilda nearly died in childbirth, and as she lay critically ill, her burial arrangements were planned.[31] However, she recovered from her illness.

      '''Struggle for the throne of England'''

      Normans

      William the Conqueror invades England
      William I
      Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy
      Richard, Duke of Bernay
      William II
      Adela, Countess of Blois
      Henry I

      William II
      Henry I
      Empress Matilda
      William Adelin
      Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester

      StephenEustace IV, Count of Boulogne
      William I, Count of Boulogne
      Marie I, Countess of Boulogne


      Monarchy of the United Kingdom
      v · t · e
      In 1120, her brother William Adelin drowned in the disastrous wreck of the White Ship, making Matilda the only surviving legitimate child of her father King Henry. Her cousin Stephen of Blois was, like her, a grandchild of William (the Conqueror) of Normandy; but her paternal line meant she was senior to Stephen in the line of succession.

      After Matilda returned to England, Henry named her as his heir to the English throne and Duchy of Normandy. Henry saw to it that the Anglo-Norman barons, including Stephen, twice swore to accept Matilda as ruler if Henry died without a male heir of his body.

      When her father died in Normandy, on 1 December 1135, Matilda was with Geoffrey in Anjou, and, crucially, too far away from events rapidly unfolding in England and Normandy. She and Geoffrey were also at odds with her father over border castles. Stephen of Blois rushed to England upon learning of Henry's death and moved quickly to seize the crown from the appointed heir. He was supported by most of the barons and his brother, Henry, Bishop of Winchester, breaking his oath to defend her rights. Matilda, however, contested Stephen in both realms. She and her husband Geoffrey entered Normandy and began military campaigns to claim her inheritance there. Progress was uneven at first, but she persevered. In Normandy, Geoffrey secured all fiefdoms west and south of the Seine by 1143; in January 1144, he crossed the Seine and took Rouen without resistance. He assumed the title Duke of Normandy, and Matilda became Duchess of Normandy. Geoffrey and Matilda held the duchy conjointly until 1149, then ceded it to their son, Henry, which event was soon ratified by King Louis VII of France. It was not until 1139, however, that Matilda commanded the military strength necessary to challenge Stephen within England.

      During the war, Matilda's most loyal and capable supporter was her illegitimate half-brother, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester.

      Matilda's greatest triumph came in February 1141, when her forces defeated and captured King Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln. He was made a prisoner and effectively deposed. Her advantage lasted only a few months. When she arrived in London, the city was ready to welcome her and support her coronation. She used the title of Lady of the English and planned to assume the title of queen upon coronation (the custom which was followed by her grandsons, Richard and John).[32] However, she refused the citizens' request to halve their taxes and, because of her own arrogance,[32] they closed the city gates to her and reignited the civil war on 24 June 1141.

      By November, Stephen was free (exchanged for the captured Robert of Gloucester) and a year later, the tables were turned when Matilda was besieged at Oxford but escaped to Wallingford, supposedly by fleeing across snow-covered land in a white cape. In 1141, she escaped Devizes in a similar manner, by disguising herself as a corpse and being carried out for burial.

      In 1148, Matilda and Henry returned to Normandy, following the death of Robert of Gloucester, and the reconquest of Normandy by Geoffrey. Upon their arrival, Geoffrey turned Normandy over to Henry and retired to Anjou.

      '''Later life'''

      Matilda's first son, Henry, was showing signs of becoming a successful leader. It was 1147 when Henry, aged 14, had accompanied Matilda on an invasion of England. It soon failed due to lack of preparation but it made him determined that England was his mother's right, and so his own. He returned to England again between 1149 and 1150. On 22 May 1149 he was knighted by King David I of Scotland, his great uncle, at Carlisle.[33] Although the civil war had been decided in Stephen's favour, his reign was troubled. In 1153, the death of Stephen's son Eustace, combined with the arrival of a military expedition led by Henry, led him to acknowledge the latter as his heir by the Treaty of Wallingford.

      Matilda retired to Rouen in Normandy during her last years, where she maintained her own court and presided over the government of the duchy in the absence of Henry. She intervened in the quarrels between her eldest son Henry and her second son Geoffrey, Count of Nantes, but peace between the brothers was brief. Geoffrey rebelled against Henry twice before his sudden death in 1158. Relations between Henry and his youngest brother, William X, Count of Poitou, were more cordial, and William was given vast estates in England. Archbishop Thomas Becket refused to allow William to marry the Countess of Surrey and the young man fled to Matilda's court at Rouen. William died there in January 1164, reportedly of disappointment and sorrow. She attempted to mediate in the quarrel between her son Henry and Becket, but was unsuccessful.

      Although she gave up hope of being crowned in 1141, her name always preceded that of her son Henry, even after he became king. Matilda died at Notre Dame du Pré near Rouen in 1167 and was buried in the Abbey of Bec-Hellouin, Normandy. Her body was transferred to Rouen Cathedral in 1847; her epitaph reads: "Great by Birth, Greater by Marriage, Greatest in her Offspring: Here lies Matilda, the daughter, wife, and mother of Henry."

      '''Historical fiction'''


      ''The civil war between supporters of Stephen and the supporters of Matilda has proven popular as a subject in historical fiction. Novels dealing with it include:''

      Graham Shelby, The Villains of the Piece (1972) (published in the US as The Oath and the Sword)
      The Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters, and the TV series made from them starring Sir Derek Jacobi
      Jean Plaidy, The Passionate Enemies, the third book of her Norman Trilogy
      Sharon Penman, When Christ and His Saints Slept tells the story of the events before, during and after the civil war
      Haley Elizabeth Garwood, The Forgotten Queen (1997)
      Ken Follett, The Pillars of the Earth
      E. L. Konigsburg, A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver
      Cecelia Holland, The Earl
      Joan Wolf, No Dark Place and The Poisoned Serpent are medieval romantic mysteries about supporters of both Stephen and Matilda
      Ellen Jones, The Fatal Crown (highly inaccurate)
      Juliet Dymoke, The Lion's Legacy (Being part of a trilogy, the first being, Of The Ring Of Earls, the second, Henry Of The High Rock)
      Elizabeth Chadwick, "Lady of the English" (2011)
      Indeed, some novels go so far as to posit a love-affair between Matilda and Stephen, e.g. the Janna Mysteries by Felicity Pulman, set during the civil war between Stephen and Matilda.

      Matilda is a character in Jean Anouilh's play Becket. In the 1964 film adaptation she was portrayed by Martita Hunt. She was also portrayed by Brenda Bruce in the 1978 BBC TV series The Devil's Crown, which dramatised the reigns of her son and grandsons.

      Finally, Alison Pill portrayed her in the 2010 TV miniseries The Pillars of the Earth, an adaptation of Follett's novel, although she is initially known in this as Princess Maud not Empress Matilda.



      '''Notes'''
      ^ Historical debate exists as to whether William Adelin was Matilda's younger brother or her twin. Marjorie Chibnall has said that "the evidence is against" the theory of the siblings being twins, citing various reasons, such as William of Malmesbury stating they were born on different dates.[1]
      ^ It is argued that Hermann of Tournai was using the story of a child who died as a guise to prove his point that because Matilda's mother had once worn the veil of a nun, her marriage was cursed. Chibnall described it as an "uncorroborated" story and Hermann as an "unreliable" source.[14]


      '''References'''
      ^ Chibnall 1991, p. 9
      ^ Pain 1978, p. 5
      ^ Pain 1978, p. 7
      ^ Chibnall 1991, p. 16
      ^ Pain 1978, p. 8
      ^ Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney, eds. (1894). Dictionary of national biography. 37. Smith, Elder, & co. http://books.google.com/books?id=Ga_QAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA54#v=onepage&q&f=false.
      ^ Chibnall (1991), p. 24
      ^ Pain 1978, p. 12
      ^ Pain 1978, p. 14
      ^ a b c d Chibnall 1991, p. 32
      ^ a b Chibnall 1991, p. 33
      ^ Chibnall 1991, p. 34
      ^ a b Chibnall 1991, p. 38
      ^ a b c Chibnall 1991, p. 40
      ^ a b Pain 1978, p. 16
      ^ Chibnall 1991, p. 41
      ^ Chibnall 1991, p. 42
      ^ a b Chibnall 1991, p. 43
      ^ Pain 1978, p. 17
      ^ Pain 1978, p. 18
      ^ a b Chibnall 1991, p. 51
      ^ Chibnall 1991, p. 52
      ^ a b c d e Pain 1978, p. 25
      ^ Chibnall 1991, p. 54
      ^ Pain 1978, p. 26
      ^ a b c Pain 1978, p. 27
      ^ Chibnall 1991, p. 55
      ^ Chibnall 1991, p. 57
      ^ a b Chibnall 1991, p. 59
      ^ Chibnall 1991, p. 60
      ^ a b Chibnall 1991, p. 61
      ^ a b Lyon, Ann (2003). Constitutional history of the UK. Routledge Cavendish. ISBN 1-85941-746-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=yiqrD_b_EGkC&pg=PA30&dq=%22lady+of+the+English%22+uncrowned&lr=#v=onepage&q=%22lady%20of%20the%20English%22%20uncrowned&f=false.
      ^ Harvey, John. The Plantagenets. p. 50.


      '''Bibliography'''


      Pain, Nesta (1978), Empress Matilda: Uncrowned Queen of England, Butler & Tanner
      Chibnall, Marjorie (1991), The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English, Basil Blackwell, ISBN 0-631-15737-9


      ''' Further reading'''

      Bradbury, J. (1996) Stephen and Matilda: the Civil War of 1139–1153, Sutton Publishing, ISBN 0-7509-0612-X
      Fletcher, John (1990) Sutton Courtenay: The History of a Thameside Village
      Gardener, J and Wenborn, W the History Today Companion to British History
      Parsons, John Carmi. Medieval Mothering (New Middle Ages), sub. Marjorie Chibnall, "Empress Matilda and Her Sons"

      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      ===From Find a grave===

      *[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8619917 Find a grave]

      Birth: Feb. 7, 1102
      Death: Sep. 10, 1167

      German Queen, Holy Roman Empress, Queen of England, Countess of Anjou and Maine. Only daughter of Henry I. and Matilda Dunkeld, daughter of Malcolm III. (Ceann-Mor). Matilda and her brother William were possibly twins. She was betrothed to Heinrich V. in April 1110. On January 7, 1114 she married the Emperor. She was 12 and her husband was 32 years old. She was crowned Queen of the Germans on July 25, 1110. The pair visited Rome in 1117 where they were crowned in a ceremony led only by an Archbishop (Heinrich was already crowned in 1111 by the pope) but she used the title of an Empress her whole life. The Emperor died in 1125 and she had to return to England because her brother had died and she was now her father's only hope for the continuation of his dynasty. Henry I. named Matilda his heir in January 1127. The baron of England had to swear that they would make her queen after her father's death. On August 26, 1127 she married the eleven years younger Geoffrey V. Plantagenet (qv), Count of Anjou in Le Mans. They soon started to fight with each other and Geoffrey sent her to Rouen. They reconciled in 1131 and on 5 March 1133 she gave birth to their first son Henry, who later became Henry II. of England. When Henry I. died in 1135 she was supposed to succeed him but her cousin Stephen of Blois was crowned instead. That was the begin of a civil war that lasted 18 years. In 1138 first her half-brother Robert of Gloucester and later her uncle David I. of Scotland invaded England to unseat Stephen from the throne and install Matilda. Stephen defeated David at the Battle of the Standard. Matilda herself landed in England in the following year. She was able to take Stephen prisoner in 1141 but had to release him in exchange for Robert of Gloucester. In March 1141 she it went to London, because of her arrogant behavior she was thrown out of the city some days later before her formal coronation could happen. The war luck was now more on Stephens side and she had to retire to the Normandy. On August 10, 1153 Stephens son Eustache died. Stephen became depressed and signed the Treaty of Winchester in December 1153. In this treaty Henry was named heir to Stephen bypassing Stephens son William and agreeing that Stephen should remain king for the rest of his life. He wasn't able to enjoy the following peace for a long time he died in October 1154. Maud spend the rest of her life in the Normandy where she administered the her sons possessions. She died in Notre Dame de Prés near Rouen and was buried in the Abbey church of Bec-Hellouin. Her body was transferred to the Cathedral of Rouen in 1847. (bio by: Lutetia)

      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      ==Links:==
      *[http://thepeerage.com/p10204.htm#i102037 The Peerage]
      *[http://www.geneall.net/U/per_page.php?id=88 Geneall]
      *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Matilda Wikipedia]
      *[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8619917 Find a grave]
      *''Lady of the English (disputed)''' Reign 7 April 1141 – 1 November 1141

      --------------------
      Daughter of King Henry I of England. From "Henry II of England" at http://sbaldw.home.mindspring.com/hproject/prov/henry002.htm.

      from Plantagenet Ancestry, Douglas Richardson, et al, p1, via Google Books
      --------------------
      Before Aug 12 1102 - of, London, Middlesex, England
      Death: Sep 17 1169 - Notre Dame, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France
      Parents: Henry I "Beauclerc" England, Matilda "Atheling" Princess England (born Scotland)
      Siblings: Robert "The King's Caen, Maud, Princess of England, [Duchess of Bret, Elizabeth Princess of Galloway, Princess (born England), Son Prince of England, William "Atheling" Prince England, William Prince of England, Richard Prince of England, Gundred Princess of England, Rohese Princess of England, Isabel Hedwig Of England, Sibyl Elizabeth Queen Scotland, Rainald de Dunstanville
      Husband: Geoffrey V The Plantagenet
      Husband: Heinrich V Emperor Germany
      Children: Adewis Plantagenet, Henry II "Plantagenet" England, Marie Shaftesbury, Abbess of, Geoffrey VI "Mantell" Plantagenet, Guillaume Plantagenet, William Plantagenet, Emma Owen, [Princess of Wal (born Plantagenet), Geoffrey Nantes Plantagenet

      --------------------
      Before Aug 12 1102 - of, London, Middlesex, England
      Death: Sep 17 1169 - Notre Dame, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France
      Parents: Henry I "Beauclerc" England, Matilda "Atheling" Princess England (born Scotland)
      Siblings: Robert "The King's Caen, Maud, Princess of England, [Duchess of Bret, Elizabeth Princess of Galloway, Princess (born England), Son Prince of England, William "Atheling" Prince England, William Prince of England, Richard Prince of England, Gundred Princess of England, Rohese Princess of England, Isabel Hedwig Of England, Sibyl Elizabeth Queen Scotland, Rainald de Dunstanville
      Husband: Geoffrey V The Plantagenet
      Husband: Heinrich V Emperor Germany
      Children: Adewis Plantagenet, Henry II "Plantagenet" England, Marie Shaftesbury, Abbess of, Geoffrey VI "Mantell" Plantagenet, Guillaume Plantagenet, William Plantagenet, Emma Owen, [Princess of Wal (born Plantagenet), Geoffrey Nantes Plantagenet

      --------------------
      Matilda From the British Monarchy's web page

      The Normans came to govern England following one of the most famous battles in English history: the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Four Norman kings presided over a period of great change and development for the country.

      The Domesday Book, a great record of English land-holding, was published; the forests were extended; the Exchequer was founded; and a start was made on the Tower of London.

      In religious affairs, the Gregorian reform movement gathered pace and forced concessions, while the machinery of government developed to support the country while Henry was fighting abroad.

      Meanwhile, the social landscape altered dramatically, as the Norman aristocracy came to prominence. Many of the nobles struggled to keep a hold on their interests in both Normandy and England, as divided rule meant the threat of conflict.
      This was the case when William the Conqueror died. His eldest son, Robert, became Duke of Normandy, while the next youngest, William, became king of England. Their younger brother Henry would become king on William II's death. The uneasy divide continued until Henry captured and imprisoned his elder brother.
      The question of the succession continued to weigh heavily over the remainder of the period. Henry's son died, and his nominated heir Matilda was denied the throne by her cousin, Henry's nephew, Stephen.

      There then followed a period of civil war. Matilda married Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou, who took control of Normandy. The duchy was therefore separated from England once again.

      A compromise was eventually reached whereby the son of Matilda and Geoffrey would be heir to the English crown, while Stephen's son would inherit his baronial lands.

      It meant that in 1154 Henry II would ascend to the throne as the first undisputed king in over 100 years - evidence of the dynastic uncertainty of the Norman period.
      reedness
      reedness originally shared this to Glauber Family Tree

      --------------------
      Empress Matilda (c. 7 February 1102 – 10 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was the claimant to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy.[nb 1] The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as a child when she married the future Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. She travelled with her husband into Italy in 1116, was controversially crowned in St. Peter's Basilica, and acted as the imperial regent in Italy. Matilda and Henry had no children, and when he died in 1125, the crown was claimed by Lothair II, one of his political enemies.

      Meanwhile, Matilda's younger brother, William Adelin, died in the White Ship disaster of 1120, leaving England facing a potential succession crisis. On Henry V's death, Matilda was recalled to Normandy by her father, who arranged for her to marry Geoffrey of Anjou to form an alliance to protect his southern borders. Henry I had no further children and nominated Matilda as his heir, making his court swear an oath of loyalty to her and her successors, but the decision was not popular in the Anglo-Norman court. Henry died in 1135 but Matilda and Geoffrey faced opposition from the Norman barons and were unable to pursue their claims. The throne was instead taken by Matilda's cousin Stephen of Blois, who enjoyed the backing of the English Church. Stephen took steps to solidify his new regime, but faced threats both from neighbouring powers and from opponents within his kingdom.

      In 1139 Matilda crossed to England to take the kingdom by force, supported by her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, and her uncle, King David I of Scotland, while Geoffrey focused on conquering Normandy. Matilda's forces captured Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln in 1141, but the Empress's attempt to be crowned at Westminster collapsed in the face of bitter opposition from the London crowds. As a result of this retreat, Matilda was never formally declared Queen of England, and was instead titled the Lady of the English. Robert was captured following the Rout of Winchester in 1141, and Matilda agreed to exchange him for Stephen. Matilda became trapped in Oxford Castle by Stephen's forces that winter, and was forced to escape across the River Isis at night to avoid capture. The war degenerated into a stalemate, with Matilda controlling much of the south-west of England, and Stephen the south-east and the Midlands. Large parts of the rest of the country were in the hands of local barons.

      Matilda returned to Normandy, now in the hands of her husband, in 1148, leaving her eldest son to continue the campaign in England; he eventually succeeded to the throne as Henry II in 1154. She settled her court near Rouen and for the rest of her life concerned herself with the administration of Normandy, acting on Henry's behalf when necessary. Particularly in the early years of her son's reign, she provided political advice and attempted to mediate during 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.

      Childhood[edit]
      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.[1][nb 2] 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 English Channel.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]

      Matilda had a younger, legitimate brother, William Adelin, and her father's relationships with numerous mistresses resulted in around 22 illegitimate siblings.[nb 3] Little is known about Matilda's earliest life, but she probably stayed with her mother, was taught to read, and was educated in religious morals.[7][nb 4] Among the nobles at her mother's court were her uncle David, later the King of Scotland, and aspiring nobles such as her half-brother Robert of Gloucester, her cousin Stephen of Blois and Brian Fitz Count.[9] In 1108 Henry left Matilda and her brother in the care of Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury, while he travelled to Normandy; Anselm was a favoured cleric of Matilda's mother.[10] There is no detailed description of Matilda's appearance; contemporaries described Matilda as being very beautiful, but this may have simply reflected the conventional practice among the chroniclers.[11]

      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 royal mother on the same matter.[12] 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 with France.[13] 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.[14] 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.[14] She left England in February 1110 to make her way to Germany.[15]

      The couple met at Liège before travelling to Utrecht where, on 10 April, they became officially betrothed.[16] On 25 July Matilda was crowned Queen of the Romans in a ceremony at Mainz.[17] There was a considerable age gap between the couple, as Matilda was only eight years old while Henry was 24.[18] After the betrothal she was placed into the custody of Bruno, the Archbishop of Trier, who was tasked with educating her in German culture, manners and government.[19][20][nb 5] In January 1114 Matilda was ready to be married to Henry, and their wedding was held at the city of Worms amid extravagant celebrations.[21] Matilda now entered public life in Germany, complete with her own household.[22]

      Political conflict broke out across the Empire shortly after the marriage, triggered when Henry arrested his Chancellor Adalbert and various other German princes.[23] Rebellions followed, accompanied by opposition from within the Church, which played an important part in administering the Empire, and this led to the formal excommunication of the Emperor by Pope Paschal II.[24] Henry and Matilda marched over the Alps into Italy in early 1116, intent on settling matters permanently with the Pope.[24] Matilda was now playing a full part in the imperial government, sponsoring royal grants, dealing with petitioners and taking part in ceremonial occasions.[25] The rest of the year was spent establishing control of northern Italy, and in early 1117 the pair advanced on Rome itself.[26]

      Paschal fled when Henry and Matilda arrived, and in his absence the papal envoy Maurice Bourdin, later the Antipope Gregory VIII, crowned the pair at St. Peter's Basilica, probably that Easter and certainly by Pentecost.[27] Matilda used these ceremonies to claim the title of the Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. The Empire was governed by elected monarchs who, like Henry V, had been selected by the major nobles to become the King of the Romans. These kings typically hoped to be subsequently crowned by the Pope as the Holy Roman Emperor, but this could not be guaranteed. Henry V had coerced the Pope into crowning him in 1111, but Matilda's own status was less clear.[28] As a result of her marriage she was clearly the legitimate Queen of the Romans, a title that she used on her seal and charters, but it was uncertain if she had a legitimate claim to the title of empress.[28]

      Both Bourdin's status and the ceremonies themselves were deeply ambiguous. Strictly speaking, the ceremonies were not imperial coronations but instead were formal "crown-wearing" occasions, among the few times in the year when the rulers would wear their crowns in court.[29] Bourdin had also been excommunicated by the time he conducted the second ceremony, and he was later to be deposed and imprisoned for life by the Pope.[29] Nonetheless, Matilda maintained that she had been officially crowned as the empress in Rome.[29] The titles of emperor and empress were not always consistently used in this period, and in any case her use of the title became widely accepted.[30] Matilda chose not to dispute Anglo-Norman chroniclers who later incorrectly recorded that the Pope himself had crowned her in Rome.[31]

      Death of Henry[edit]
      In 1118, Henry returned north back over the Alps into Germany to suppress fresh rebellions, leaving Matilda as his regent to govern Italy.[32][nb 6] There are few records of her rule over the next two years, but she probably gained considerable practical experience of government.[34] In 1119 she returned north to meet Henry in Lotharingia.[35] Her husband was occupied in finding a compromise with the Pope, who had excommunicated him.[35] In 1122, Henry and probably Matilda were at the Council of Worms.[36] The council settled the long-running dispute with the Church when Henry gave up his rights to invest bishops with their episcopal regalia.[36] Matilda attempted to visit her father in England that year, but the journey was blocked by Charles I, Count of Flanders, whose territory she would have needed to pass through.[37] Historian Marjorie Chibnall argues Matilda had intended to discuss the inheritance of the English crown on this journey.[38]

      Matilda and Henry remained childless, but neither party was considered to be infertile and contemporary chroniclers blamed their situation on the Emperor and his sins against the Church.[39][nb 7] In early 1122, the couple travelled down the Rhine together as Henry continued to suppress the ongoing political unrest, but by now he was suffering from cancer.[40] His condition worsened and he died on 23 May 1125 in Utrecht, leaving Matilda in the protection of their nephew Frederick, the heir to his estates.[41] Before his death he left the imperial insignia in the control of Matilda, but it is unclear what instructions he gave her about the future of the Empire, which faced another leadership election.[42] Archbishop Adalbert subsequently convinced Matilda that she should give him the insignia, and the Archbishop led the electorial process, which appointed Lothair of Supplinburg, a former enemy of Henry, as the new King of the Romans.[43]

      Now aged 23, Matilda had only limited options as to how she might spend the rest of her life.[43] Being childless, she could not exercise a role as an imperial regent, which left her with the choice of either becoming a nun or remarrying.[43] Some offers of marriage from German princes started to arrive, but she chose to return to Normandy.[44] She does not appear to have expected to return to Germany, as she gave up her estates within the Empire, and departed with her personal collection of jewels, her own imperial regalia, two of Henry's crowns and the valuable relic of the Hand of St James the Apostle.[45]

      Succession crisis[edit]
      Picture of the White Ship sinking

      A 14th-century depiction of the White Ship sinking of 1120
      In 1120, the English political landscape changed dramatically after the White Ship disaster. Around three hundred passengers – including Matilda's brother, William Adelin, and many other senior nobles – embarked one night on the White Ship to travel from Barfleur in Normandy across to England.[46] Possibly as a result of overcrowding, or excessive drinking by the ship's master and crew, the vessel foundered just outside the harbour and all but two of the passengers died. William Adelin was among the casualties.[47]

      With William dead, the succession to the English throne was thrown into doubt. Rules of succession in western Europe at the time were uncertain; in some parts of France, male primogeniture, in which the eldest son would inherit a title, was becoming more popular.[48] It was also traditional for the King of France to crown his successor whilst he himself was still alive, making the intended line of succession relatively clear. This was not the case in England, where the best a noble could do was to identify what Professor Eleanor Searle has termed a pool of legitimate heirs, leaving them to challenge and dispute the inheritance after his death.[49] The problem was further complicated by the sequence of unstable Anglo-Norman successions over the previous sixty years. William the Conqueror had invaded England, his sons William Rufus and Robert Curthose had fought a war between them to establish their inheritance, and Henry had only acquired control of Normandy by force. There had been no peaceful, uncontested successions.[50]

      Initially Henry put his hopes in fathering another son. William and Matilda's mother - Matilda of Scotland - had died in 1118 and so Henry took a new wife, Adeliza of Louvain. Henry and Adeliza did not conceive any children, and the future of the dynasty appeared at risk.[51] Henry may have begun to look among his nephews for a possible heir. He may have considered his sister Adela's son, Stephen of Blois, as a possible option and, perhaps in preparation for this, he arranged a beneficial marriage for Stephen to Matilda's wealthy maternal cousin and namesake, the Countess of Boulogne.[52] Theobald of Blois, his close ally, possibly also felt that he was in favour with Henry.[53] William Clito, the only son of Robert Curthose, was King Louis VI of France's preferred choice, but William was in open rebellion against Henry and was therefore unsuitable.[54] Henry might have also considered his own illegitimate son, Robert of Gloucester, as a possible candidate, but English tradition and custom would have looked unfavourably on this.[55] Henry's plans shifted when the Empress Matilda's husband, the Emperor Henry, died in 1125.[56]
      Matilda returned to Normandy in 1125 and spent about a year at the royal court, where her father Henry was still hoping that his second marriage would generate a male heir.[57] In the event that this might fail to happen, Matilda was now Henry's preferred choice and he declared that, should he die without a male heir, she was to be his rightful successor.[58] The Anglo-Norman barons were gathered together at Westminster on Christmas 1126, where in January they swore to recognise Matilda and any future legitimate heir she might have.[59][nb 8]

      Henry began to formally look for a new husband for Matilda in early 1127 and received various offers from princes within the Empire.[61] His preference was to use Matilda's marriage to secure the southern borders of Normandy, by marrying her to Geoffrey of Anjou, the eldest son of Fulk, the Count of Anjou.[62] Henry's control of Normandy had faced numerous challenges since he had conquered it in 1106 and the latest threat came from his nephew William Clito, the new Count of Flanders, who enjoyed the support of the French King.[63] It was essential to Henry that he did not also face a threat from the south as well as the east of Normandy.[64] William Adelin had married Fulk's daughter Matilda, which would have cemented an alliance between Henry and Anjou, but the White Ship disaster put an end to this.[65] Henry and Fulk argued over the fate of the marriage dowry and this had encouraged Fulk to turn to support William Clito instead.[66] Henry's solution was now to negotiate the marriage of Matilda to Geoffrey, recreating the former alliance.[63]

      Matilda appears to have been unimpressed by this plan.[67] She felt that marrying the son of a count diminished her own status and was probably also unhappy about marrying someone so much younger than she was – Matilda was 25, and Geoffrey was only 13.[67] Hildebert, the Archbishop of Tours, eventually intervened to persuade her to go along with the engagement.[67] Matilda finally agreed, and in May 1127 she travelled to Rouen with Robert of Gloucester and Brian Fitz Count where she was formally betrothed to Geoffrey.[68] Over the course of the next year, Fulk decided to depart for Jerusalem, where he hoped to become king, leaving his possessions to Geoffrey.[69] Henry knighted his future son-in-law and a week later, on 17 June 1128, Matilda and Geoffrey were married in Le Mans by the bishops of Le Mans and Séez.[69] Fulk finally left Anjou for Jerusalem in 1129, declaring Geoffrey the Count of Anjou and Maine.[70]

      Disputes[edit]
      The marriage proved difficult, as the couple did not particularly like each other.[71] There was a further dispute over Matilda's dowry; she was granted various castles in Normandy by Henry, but it was not specified when the couple would actually take possession of them.[72] It is also unknown whether Henry intended Geoffrey to have any future claim on England or Normandy, and he was probably keeping Geoffrey's status deliberately uncertain.[72] Soon after the marriage, Matilda left Geoffrey and returned to Normandy.[71] Henry appears to have blamed Geoffrey for the separation, but in 1131 the couple were finally reconciled.[73] Henry summoned Matilda from Normandy, and she arrived in England that August.[74] At a meeting of the King's great council in September, it was decided that Matilda would return to Geoffrey.[74] The council also gave another collective oath of allegiance to recognise her as Henry's heir.[74][nb 9]

      Matilda gave birth to her first son, the future Henry II, in March 1133 at Le Mans.[76] Henry was delighted by the news and came to see her at Rouen.[77] At Pentecost 1134, a second son, Geoffrey, was born in Rouen, but the childbirth was extremely difficult and Matilda appeared close to death.[78] She made arrangements for her will, and argued with her father about where she should be buried: Matilda preferred Bec Abbey, but Henry wanted her to be interred at Rouen Cathedral.[78] Matilda recovered, and Henry was overjoyed by the birth of his second grandson, possibly insisting on another round of oaths from his nobility.[78][nb 10]

      From then on, relations between Matilda and Henry became increasingly strained. Matilda and Geoffrey suspected that they lacked genuine support in England for their claim to the throne, and proposed in 1135 that the King should hand over the royal castles in Normandy to Matilda and should insist that the Norman nobility immediately swear allegiance to her.[80] This would have given the couple a much more powerful position after Henry's death, but the King angrily refused, probably out of a concern that Geoffrey would try to seize power in Normandy while he was still alive.[81] A fresh rebellion broke out in southern Normandy, and Geoffrey and Matilda intervened militarily on behalf of the rebels.[48]

      In the middle of this confrontation, Henry unexpectedly fell ill and died near Lyons-la-Forêt.[82] It is uncertain what, if anything, Henry said about the succession before his death.[83] Contemporary chronicler accounts were each coloured by subsequent events, and while sources favourable to Matilda suggested that Henry had reaffirmed his intent to grant all his lands to his daughter, hostile chroniclers argued that Henry had renounced his former plans and had apologised for having forced the barons to swear an oath of allegiance to her.[83]

      Road to war[edit]
      Colour map of Northern France at time of Henry I's death

      Northern France around the time of Henry's death; red circles mark major urban centres
      When 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.[48] 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.[84] 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.[85] They then stopped, unable to advance further, pillaging the countryside and facing increased resistance from the Norman nobility and a rebellion in Anjou itself.[86] Matilda was by now also pregnant with her third son, William; opinions vary among historians as to what extent this affected her military plans.[87][nb 11]

      Meanwhile, news of Henry's death had reached Stephen of Blois, conveniently placed in Boulogne, and he left for England, accompanied by his military household. Robert of Gloucester had garrisoned the ports of Dover and Canterbury and some accounts suggest that they refused Stephen access when he first arrived.[88] Nonetheless Stephen reached the edge of London by 8 December and over the next week he began to seize power in England.[89] The crowds in London proclaimed Stephen the new monarch, believing that he would grant the city new rights and privileges in return, and his brother, Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester, delivered the support of the Church to Stephen.[90] Stephen had sworn to support Matilda in 1127, but Henry convincingly argued that the late King had been wrong to insist that his court take the oath, and suggested that the King had changed his mind on his deathbed.[91][nb 12] Stephen's coronation was held a week later at Westminster Abbey on 26 December.[93]

      Following the news that Stephen was gathering support in England, the Norman nobility had gathered at Le Neubourg to discuss declaring his elder brother Theobald king.[94] The Normans argued that the count, as the eldest grandson of William the Conqueror, had the most valid claim over the kingdom and the Duchy, and was certainly preferable to Matilda.[95] Their discussions were interrupted by the sudden news from England that Stephen'
    • 1 NAME Maud De /Normandie/
      2 GIVN Maud De
      2 SURN Normandie
    • _P_CCINFO 1-7369
    • BIOGRAPHY: !widow of Henry 1V emporer of Germany
    • Her manner and methods were known to be overbearing, and her husband,G. Plantagenet was a much hated foreigner. See "Life in the Castle inMedieval England", Published by British Heritage Press, by John Burke,page 22.
    • Line 818 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
      NAME Mrs-Geoffrey V, [Concubine 1] /PLANTAGENET/

      Line 652 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
      NAME Mrs-Geoffrey V, [Concubine 1] /PLANTAGENET/

      Line 1061 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
      NAME Mrs-Geoffrey V, Concubine 2 /PLANTAGENET/

      Line 6606 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
      NAME Mrs-Geoffrey V, Concubine 2 /PLANTAGENET/
    • ARSC 1:24
    • She was married first to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor
      (no children)
    • After Geoffrey Plantagenet's death, Matilda was married to Henry VEmperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
    • Matilda the EmpressMatilda The daughter of HENRY I of England and mother of HENRY II, Matilda, b. February 1102, d. Sept. 10, 1167, was frustrated in her ambition to become queen of England. She first married (1114) Holy Roman Emperor HENRY V. After his death (1125) she returned to England, where she was recognized (1127) as her father's heir, her only legitimate brother having died in 1120. Matilda's waspish personality and her unpopular marriage (1128) to Geoffrey Plantagenet, count of Anjou, a bristling warrior, alienated her supporters. On Henry I's death in 1135, Matilda's cousin STEPHEN was proclaimed king, and she went to war to claim her inheritance. For a few months in 1141 she held the upper hand in the conflict, but she was never crowned. Matilda gave up her struggle and left England in 1148, spending her remaining years in Normandy. In 1154, however, her eldest son by Geoffrey, Henry, succeeded to the English throne. James W. Alexander Bibliography: Cronne, H. A., The Reign of Stephen, 1135-54; Anarchy in England (1970); Davis, R. H. C., King Stephen (1967) Stephen, King of England Stephen, b. c.1097, d. Oct. 25, 1154, was king of England from 1135 to 1154. The son of Count Stephen of Blois and Chartres and Adela (daughter of King WILLIAM I of England), he was elected king on Dec. 22, 1135, succeeding his uncle HENRY I despite his earlier sworn fealty to MATILDA, Henry's daughter, as Henry's successor. His support came from the barons, who opposed Matilda and her bellicose husband, Geoffrey of Anjou. Pleasant and congenial, Stephen lacked the ruthless determination requisite in a medieval king. From 1135 to 1138 he seemed to establish himself with some success, showing understanding and concern for his barons and establishing good relations with the church. Nevertheless, civil war broke out (1138) between Stephen and Matilda, who was supported by the powerful earl of Gloucester, her half brother. Stephen was taken prisoner in 1141, and Matilda reigned briefly as "Lady of the English." After 6 months, however, she was forced to release Stephen, who resumed the throne. Never a competent leader, Stephen was not able to reestablish his authority, and during the next few years England was in virtual anarchy. The civil war fizzled out rather than ended. Geoffrey died in 1147 and Matilda left England in 1148, thereby initiating a period of relative calm that lasted until Stephen's death. He was succeeded by HENRY II, Matilda's son. Although some recent historians have judged him less harshly, Stephen's contemporaries saw him as a reckless ruler in whose time there was only violence, disorder, and turbulence--in a word, anarchy. James W. Alexander Bibliography: Appleby, J. T., The Troubled Reign of King Stephen (1969); Cronne, Henry A., The Reign of Stephen, 1135-54; Anarchy in England (1970); Davis, R. H. C., King Stephen (1967)
    • matildaPlantagenet
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=32c6f33b-3d9e-4583-b797-24ebad95586e&tid=9784512&pid=-603623489
    • Matilda Beauclerc (Geof)
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=fa52924f-3bb7-46b5-9a50-171437fd016c&tid=9784512&pid=-639157292
    • Line 1056 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
      NAME Matilda (Maud) Princess Of /ENGLAND/

      Line 6601 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
      NAME Matilda (Maud) Princess Of /ENGLAND/
    • Matilda From the British Monarchy's web page
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=7b6a8c7c-cd8f-4081-b833-6b082f039a65&tid=11063440&pid=-342345510
    • Young Lovers; Matilda, Princess of England
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=355b81cf-88eb-4c74-aa5f-3289ec154097&tid=9784512&pid=-603623489
    • matildaPlantagenet
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=868c3b20-ccbb-47dd-af8f-097943f7bfe4&tid=9692367&pid=-524222217
    • 94b. Matilda, daughter of Henry I, King of England
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=336437f0-cbdd-4762-83ef-88f852eb8ee9&tid=9692367&pid=-524222217
    • Young Lovers; Matilda, Princess of England
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=f18cbfda-5a0e-4edf-8a36-9b52a9bd58c4&tid=9692367&pid=-524222217
    • image
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=79a68f9c-471b-48a5-9a5a-3086bb612879&tid=8833816&pid=-886164139
    • Ancestral File Number: 9FV0-6W
    • Ancestral File Number: 9FV0-9F
    • Line 818 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
      NAME Mrs-Geoffrey V, [Concubine 1] /PLANTAGENET/

      Line 652 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
      NAME Mrs-Geoffrey V, [Concubine 1] /PLANTAGENET/

      Line 1061 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
      NAME Mrs-Geoffrey V, Concubine 2 /PLANTAGENET/

      Line 6606 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
      NAME Mrs-Geoffrey V, Concubine 2 /PLANTAGENET/
    • 1 NAME Matilda the /Empress/
    • 1 NAME Matilda the /Empress/
    • Matilda is the Latin form of Maud, and the name of the only surviving legitimate child of King Henry I. She was born in 1101, generally it is said at Winchester, but recent research indicates that she was actually born at the Royal Palace in Sutton Courtenay (Berkshire).

      In something of a political coup for her father, Matilda was betrothed to the German Emperor, Henry V, when she was only eight. They were married on 7th January 1114. She was twelve and he was thirty-two. Unfortunately there were no children and on the Emperor's death in 1125, Matilda was recalled to her father's court.

      Matilda's only legitimate brother had been killed in the disastrous Wreck of the White Ship in late 1120 and she was now her father's only hope for the continuation of his dynasty. The barons swore allegiance to the young Princess and promised to make her queen after her father's death. She herself needed heirs though and in April 1127, Matilda found herself obliged to marry Prince Geoffrey of Anjou and Maine (the future Geoffrey V, Count of those Regions). He was thirteen, she twenty-three. It is thought that the two never got on. However, despite this unhappy situation they had had three sons in four years.

      Being absent in Anjou at the time of her father's death on 1st December 1135, possibly due to pregnancy, Matilda was not in much of a position to take up the throne which had been promised her and she quickly lost out to her fast-moving cousin, Stephen. With her husband, she attempted to take Normandy. With encouragement from supporters in England though, it was not long before Matilda invaded her rightful English domain and so began a long-standing Civil War from the powerbase of her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, in the West Country.

      After three years of armed struggle, she at last gained the upper hand at the Battle of Lincoln, in February 1141, where King Stephen was captured. However, despite being declared Queen or "Lady of the English" at Winchester and winning over Stephen's brother, Henry of Blois, the powerful Bishop of Winchester, Matilda alienated the citizens of London with her arrogant manner. She failed to secure her coronation and the Londoners joined a renewed push from Stephen's Queen and laid siege to the Empress in Winchester. She managed to escape to the West, but while commanding her rearguard, her brother was captured by the enemy.

      Matilda was obliged to swap Stephen for Robert on 1st November 1141. Thus the King soon reimposed his Royal authority. In 1148, after the death of her half-brother, Matilda finally returned to Normandy, leaving her son, who, in 1154, would become Henry II, to fight on in England. She died at Rouen on 10th September 1169 and was buried in Fontevrault Abbey, though some of her entrails may possibly have been later interred in her father's foundation at Reading Abbey.

      from Britannia.com ©2000 Britannia.com, LLC @http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon25a.html
    • Empress Matilda of England
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=2c48c9c5-6a2c-4270-854e-0966364cd412&tid=7179083&pid=-603575725
    • Empress_matilda
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=1159cddc-cfe4-49e7-8140-c0ab20c66053&tid=7179083&pid=-603575725
    • 1 NAME Matilda the /Empress/
    • GIVN Matilda "The
      SURN Empress"
      REPO @REPO80@
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    • GIVN Adelaide
      SURN von Angers
      AFN 9FV0-9F
      DATE 9 SEP 2000
      TIME 13:15:45
    • GIVN Matilda "The
      SURN Empress"
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      PAGE Tree #0513
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      TEXT Date of Import: 14 Apr 1999
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    • Matilda of England (sometimes Maud or Maude; 7 February 1102 – 10 September 1167) was the daughter and dispossessed heir of Henry I of England. She was married to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, and then to Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, by whom she became the mother of Henry II of England.

      Matilda was the first female ruler, although uncrowned and for a brief time, of the Kingdom of England. Her failure to secure that rule meant that her temporary and disputed period of reign in 1141 was extremely brief. She is often excluded from lists of English monarchs, listing Stephen of England as king from 1135-1154.

      As many of her contemporaries or near contemporaries were also called Matilda in Latin texts, she is sometimes called Maude to distinguish her. This is merely a modernised spelling of the Norman-French form of her name, Mahaut.

      Holy Roman Empress
      Matilda was born on 7 February 1102[1] to Henry I of England and his wife Matilda of Scotland. Her maternal grandparents were Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Margaret was a daughter of Edward the Exile and granddaughter of Edmund II of England.

      Her birth is generally said to have taken place at Winchester, though recent research by the late John Fletcher (1990) suggests it may have occurred at the royal palace at Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire.

      When she was seven years old, Matilda was betrothed to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, and was sent to the Holy Roman Empire in 1111 to begin her training as his consort. Matilda and Henry were married at Worms on January 7, 1114 in a splendid ceremony. In March 1116 Matilda and Henry visited Rome and Tuscany, and she acted as Regent in his absence.

      When Henry died in 1125, he left Matilda a childless widow of twenty-three. The Imperial couple allegedly had no surviving offspring. Hermann of Tournai states that Maud bore a child that lived only a short while. Matilda's brother, William Adelin, had perished several years before in the wreck of the White Ship, leaving Matilda the only legitimate heir to the English throne.

      Despite being known most popularly by the title of "Empress" due to her first marriage, Matilda's right to the title was dubious. She was never crowned Holy Roman Empress by a legitimate Pope (generally recognised as required to claim the title), only as German Queen by her husband's Bishops and formally her correct title was "Queen of the Romans". However, "Empress" was arguably an appropriate courtesy title for the wife of an Emperor who had been crowned by the Pope, and indeed, in later years she encouraged chroniclers to believe that the Pope had crowned her.


      [edit] Second marriage to Geoffrey of Anjou
      Matilda returned to England, where her father named her his heir with the agreement of the Anglo-Norman barons, who swore (in 1127) to accept her as ruler if Henry I had no son, and arranged another marriage for her. On June 17, 1128, she was married again, at Le Mans in Anjou, to Geoffrey of Anjou, who was eleven years her junior. He was nicknamed "Plantagenet" from the broom flower (planta genista) which he took as his emblem, hence the name of the line of English kings descended from him. He was at this time Count of Maine and heir to his father Fulk V of Anjou.

      The marriage was not a happy one, and Matilda separated from him and returned to her father. She returned to Geoffrey in 1131, and they were reconciled. They produced three sons, the eldest of whom, Henry, was born on March 5, 1133. The birth of her second son, Geoffrey, Count of Nantes, in 1134, was difficult and Matilda nearly died in childbirth. Her third son, born in 1136, was William, Count of Poitou. Her father King Henry came to visit and took "great delight" in his grandsons.[citation needed] King Henry and Geoffrey quarreled, and so when her father died on December 1, 1135 in Normandy, Matilda was with Geoffrey in Anjou.


      [edit] Struggle for throne of England
      On the death of her father, Henry I, in 1135, Matilda expected to succeed to the throne of England, but her cousin, Stephen of Blois, a nephew of Henry I, usurped the throne with the support of most of the barons, breaking the oath he had previously made to defend her rights. An immediate reason for this was that Stephen was in England, whilst Matilda was in Anjou. The civil war which followed was bitter and prolonged, with neither side gaining the ascendancy for long, but it was not until 1139 that Matilda could command the military strength necessary to challenge Stephen within his own realm. Stephen's wife, the Countess of Boulogne who was also named Matilda, was the Empress's maternal cousin. During the war, Matilda's most loyal and capable supporter was her illegitimate half-brother, Robert of Gloucester.

      Matilda's greatest triumph came in April 1141, when her forces defeated and captured King Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln (1141). He was made a prisoner and effectively deposed. Although she now controlled the kingdom, Matilda never styled herself Queen but took the title "Lady of the English", possibly modeled on the Anglo-Saxon practice of naming female rulers "Lady of the..." such as King Alfred the Great's daughter Ethelfleda, Lady of the Mercians. Also the term Queen in Anglo-Saxon (cwen) had the connotation of wife, not a female ruler, so the distinction was necessary.

      Her advantage lasted only a few months. When she marched on London, the city was ready to welcome her and support a coronation. However, she refused the citizens' request to have their taxes halved. On 24 June 1141, she found the gates of London shut and the civil war reignited. By November, Stephen was free, having been exchanged for the captured Robert of Gloucester, Matilda's half-brother, and a year later, the tables were turned when Matilda was besieged at Oxford but escaped to Wallingford, supposedly by fleeing across the snow-covered land in a white cape. In 1141 she had escaped Devizes in a similarly clever manner, by disguising herself as a corpse and being carried out for burial. In 1148, Matilda was finally forced to return to France, following the death of Robert of Gloucester.


      [edit] Later life
      Not all hope was lost. Matilda's son, (Henry), was showing signs of becoming a successful leader. Although the civil war had been decided in Stephen's favour, his reign was troubled. In 1153, the death of his son Eustace, combined with the arrival of a military expedition led by Henry, led him to acknowledge the latter as his heir by the Treaty of Wallingford.

      Matilda retired to Rouen in Normandy during her last years, where she maintained her own court and presided over the government of the duchy in the absence of Henry. She intervened in the quarrels between her eldest son Henry and her second son Geoffrey, but peace between the brothers was brief. Geoffrey rebelled against Henry twice before his sudden death in 1158. Relations between Henry and his youngest brother, William, were more cordial, and William was given vast estates in England. Archbishop Thomas Becket refused to allow William to marry the Countess of Surrey and the young man fled to Matilda's court at Rouen. William, who was his mother's favourite child, died there in January 1164, reportedly of disappointment and sorrow. She attempted to mediate in the quarrel between her son Henry and Becket, but was unsuccessful.

      Despite her tenure as "Lady of the English", Matilda was never loved by the people of her native land, who found her too foreign and haughty.[citation needed] The citizens of London were particularly aggrieved by her financial demands. She spoke three languages: French, German, and Latin. Although she gave up hope of being crowned Queen in 1141, her name always preceded that of her son Henry, even after he became king. Matilda died at in Notre Dame du Pré near Rouen and was buried in the Abbey church of Bec-Hellouin, Normandy. Her body was transferred to the Rouen Cathedral in 1847; her epitaph reads: "Great by Birth, Greater by Marriage, Greatest in her Offspring: Here lies Matilda, the daughter, wife, and mother of Henry."
    • Kinship II - A collection of family, friends and U.S. Presidents
      URL: http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:2902060&id=I575157371
      ID: I575157371
      Name: Adelaide of ANGERS
      Given Name: Adelaide of
      Surname: Angers
      Sex: F
      Birth: Abt 1112 in Of, , Normandy, France
      Change Date: 22 Nov 2003 1
      Note: Ancestral File Number: 9FV0-9F

      Father: Henry I of ENGLAND b: 1068 in , Selby, Yorkshire, England
      Mother: Edith Matilda ATHELING b: Abt 1079/1080 in , Dunfermline, Fifeshire, Scotland

      Marriage 1 Geoffrey V PLANTAGENET b: 24 Aug 1113 in , , Anjou, France
      Note: _UID48F3D860E70C334C9732AAE3BF32792FD4A3
      Children
      Hamelin PLANTAGENET b: 1130 in , , Normandy, France

      Sources:
      Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      Title: Ancestral File (R)
      Publication: Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998
      Repository:
    • Empress Maud
      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

      Empress Maud (February 7, 1102 - September 10, 1169) is the title by which Matilda, daughter and dispossessed heir of King Henry I of England and his wife Maud of Scotland (herself daughter of Malcolm III Canmore and St. Margaret of Scotland), is known, in order to differentiate her from the many other Matildas of the period. Matilda is the Latin form of the name "Maud" (or "Maude").

      Maud was christened Adelaide, but took her mother's name of Matilda when she married for the first time, on January 7, 1114. Her first husband was Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, but the marriage was childless and Henry died in 1125. In 1128, she was married again, at Le Mans in Anjou, to Geoffrey of Anjou, who was eleven years her junior. He was nicknamed "Plantagenet" from the broom flower (planta genesta) which he took as his emblem, hence the name of the line of English kings descended from him. Although the marriage could not be said to be a happy one, it did produce three sons, the eldest of whom, Henry, was born on March 5, 1132/3. Besides Henry, Matilda also bore two other sons, Geoffrey, Count of Anjou and William, Count of Poitou.

      On the death of her father in 1135, Maud expected to succeed to the throne of England, but her cousin, Stephen of Blois usurped the throne, breaking an oath he had previously made to defend her rights. The civil war which followed was bitter and prolonged, with neither side gaining the ascendancy for long, but it was not until 1139 that Maud could command the military strength necessary to challenge Stephen within his own realm. Stephen's wife was another Matilda: Matilda, countess of Boulogne. During the war, Maud's most loyal and capable supporter was her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester.

      Maud's greatest triumph came in April 1141, when her forces defeated and captured King Stephen, who was made a prisoner and effectively deposed. Although she now controlled the kingdom, Maud never styled herself queen but took the title "Lady of the English". Her advantage lasted only a few months. By November, Stephen was free, and a year later, the tables were turned when Maud was besieged at Oxford but escaped, supposedly by fleeing across the snow-covered land in a white cape. In 1147, Maud was finally forced to return to France, following the death of Robert of Gloucester.

      All hope was not lost. Maud's son, Henry (later, Henry II of England), was showing signs of becoming a successful leader. Although the civil war had been decided in Stephen's favour, his reign was troubled. In 1153, the death of his son Eustace, combined with the arrival of a military expedition led by Henry, led him to acknowledge the latter as his heir by the Treaty of Wallingford. Maud died at Rouen, and was buried in the cathedral there.


      Historical fiction
      The civil war between Stephen's supporters and Maud's is the background for the popular "Brother Cadfael" books by Ellis Peters, and the films made from them starring Sir Derek Jacobi as that rare Benedictine.

      ==============================================================================================================================




      [BIGOD-Mel Morris,10Gen Anc.FTW]

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      GIVN Matilda (Maud) Empress Of
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      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      REPO @REPO7@
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      AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
      ABBR Ancestral File (TM)
      REPO @REPO84@
      TITL Ancestral File (TM)
      AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
      ABBR Ancestral File (TM)
      REPO @REPO92@
      TITL Ancestral File (TM)
      AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
      ABBR Ancestral File (TM)
      REPO @REPO98@
      TITL Ancestral File (TM)
      AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
      ABBR Ancestral File (TM)
      REPO @REPO126@
      TITL Ancestral File (TM)
      AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
      ABBR Ancestral File (TM)
      DATE 23 NOV 1999
      TIME 16:16:02

      GIVN Matilda (Maud) Empress Of
      SURN GERMANY
      NSFX [PRINCESS OF ENGLAND]
      AFN 9FM0-NL
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
      REPO @REPO7@
      TITL Ancestral File (TM)
      AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
      ABBR Ancestral File (TM)
      REPO @REPO80@
      TITL Ancestral File (TM)
      AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
      ABBR Ancestral File (TM)
      REPO @REPO74@
      TITL Ancestral File (TM)
      AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
      ABBR Ancestral File (TM)
      REPO @REPO84@
      TITL Ancestral File (TM)
      AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
      ABBR Ancestral File (TM)
      REPO @REPO92@
      TITL Ancestral File (TM)
      AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
      ABBR Ancestral File (TM)
      REPO @REPO98@
      TITL Ancestral File (TM)
      AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
      ABBR Ancestral File (TM)
      REPO @REPO126@
      TITL Ancestral File (TM)
      AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      PUBL June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
      ABBR Ancestral File (TM)
      DATE 23 NOV 1999
      TIME 16:16:02

      SURN England
      GIVN Matilda ( Maud)
      NSFX Empress of Germany,& Princess of England
      TITL Queens Of England
      AUTH Norah Lofts
      _ITALIC Y
      _PAREN Y
      _UID B67F7B6F75FFD411B9FE90B0FC4EB12E9874
      DATE 6 Mar 1999
      TIME 22:13:52

      GIVN Matilda (Maud) Princess
      SURN England
      NSFX [Empress of Germ
      AFN 9FM0-NL
      DATE 9 SEP 2000
      TIME 13:15:55

      GIVN Matilda Maud (Emp. of Germ) Princess
      SURN England
      NSFX **
      ! Ancestry File # (FVO-NL & 9FVO-6W.
      ! MARRIAGE: At age 12 Matilda was married (7 Jan 1114 to Heinrich, Emperor of
      Germsny, No children were born of this marriage. Matilda did not remarry until after Heinrich's death in 1126.
      ! RELATIONSHIP: Patron, H. Reed Black, is 23rd & 24th G G Son.
      DATE 19 JUN 1998
      TIME 10:50:52

      TITL Dunham.FTW
      REPO
      CALN
      MEDI Other
      DATA
      TEXT Date of Import: Nov 26, 2000
      TITL Dunham.FTW
      REPO
      CALN
      MEDI Other
      DATA
      TEXT Date of Import: Nov 26, 2000
      TITL Dunham.FTW
      REPO
      CALN
      MEDI Other
      DATA
      TEXT Date of Import: Nov 26, 2000

      Matilda as designated Henry's heir, and on his death (1135) Stephensiezed the throne and Matilda invaded England (1139) inagurating a periodof inconclusive civil war. She and her second husband
      (Geoffrey) capturedNormandy and in 1152 the Treaty of Wallingford recognised Henry asStephen's heir.
      Ref: Marriage date-January 7, 1113/14
      Ref; AFN; 9FM0-NL-
      Alt. Spelling; Matilda "Maud' Empress of Germany
      Ref; British Kings & Kings, By, Mike Ashley, Pg. 517
      Christened Adelaide at birth she adopted the name Matilda on her marriagein 1114 to the German emperor. known a "Lady of the English"

      Matilda as designated Henry's heir, and on his death (1135) Stephensiezed the throne and Matilda invaded England (1139) inagurating a periodof inconclusive civil war. She and her second husband
      (Geoffrey) capturedNormandy and in 1152 the Treaty of Wallingford recognised Henry asStephen's heir.
      Ref: Marriage date-January 7, 1113/14
      Ref; AFN; 9FM0-NL-
      Alt. Spelling; Matilda "Maud' Empress of Germany
      Ref; British Kings & Kings, By, Mike Ashley, Pg. 517
      Christened Adelaide at birth she adopted the name Matilda on her marriagein 1114 to the German emperor. known a "Lady of the English"

      GIVN Matilda (Maud) Princess
      SURN England
      AFN 9FM0-NL
      PEDI birth


      TYPE Book
      AUTH A or c:Weis, Frederick Lewis
      PERI Ancestral Roots
      EDTN 7th
      PUBL Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD (1999)
      TEXT Line 1-24
      TYPE E-Mail Message
      AUTH Dave
      TITL Re: HENRY I, King of England [some sources listed]
      DATE 13 Dec 1998
      LOCA GEN-MEDIEVAL-L@rootsweb.com/PowerMac 6500>Applications>Reunion>Documents-source
      TYPE E-Mail Message
      AUTH Dave
      TITL Re: HENRY I, King of England [some sources listed]
      DATE 13 Dec 1998
      LOCA GEN-MEDIEVAL-L@rootsweb.com/PowerMac 6500>Applications>Reunion>Documents-source
      DATE 31 MAR 2000

      GIVN Mathilda
      NSFX Empress of Germany; Queen of England
      AFN 9FM0-NL
      _UID 76D8DFD2AC323A4C8E675DD17BCD3E3B4798
      REPO @REPO4@
      TITL Ancestral File (TM)
      AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      PUBL July 1996 (c), data as of 2 January 1996
      _ITALIC Y
      _PAREN Y
      DATE 28 Apr 2000
      TIME 01:00:00

      GIVN Matilda Maud de
      SURN Normandy
      NSFX [Empress]
      AFN 9FM0-NL
      STAT LIVE
      MARRIAGE: Child Bride at 12
      TITLE: Princess of England; Empress of Germany
      SOURCE:
      Edmundson's Peerage 4:364
      The Royal Line (Adamic Genealogy) March 1980, Albert F. Schmuhl The Lives of
      the Kings and Queens of England by Antonia Fraser p. 24-25HOUSE OF NORMANDY

      GIVN Matilda (Maud) of
      SURN Normandy
      Matilda
      The daughter of Henry I of England and mother of Henry II, Matilda, b.February 1102, d. Sept. 10, 1167, was frustrated in her ambition tobecome queen of England. She first married (1114) Holy Roman
      EmperorHenry V. After his death (1125) she returned to England, where she wasrecognized (1127) as her fatherï¿us heir, her only legitimate brotherhaving died in 1120. Matildaï¿us waspish personality and
      her unpopularmarriage (1128) to Geoffrey Plantagenet, count of Anjou, a bristlingwarrior, alienated her supporters. On Henry Iï¿us death in 1135,Matildaï¿us cousin Stephen was proclaimed king, and she
      went to war toclaim her inheritance. For a few months in 1141 she held the upperhand in the conflict, but she was never crowned. Matilda gave up herstruggle and left England in 1148, spending her
      remaining years inNormandy. In 1154, however, her eldest son by Geoffrey, Henry,succeeded to the English throne. James W. Alexander Bibliography:Cronne, H. A., The Reign of Stephen, 1135-54: Anarchy
      in England(1970); Davis, R. H. C., King Stephen, 3d ed. (1990). [Grolierï¿usOn-Line Encyclopedia]
      Matilda, the Empress Maud (1102-1167)
      Claimant to the throne of England. On the death of her father, HenryI, 1135, the barons elected her cousin Stephen to be king. Matildainvaded England 1139, and was crowned by her supporters 1141.
      Civilwar ensued until Stephen was finally recognized as king 1153, withHenry II (Matildaï¿us son) as his successor. Matilda was recognizedduring the reign of Henry I as his heir. She married first the
      HolyRoman emperor Henry V and, after his death, Geoffrey Plantagenet,Count of Anjou (1113-1151). âU Copyright Helicon Publishing Ltd 1996.[The Hutchinson Encyclopedia]
      Declared heiress-presumptive, as his only daughter, to Henry I in1126. Carried on the civil war in England with Stephen. Known as "theEmpress Maud." Proclaimed Sovereign lady of England and Normandy
      atWinchester, Apr 1141, although never crowned. Renounced her claim toStephen for period of his life with remainder to her son Henry, laterHenry II. [GADD.GED]

      GIVN Matilda (Maud)
      NPFX Empress of Germany
      NSFX Princess of Engl
      AFN 9FM0-NL
      DATE 16 MAY 2000
      TIME 14:17:42

      See Historical Document.

      GIVN Matilda "The
      SURN Empress"
      REPO @REPO80@
      TITL World Family Tree Vol. 4, Ed. 1
      AUTH BrAiderbund Software, Inc.
      PUBL Release date: August 23, 1996
      ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 4, Ed. 1
      Customer pedigree.
      Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
      PAGE Tree #0513
      DATA
      TEXT Date of Import: 14 Apr 1999
      REPO @REPO80@
      TITL World Family Tree Vol. 4, Ed. 1
      AUTH BrAiderbund Software, Inc.
      PUBL Release date: August 23, 1996
      ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 4, Ed. 1
      Customer pedigree.
      Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
      PAGE Tree #0513
      DATA
      TEXT Date of Import: 14 Apr 1999
      REPO @REPO80@
      TITL World Family Tree Vol. 4, Ed. 1
      AUTH BrAiderbund Software, Inc.
      PUBL Release date: August 23, 1996
      ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 4, Ed. 1
      Customer pedigree.
      Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
      PAGE Tree #0513
      DATA
      TEXT Date of Import: 14 Apr 1999
      DATE 9 SEP 2000
      TIME 13:16:15

      In 1135, King Henry I of England dies, and his nephew, Stephen of Blois, succeeds him. Henry's daughter, Matilda (widow of Holy Roman Emperor Henry V and now married to Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou), opposes Stephen and asserts her right to the throne.

      King Stephen of England is captured during a siege of Lincoln Castle in 1141. Matilda reigns for six months until Stephen's supporters arrange his release in exchange for Robert, earl of Gloucester, Matilda's half brother.

      Matilda of England is ousted from Oxford in 1142 when Stephen lays siege to the city. She finds refuge in western England, and five years of anarchy begin.[BIGOD-Mel Morris,10Gen Anc.FTW]

      Royal Abbey, Reading??

      http://www.3angelz.com/d0003/g000 0070.html#I4941..................................................Matilda 1102-67, queen of England, daughter of HENRY I.In 1114 she married Holy Roman Emperor HENRY V. After his deathshe married (1128) Geoffrey IV of Anjou. At her father's death(1135) her cousin STEPHEN seized the English throne. In 1139Matilda and her half brother Robert, earl of Gloucester,challenged Stephen, and she was elected Lady of the English in1141. Unable to establish her rule, she withdrew her claim in1148 in favor of her son Henry (later HENRY II).

      WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL, WINCHESTER, HAMPSHIRE................................Winchester Cathedral is the second longest in Europ after St.Peter's in Rome, a fact one would readily dispute based onexternal assessment alone, as the building somhow fails to cratean impression of great length. As soon as one enters thesoaring, fourteenth-century. Perpendicular nave, however, suchdoubts are dispelled and the church seems to stretch to infinitybeyond the choir screen, certainly appearing even longer thanits actual 556 feet. Work on the present church began in 1079under the direction of Bishop Walkelin to replace the huge Saxonfoundation of Old Minster that housed the relics of St. Swithun,a ninth-century bishop whose name is forever associated with wetEnglish summers. A shrine was eventually erected to Swithun inthe new church, and became an important place of pilgrimage; fora time, ony Thomas a Becket's shrine in Canterbury was morevisited. Romanesque architecture from that firest phase ofreconstruction survives intact in both north and south transeptsand also in the crypt, which is no prone to flooding in winter.Problems with Winchester's raised water table had seriouslythreatened the cathedral's very survival at the turn of thecentury when it was discovered that the original timberfoundations were disintegrating and causing struturalinstability. The cathedral's saviour is generally acknowledgedas William Walker, a deep-sea diver who spent five years workingin up to 20 feet of water underpinning the walls by replacingrotten timbers and layers of soggy peat with countless bags ofdement. Winchester was once capital of Wessex and then of allEngland during the reign of Alfred the Great, a status itretained until well after the Norman Conquest when it wasgradually eclipsed by London. One of the most lavish royalevents to have taken place in the cathedral was thepost-Dissolution wedding of Mary Tudor to Philip of Spain in1554, ironically the same person who, as King of Spain, wouldlater be sending his Armada to interrupt Sir Francis Drake'sgame of bowlsin Plymouth. Several of the Saxon kings who wererowned and buried here are reprsented by their coloufullyinscribed mortuary chests. These line the presytery, which isdominated by the massive, fifteenth-century stone screen whosemany delicately carved niches are filled with quite superbemodern replicas of the original saints' statues that weredesecrated and smashed during the Reformation. The Winchester'swindows were once adorned by sumptuous displays of painted glassis evident from those fragments that survived the vandalisminflicted ont he church by Cromwell's Parliamentarian troopsduring the Civil War. The confusing, coloured patchwork of thenave's west window was created from shards and segments rescuedfrom the shattered original.

      See Historical Document.Kinship II - A collection of family, friends and U.S. Presidents
      URL: http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:2902060&id=I575158574
      ID: I575158574
      Name: Maud, Princess Of ENGLAND
      Given Name: Maud, Princess Of
      Surname: ENGLAND
      Sex: F
      Birth: Abt 1091 in Of, , , England
      Change Date: 18 Nov 2003 1 1
      Note: Ancestral File Number: 9FTK-GJ

      Father: Henry I of ENGLAND b: 1068 in , Selby, Yorkshire, England
      Mother: Mrs-Henry I, Concubine Of ENGLAND b: Abt 1070 in Of, Caen, Calvedos, France

      Marriage 1 Conan III "le Gross" Duke Of BRETAGNE b: 1096 in , Bretagne, Indre, France
      Married: Mar 1113 in , , , England
      Note: _UID24C976C3AF7EE44AA3D7D824E17E7E32066B
      Children
      Hoel IV Count Of BRETAGNE b: Abt 1116 in , Bretagne, Indre, France
      Constance Princess Of BRETAGNE b: Abt 1118 in , Bretagne, Indre, France
      Bertha Princess Of BRETAGNE b: Abt 1120 in Of, Bretagne, Indre, France
      Berthe De BRETAGNE b: Abt 1112 in Of, Richemont, Charente, France

      Sources:
      Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      Title: Ancestral File (R)
      Publication: Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998
      Repository:


      ==============================================

      [BIGOD-Mel Morris,10Gen Anc.FTW]

      AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      TITL Ancestral File (TM)
      PUBL July 1996 (c), data as of 2 January 1996
      REPO Family History Library, 35 N West Temple StreetSalt Lake City, UT 84150 USA
      TYPE Book
      AUTH A or c:Weis, Frederick Lewis
      PERI Ancestral Roots
      EDTN 7th
      PUBL Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD (1999)
      TEXT Line (119-23)aka Mahaude d'ANGLETERRE.
      DATE 31 MAR 2000
    • AFN: 9FM0-NL
      http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/AF/individual_record.asp?recid=7658120&lds=0
    • [alfred_descendants10gen_fromrootsweb_bartont.FTW]

      Matilda, or Maud, b. 11904, was m (1) when aged six, to Henry V, Emperor of Germany. (YFT, p. 80).
      "(She was widow of Henry V, Emperor of Germany, who d. s.p. 22 May 1125) (CP V 736; SP I 1-2; CCN 494)." Weis 1-24.
    • Matilda Princess England a.k.a.Empress Matilda; Matilda of England or Maude.

      Empress Matilda, also known as Matilda of England or Maude (c. 7 February 1102 - 10 September 1167) was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry. Her brother died young in the White ship disaster, leaving Matilda as the last heir from the paternal line of her grandfather William the Conqueror.
      As a child, Matilda was betrothed and later married to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor. From her marriage to Henry, she acquired the title Empress. The couple had no known children. When widowed, she was married to the much younger Geoffrey of Anjou, by whom she became the mother of three sons, the eldest of whom became King Henry II of England.
      Matilda was the first female ruler of the Kingdom of England. However the length of her effective rule was quite brief - a few months in 1141 - and she was never crowned and failed to consolidate her rule (legally and politically). Because of this she is normally excluded from lists of English monarchs, and her rival (and cousin) Stephen of Blois is routinely listed as monarch for the period 1135-1154. Their warring rivalry for the throne led to years of unrest and civil war in England that have been called The Anarchy. She did secure her inheritance of the Duchy of Normandy - through the military feats of her husband Geoffrey - and she campaigned unstintingly for her oldest son's inheritance, living to see him ascend the throne in 1154.
      (In Latin texts Matilda was sometimes called Maude. This is a modernised spelling of the Norman-French form of her name, Mahaut.)
      Matilda was the firstborn of two children to Henry I of England and his wife Matilda of Scotland (also known as Edith). Her maternal grandparents were Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Margaret was daughter of Edward the Exile and granddaughter of Edmund II of England. (Most historians believe Matilda was born at Winchester, but one, John Fletcher (1990), argues for the possibility of the royal palace at Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire.)
      When she was seven years old, Matilda was betrothed to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor; at nine, she was sent to the Holy Roman Empire (Germany) to begin training for the life of Empress consort. The royal couple were married at Worms on January 7, 1114, and Matilda accompanied her husband on tours to Rome and Tuscany. After time, the young wife of the Emperor acted as regent, mainly in Italy, in his absence. Emperor Henry died in 1125. The imperial couple had no surviving offspring, but Herman of Tournai states that Matilda bore a son who lived only a short while.
      Despite being popularly known by the title "Empress" from her first marriage, Matilda's right to the title was dubious. She was never crowned Holy Roman Empress by a legitimate Pope - which ceremony was normally required to achieve the title; indeed, in later years she encouraged chroniclers to believe she had been crowned by the Pope. Contemporary, she was called German Queen by her husband's bishops, while her formal title was recorded as "Queen of the Romans". Still, "Empress" was arguably an appropriate courtesy title for the wife of an Emperor who had been crowned by the Pope.
      In 1120 her brother William Adelin was drowned in the disastrous wreck of the White Ship, which left Matilda as the only legitimate child of her father King Henry. Like Matilda, her cousin Stephen of Blois was a grandchild of William (the Conqueror) of Normandy; but her paternal line made her senior in right of succession to his maternal line.
      Matilda returned to England a young widow, age 23, and dowager "Empress" - a status of considerable pride to her. There Henry named her his heir to both the English throne and his Duchy of Normandy. Henry saw to it that the Anglo-Norman barons (including Stephen of Blois) were sworn (several times) to accept Matilda as ruler if Henry died without a male heir.
      Henry then arranged a second marriage for Matilda; as he aimed to achieve peace between the fractious barons of Normandy and Anjou. On 17 June 1128, the Empress Matilda, age 26, was married to Geoffrey of Anjou, a man eleven years her junior, who also was Count of Maine and heir apparent to (his father) the Count of Anjou - which title he soon acquired, and by which Matilda became Countess of Anjou. It was a title she rarely used. Geoffrey called himself "Plantagenet" from the broom flower (planta genista) he adopted as his personal emblem. So Plantagenet became the dynastic name of that powerful line of English kings who descended from Matilda and Geoffrey.
      Matilda's marriage with Geoffrey was troubled; there were frequent long separations, but they had three sons and she survived him. The eldest son, Henry, was born on 5 March 1133. In 1134, she nearly died in childbirth, following the birth of her second son (Geoffrey, Count of Nantes). A third son (William X, Count of Poitou) was born in 1136.
      When her father died in Normandy, on 1 December 1135, Matilda was with her husband, in Anjou; and, crucially, too far away from events rapidly unfolding in England and Normandy. Stephen of Blois rushed to England upon learning of Henry's death; in London he moved quickly to grasp the crown of England from its legally appointed heir. He usurped the legitimate power in England and was proceeding to do the same in Normandy.
      But Matilda was game to contest Stephen in both realms; she and her husband Geoffrey entered Normandy and began military campaigns to claim her inheritance. Progress was uneven at first, but she persevered; even so, it was not until 1139 that Matilda felt secure enough in Normandy to turn her attentions to invading England and fighting Stephen directly.
      In Normandy, Geoffrey secured all fiefdoms west and south of the Seine by 1143; in January 1144, he crossed the Seine and took Rouen without resistance. He assumed the title Duke of Normandy, and Matilda became Duchess of Normandy. Geoffrey and Matilda held the duchy conjointly until 1149, then ceded it to their son, Henry, which event was soon ratified by King Louis VII of France.
      On the death of her father, Henry I, in 1135, Matilda expected to succeed to the throne of England, but her cousin, Stephen of Blois, a nephew of Henry I, usurped the throne with the support of most of the barons, breaking the oath he had previously made to defend her rights. The civil war which followed was bitter and prolonged, with neither side gaining the ascendancy for long, but it was not until 1139 that Matilda could command the military strength necessary to challenge Stephen within his own realm. Stephen's wife, the Countess of Boulogne who was also named Matilda, was the Empress's maternal cousin. During the war, Matilda's most loyal and capable supporter was her illegitimate half-brother, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester.
      Matilda's greatest triumph came in April 1141, when her forces defeated and captured King Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln. He was made a prisoner and effectively deposed.
      Her advantage lasted only a few months. When she marched on London, the city was ready to welcome her and support a coronation. However, she refused the citizens' request to have their taxes halved. On 24 June 1141, she found the gates of London shut and the civil war reignited. By November, Stephen was free, having been exchanged for the captured Robert of Gloucester, and a year later, the tables were turned when Matilda was besieged at Oxford but escaped to Wallingford, supposedly by fleeing across the snow-covered land in a white cape. In 1141 she had escaped Devizes in a similarly clever manner, by disguising herself as a corpse and being carried out for burial. In 1148, Matilda and Henry returned to Normandy, following the death of Robert of Gloucester, and the reconquest of that county by her husband. Upon their arrival, Geoffrey turned Normandy over to his son, and retired to his own county of Anjou.
      Matilda's first son, Henry, was showing signs of becoming a successful leader. Although the civil war had been decided in Stephen's favour, his reign was troubled. In 1153, the death of his son Eustace, combined with the arrival of a military expedition led by Henry, led him to acknowledge the latter as his heir by the Treaty of Wallingford.
      Matilda retired to Rouen in Normandy during her last years, where she maintained her own court and presided over the government of the duchy in the absence of Henry. She intervened in the quarrels between her eldest son Henry and her second son Geoffrey, but peace between the brothers was brief. Geoffrey rebelled against Henry twice before his sudden death in 1158. Relations between Henry and his youngest brother, William X, Count of Poitou, were more cordial, and William was given vast estates in England. ArchbishopThomas Becket refused to allow William to marry the Countess of Surrey and the young man fled to Matilda's court at Rouen. William, who was his mother's favourite child, died there in January 1164, reportedly of disappointment and sorrow. She attempted to mediate in the quarrel between her son Henry and Becket, but was unsuccessful.
      Although she gave up hope of being crowned in 1141, her name always preceded that of her son Henry, even after he became king. Matilda died at Notre Dame du Pré near Rouen and was buried in the Abbey church of Bec-Hellouin, Normandy. Her body was transferred to the Rouen Cathedral in 1847; her epitaph reads: "Great by Birth, Greater by Marriage, Greatest in her Offspring: Here lies Matilda, the daughter, wife, and mother of Henry."
    • #Générale#inhumation : le bec-hellouin 27 fra

      vve de l'empereur Henri V
      s:Auréjac


      #Générale#Impératrice d'Allemagne.
    • 1 AUTH Sl
    • 1 AUTH Sl
    • GIVN Adelaide
      SURN von Angers
      AFN 9FV0-9F
      DATE 9 SEP 2000
      TIME 13:15:45
    • Source #1: Weis, p.112

      Source #2: Douglas Richardson, "Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families" (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 2004), pp. 201-203
    • GIVN Adelaide
      SURN von Angers
      AFN 9FV0-9F
      DATE 9 SEP 2000
      TIME 13:15:45
    • (Research):Matilda Encyclopædia Britannica Article born 1102, London died Sept. 10, 1167, near Rouen, Fr. also called Maud, German Mathilde consort of the Holy Roman emperor Henry V and afterward claimant to the English throne in the reign of King Stephen. She was the only daughter of Henry I of England by Queen Matilda and was sister of William the Aetheling, heir to the English and Norman thrones. Both her marriages were in furtherance of Henry I's policy of strengthening Normandy against France. In 1114 she was married to Henry V; he died in 1125, leaving her childless, and three years later she was married to Geoffrey Plantagenet, effectively count of Anjou. Her brother's death in 1120 made her Henry I's sole legitimate heir, and in 1127 he compelled the baronage to accept her as his successor, though a woman ruler was equally unprecedented for the kingdom of England and the duchy of Normandy. The Angevin marriage was unpopular and flouted the barons' stipulation that she should not be married out of England without their consent. The birth of her eldest son, Henry, in 1133 gave hope of silencing this opposition, but he was only two when Henry I died (1135), and a rapid coup brought to the English throne Stephen of Blois, son of William I the Conqueror's daughter Adela. Though the church and the majority of the baronage supported Stephen, Matilda's claims were powerfully upheld in England by her half brother Robert of Gloucester and her uncle King David I of Scotland. Matilda and Robert landed at Arundel in September 1139, and she was for a short while besieged in the castle. But Stephen soon allowed her to join her brother, who had gone to the west country, where she had much support; after a stay at Bristol, she settled at Gloucester. She came nearest to success in the summer of 1141, after Stephen had been captured at Lincoln in February. Elected "lady of the English" by a clerical council at Winchester in April, she entered London in June; but her arrogance and tactless demands for money provoked the citizens to chase her away to Oxford before she could be crowned queen. Her forces were routed at Winchester in September 1141, and thereafter she maintained a steadily weakening resistance in the west country. Her well-known escape from Oxford Castle over the frozen River Thames took place in December 1142. Normandy had been in her husband's possession since 1144, and she retired there in 1148, remaining near Rouen to watch over the interests to her eldest son, who became duke of Normandy in 1150 and King Henry II of England in 1154. She spent the remainder of her life in Normandy exercising a steadying influence over Henry II's continental dominions.
    Person ID I6000000002106021492  Ancestors of Donald Ross
    Last Modified 18 Oct 2020 

    Father Henry,   b. Sep 1068,   d. 1 Dec 1135  (Age ~ 67 years) 
    Mother Eadgyth,   b. 1 Jun 1079,   d. 1 May 1118, Westminster Palace Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 38 years) 
    Married 11 Nov 1100  Westminster Abbey Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F6000000003185197138  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Geoffrey,   b. Bef 24 Aug 1113, Anjou, (present-day département of Maine-et-Loire), France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 7 Sep 1151  (Age > 38 years) 
    Married 17 Jun 1128  Le Mans, Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Henry II, II,   b. 5 Mar 1133, Le Mans, Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 6 Jul 1189, Chinon Castle, near Tours, Maine Province, France Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 56 years)
    Last Modified 14 Mar 2021 
    Family ID F6000000004045708051  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart