what did empress matilda do

The recent heavy snowfall we have been experiencing in the United Kingdom has inspired me to write this blog post about an episode that took place in 1142 during a civil war known as the Anarchy (1139-53). In 1139, Matilda crossed to England to take the kingdom by force, supported by her half-brother Robert of Gloucester and her uncle David I of Scotland, while her husband, Geoffrey, focused on conquering Normandy. [112] The town of Bristol itself proved too strong for him, and Stephen contented himself with raiding and pillaging the surrounding area. [51] It was also traditional for the king of France to crown his successor while he was still alive, making the intended line of succession relatively clear. [86] Contemporary chronicler accounts were coloured by subsequent events. [30] After his imperial coronation in 1111, Henry continued to call himself king and emperor of the Romans interchangeably. 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. Matilda is declared 'Lady of England and Normandy', but, following preparations for her coronation, Londoners drive her out of Westminster. Marjorie Chibnall's "The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English" was, so far, the best and the most detailed account of Matilda's political & private life, but it's a difficult book and requires a lot of beforehand knowledge of the period. [250] Legends spread in the years after Matilda's death, including the suggestion that her first husband, Henry, had not died but had in fact secretly become a hermit making Matilda's second marriage illegitimate and a tale that Matilda had an affair with Stephen, resulting in the conception of Henry II. [193] He had remained in France when the Empress first left for England. One potential explanation is Stephen's general courtesy to a member of his extended family; another is that he was starting to consider how to end the war peacefully, and saw this as a way of building a relationship with Henry. [53], Initially, Henry put his hopes in fathering another son. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. [58] Henry's plans shifted when Empress Matilda's husband, Emperor Henry, died in 1125. The cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisements to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. Henry V had coerced Paschal II into crowning him in 1111, but Matilda's own status was less clear. [163] Matilda decided to escape from the city with Fitz Count and Reginald of Cornwall, while the rest of her army delayed the royal forces. [104] Stephen formed an army to retake Matilda's Argentan castles, but frictions between his Flemish mercenary forces and the local Norman barons resulted in a battle between the two halves of his army. [69] Henry's solution was now to negotiate the marriage of Matilda to Geoffrey, recreating the former alliance. [177] Backed by the pragmatic Robert of Gloucester, Matilda was content to engage in a drawn-out struggle, and the war soon entered a stalemate. [224] On her return from Germany to Normandy and Anjou, Matilda styled herself as empress and the daughter of King Henry. On 25 November 1120 the White Ship sank off the coast of Normandy not long after it set out for England. [206] Neither side's army was keen to fight, however, and the Church brokered a truce; a permanent peace followed, under which Henry recognised Stephen as king, but became Stephen's adopted son and successor. [251], Tudor scholars were interested in Matilda's right of succession. Because Matilda was a female, many people did not agree with the idea of having her as their monarch. She was the first woman to be named as heir to the English throne and she fought fiercely for her succession. [169] Oxford was a secure town, protected by walls and the River Isis, but Stephen led a sudden attack across the river, leading the charge and swimming part of the way. [159], Matilda's position was transformed by her defeat at the Rout of Winchester. Once again, the Angevin cavalry proved too strong, and for a moment it appeared that Stephen might be captured for a second time, before finally managing to escape. 'lady' was used of a woman exercising temporal powers in her own right, as had thelfld of Mercia. [66] It was essential to Henry that he not face a threat from the south as well as the east of Normandy. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Her father was Henry I of England and her mother was Matilda of Scotland. [39] Matilda attempted to visit her father in England that year, but the journey was blocked by Count Charles I of Flanders, whose territory she would have needed to pass through. [181] Later in the year Geoffrey de Mandeville, the Earl of Essex, rose up in rebellion against Stephen in East Anglia. What was held at Winchester. [71] Over the course of the next year, Fulk decided to depart for Jerusalem, where he hoped to become king, leaving his possessions to Geoffrey. [149] Although Matilda's own followers attended the event, few other major nobles seem to have attended and the delegation from London procrastinated. [32] Bourdin had also been excommunicated by the time he conducted the second ceremony, and he was later deposed and imprisoned for life by Pope Callixtus II. [229] Since she was never crowned at Westminster, during the rest of the war she appears to have used this title rather than that of the queen of England, although some contemporaries referred to her by the royal title. [77][nb 9], Matilda gave birth to her first son in March 1133 at Le Mans, the future Henry II. [180] Stephen attempted to break out and escape, resulting in the Battle of Wilton. Divided baronial loyalties, personality of Empress Matilda, the achievement of Queen Matilda. It does not store any personal data. Matilda came from the noble House of Canossa, also named the Attonids, although these names were only invented by later generations. We use cookies to give you the best online experience. Matilda contested the rule of her cousin Stephen and marched to Oxford to base her campaign at Oxford Castle. [145] Matilda now began to take the necessary steps to have herself crowned queen in his place, which would require the agreement of the Church and her coronation at Westminster. His daughter Empress Matilda or his nephew Stephen ? Matilda became trapped in Oxford Castle by Stephen's forces that winter, and to avoid capture was forced to escape at night across the frozen River Isis to Abingdon, reputedly wearing white as camouflage in the snow. [242] Early on in her life, she preferred the well-established Benedictine monastery of Cluny alongside some of the newer Augustinian orders, such as the Victorines and Premonstratensians. [93] 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. Empress Matilda (c. 7 February 1102 - 10 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. [219] Her tomb's epitaph included the lines "Great by birth, greater by marriage, greatest in her offspring: here lies Matilda, the daughter, wife, and mother of Henry", which became a famous phrase among her contemporaries. [204] Geoffrey died unexpectedly in 1151, and Henry claimed the family lands. [6] 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. [257], Matilda has attracted relatively little attention from modern English academics, being treated as a marginal figure in comparison to other contemporaries, particularly her rival Stephen, in contrast to the work carried out by German scholars on her time in the Empire. [178], At first, the balance of power appeared to move slightly in Matilda's favour. In 1125, Stephen, as well as a number of other noblemen, swore their. Henry I nominated his daughter Matilda as his successor and heir to the English throne, as his only living legitimate child. Meanwhile, Geoffrey of Anjou finished securing his hold on southern Normandy, and in January 1144 he advanced into Rouen, the capital of the Duchy, concluding his campaign. Matilda came from a doozy of a powerful Italian family. [200] Matilda chose to live in the priory of Notre Dame du Pr, situated just south of Rouen, where she lived in personal quarters attached to the priory and in a nearby palace built by Henry. [208] Stephen died the next year, and Henry assumed the throne; his coronation used the grander of the two imperial crowns that Matilda had brought back from Germany in 1125. [21][22][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. [256] The German academic Oskar Rssler's 1897 biography drew heavily on German charters, not extensively used by Anglophone historians. [133] In response, Miles marched east, attacking Stephen's rearguard forces at Wallingford and threatening an advance on London. [264] Matilda, Stephen and their supporters feature in Ellis Peters's historical detective series about Brother Cadfael, set between 1137 and 1145. [263], The civil war years of Matilda's life have been the subject of historical fiction. [188] As a result, Stephen made progress against Matilda's forces in the west in 1145, recapturing Faringdon Castle in Oxfordshire. Robert of Gloucester had garrisoned the ports of Dover and Canterbury and some accounts suggest that they refused Stephen access when he first arrived. [245] She had close links to the Cistercian Mortemer Abbey in Normandy, and drew on the house for a supply of monks when she supported the foundation of nearby La Valasse. [190] Several of Matilda's key supporters died: in 1147 Robert of Gloucester died peacefully, and Brian Fitz Count gradually withdrew from public life, probably eventually joining a monastery; by 1151 he was dead. Meanwhile, Empress Matilda's cousin, Stephen of Blois, who was in Boulogne . [166] Instead, in November the two sides simply exchanged the two leaders, Stephen returning to his queen, and Robert to the Empress in Oxford. Why was England's first queen never crowned? [226] Notably, Matilda's husband Geoffrey never adopted the equivalent dominus Anglorum. [232], Matilda presented herself as continuing the English tradition of centralised royal government, and attempted to maintain a government in England parallel to Stephen's, including a royal household and a chancellor. [197][nb 19], Matilda decided to return to Normandy in 1148, partially due to her difficulties with the Church. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Non-necessary". The throne was instead taken by Matilda's cousin Stephen of Blois, who enjoyed the backing of the English Church. [174], In the aftermath of the retreat from Winchester, Matilda rebuilt her court at Devizes Castle in Wiltshire, a former property of the Bishop of Salisbury that had been confiscated by Stephen. 1167. Who was Stephen of Blois's brother ? [20] 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. [194] Geoffrey of Anjou expected Henry to become the King of England and began to involve him in the government of the family lands. [215] Matilda appears to have had particular fondness for her youngest son William. [64] His preference was to use Matilda's marriage to secure the southern borders of Normandy by marrying her to Geoffrey, the eldest son of Count Fulk V of Anjou. Edmund King disagrees that the Empress received an invitation to. [111], Matilda's half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, was one of the most powerful Anglo-Norman barons, controlling estates in Normandy as well as the Earldom of Gloucester. Monarchy Rules: A look at Empress Matilda. [170] Matilda came under increased pressure from Stephen's forces and was surrounded at Oxford. [130] Her influence extended down into Devon and Cornwall, and north through Herefordshire, but her authority in these areas remained limited.
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