| Daughter of Henry I and mother of Henry II. Also known as Maud. At the age of eight Matilda was married to Emperor Henry V of Germany, but he died in 1125 and Matilda was brought back to England by her father Henry. Henry then arranged the marriage of Matilda to Geoffrey, the fourteen year old heir to Anjou and Maine. In 1120, Matilda's elder brother William Audelin and heir to the English throne died in a ship wreck (The White Ship). As there were no other children, Matilda was declared heir to the English throne. Henry made the Barons swear allegiance to Matilda and made them swear that they should crown her as Queen upon his death. When Henry died in December of 1135 Stephen, Matilda's cousin, saw his chance of taking the throne for himself and came to England to take control. Stephen was supported by the Barons who did not want a woman to rule their country and by his brother the Bishop of Winchester. Back in Normanbdy, Matilda and Geoffrey were planning to take back the throne that should be theirs. The civil war between Stephen and Matilda began in 1136 when Matilda's half brother Robert, the Earl of Gloucester rebelled against Stephen. Matilda arrived in England in 1139 and after a series of battles Stephen was captured in 1141 at the Battle of Lincoln. After the success at Lincoln Matilda was temporarily elected Queen, but as she entered London for her coronation angry Londoners opposed to her mistreatment of them, ran her out of the city. At this point Stephen's wife arrived from France with an army and at Winchester captured the Earl of Gloucester. Matilda escaped to the west where she had more support. Stephen's imprisonment was ended when he was exchanged for the Earl of Gloucester. In 1147 the Earl died and Matilda now without her chief supporter left England for Normandy. Back in Normandy she planned her son's attempts to win back the English throne. Her son was to become Henry II, King of England.
Selection of references used:
- Jasper Ridley,The History of England,1981
- John Kinross,Discovering Castles in England and Wales,
- Derek Renn,Norman Castles,1968
- G.W.S Barrow,Feudal Britain,1967
- Derek Wilson,The Tower (1078 - 1978),
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Matilda (Daughter of Henry I)
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