87 Facts About Empress Matilda

1.

On Emperor Henry V's death, Empress 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.

2.

In 1139, Empress 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.

3.

Robert was captured following the Rout of Winchester in 1141, and Empress Matilda agreed to exchange him for Stephen.

4.

Empress 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.

5.

The war degenerated into a stalemate, with Empress Matilda controlling much of the south-west of England, and Stephen the south-east and the Midlands.

6.

Empress 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, forming the Angevin Empire.

7.

Empress Matilda settled her court near Rouen and for the rest of her life concerned herself with the administration of Normandy, acting on her son's behalf when necessary.

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8.

Empress Matilda worked extensively with the Church, founding Cistercian monasteries, and was known for her piety.

9.

Empress Matilda was buried under the high altar at Bec Abbey after her death in 1167.

10.

Empress Matilda had a younger, legitimate brother, William Adelin, and her father's relationships with numerous mistresses resulted in around 22 illegitimate siblings.

11.

In 1108 Henry left Empress Matilda and her brother in the care of Anselm, the archbishop of Canterbury, while he travelled to Normandy; Anselm was a favoured cleric of Empress Matilda's mother.

12.

In late 1108 or early 1109, Henry V of Germany sent envoys to Normandy proposing that Empress Matilda marry him, and wrote separately to her mother on the same matter.

13.

Empress Matilda now entered public life in Germany, complete with her own household.

14.

Empress Matilda was now playing a full part in the imperial government, sponsoring royal grants, dealing with petitioners and taking part in ceremonial occasions.

15.

Paschal fled when Henry and Empress Matilda arrived with their army, and in his absence the papal envoy Maurice Bourdin, later antipope under the name Gregory VIII, crowned the pair at St Peter's Basilica, probably that Easter and certainly at Pentecost.

16.

Nonetheless, Matilda maintained that she had been officially crowned as the empress in Rome.

17.

Empress Matilda's husband was occupied in finding a compromise with the Pope, who had excommunicated him.

18.

In 1122, Henry and probably Empress Matilda were at the Council of Worms.

19.

Empress 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.

20.

Historian Marjorie Chibnall argues Empress Matilda had intended to discuss the inheritance of the English crown on this journey.

21.

Now aged 23, Empress Matilda had only limited options as to how she might spend the rest of her life.

22.

Empress Matilda returned to Normandy in 1125 and spent about a year at the royal court, where her father was still hoping that his second marriage would generate a son.

23.

Empress Matilda's 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.

24.

Empress Matilda appears to have been unimpressed by the prospect of marrying Geoffrey of Anjou.

25.

Empress Matilda felt that marrying the son of a count diminished her imperial status and was probably unhappy about marrying someone so much younger than she was; Matilda was 25 and Geoffrey was 13.

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26.

At Pentecost 1134, their second son Geoffrey was born in Rouen, but the childbirth was extremely difficult and Empress Matilda appeared close to death.

27.

Empress Matilda made arrangements for her will and argued with her father about where she should be buried.

28.

Empress Matilda preferred Bec Abbey, but Henry wanted her to be interred at Rouen Cathedral.

29.

Empress Matilda recovered, and Henry was overjoyed by the birth of his second grandson, possibly insisting on another round of oaths from his nobility.

30.

Sources favourable to Empress Matilda suggested that Henry had reaffirmed his intent to grant all his lands to his daughter, while 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.

31.

Empress Matilda was by now pregnant with her third son, William; opinions vary among historians as to how much this affected her military plans.

32.

Robert renounced his fealty to the King and declared his support for Empress Matilda, which triggered a major regional rebellion in Kent and across the south-west of England, although he himself remained in Normandy.

33.

Empress Matilda had not been particularly active in asserting her claims to the throne since 1135 and in many ways it was Robert who took the initiative in declaring war in 1138.

34.

The rebels appear to have expected Robert to intervene with support, but he remained in Normandy throughout the year, trying to persuade the Empress Matilda to invade England herself.

35.

Geoffrey and Empress Matilda had secured much of Normandy and, together with Robert, spent the beginning of the year mobilising forces for a cross-Channel expedition.

36.

Empress Matilda appealed to the papacy at the start of the year; her representative, Bishop Ulger, put forward her legal claim to the English throne on the grounds of her hereditary right and the oaths sworn by the barons.

37.

Arnulf of Lisieux led Stephen's case, arguing that because Empress Matilda's mother had really been a nun, her claim to the throne was illegitimate.

38.

Empress Matilda's influence extended down into Devon and Cornwall, and north through Herefordshire, but her authority in these areas remained limited.

39.

Empress Matilda faced a counterattack from Stephen, who started by attacking Wallingford Castle which controlled the Thames corridor; it was held by Brian Fitz Count and Stephen found it too well defended.

40.

Empress Matilda's fortunes changed dramatically for the better at the start of 1141.

41.

Empress Matilda received Stephen in person at her court in Gloucester, before having him moved to Bristol Castle, traditionally used for holding high-status prisoners.

42.

Empress 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.

43.

Empress Matilda had made a private deal with Henry that he would deliver the support of the Church in exchange for being granted control over Church affairs.

44.

Stephen's wife, Queen Empress Matilda, wrote to complain and demand her husband's release.

45.

Empress Matilda's position was transformed by her defeat at the Rout of Winchester.

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46.

Stephen's wife, Queen Empress Matilda, had kept his cause alive in the south-east of England, and the Queen, backed by her lieutenant William of Ypres and reinforced with fresh troops from London, took the opportunity to advance on Winchester.

47.

Empress Matilda decided to escape from the city with Fitz Count and Reginald of Cornwall, while the rest of her army delayed the royal forces.

48.

Henry held another church council, which reversed its previous decision and reaffirmed Stephen's legitimacy to rule, and a fresh coronation of Stephen and Empress Matilda occurred at Christmas 1141.

49.

Empress Matilda came under increased pressure from Stephen's forces and was surrounded at Oxford.

50.

Just before Christmas, Empress Matilda sneaked out of the castle with a handful of knights, crossed the icy river and made her escape past the royal army on foot to Abingdon-on-Thames and then riding to safety at Wallingford, leaving the castle garrison to surrender the next day.

51.

Empress Matilda established her household knights on the surrounding estates, supported by Flemish mercenaries, ruling through the network of local sheriffs and other officials.

52.

Empress Matilda authorised Reginald, the Earl of Cornwall, to attempt fresh peace negotiations, but neither side was prepared to compromise.

53.

Empress Matilda had remained in France when the Empress first left for England.

54.

Empress Matilda crossed over to England in 1142, before returning to Anjou in 1144.

55.

Empress Matilda decided to return to Normandy in 1148, partially due to her difficulties with the Church.

56.

The Empress had occupied the strategically essential Devizes Castle in 1142, maintaining her court there, but legally it still belonged to Josceline de Bohon, the bishop of Salisbury, and in late 1146 Pope Eugene III intervened to support his claims, threatening Matilda with excommunication if she did not return it.

57.

Empress Matilda first played for time, then left for Normandy in early 1148, leaving the castle to Henry, who then procrastinated over its return for many years.

58.

Empress Matilda re-established her court in Rouen, where she met with her sons and husband and probably made arrangements for her future life in Normandy, and for Henry's next expedition to England.

59.

Empress Matilda chose to live in the priory of Notre Dame du Pre, situated just south of Rouen, where she lived in personal quarters attached to the priory and in a nearby palace built by Henry.

60.

Empress Matilda increasingly devoted her efforts to the administration of Normandy, rather than to the war in England.

61.

Meanwhile, Normandy faced considerable disorder and the threat of baronial revolt, which Empress Matilda was unable to totally suppress.

62.

Stephen died the next year, and Henry assumed the throne; his coronation used the grander of the two imperial crowns that Empress Matilda had brought back from Germany in 1125.

63.

Empress Matilda spent the rest of her life in Normandy, often acting as Henry's representative and presiding over the government of the Duchy.

64.

Empress Matilda was involved in attempts to mediate between Henry and his Chancellor Thomas Becket when the two men fell out in the 1160s.

65.

Empress Matilda had originally cautioned against the appointment, but when the Prior of Mont St Jacques asked her for a private interview on Becket's behalf to seek her views, she provided a moderate perspective on the problem.

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66.

Empress Matilda explained that she disagreed with Henry's attempts to codify English customs, which Becket opposed as well, but condemned poor administration in the English Church and Becket's own headstrong behaviour.

67.

The first of these involved the Hand of St James, the relic which Empress Matilda had brought back with her from Germany many years before.

68.

Empress Matilda was approached by Louis VII of France, in 1164, and helped to defuse a growing diplomatic row over the handling of Crusading funds.

69.

Empress Matilda appears to have had particular fondness for her youngest son William.

70.

Empress Matilda opposed Henry's proposal in 1155 to invade Ireland and give the lands to William possibly on the grounds that the project was impractical, and instead William received large grants of land in England.

71.

Empress Matilda was more easy-going in her later life than in her youth, but the chronicler of Mont St Jacques, who met her during this period, still felt that she appeared to be "of the stock of tyrants".

72.

Empress Matilda was buried under the high altar at the abbey of Bec-Hellouin in a service led by Rotrou, the archbishop of Rouen.

73.

Empress Matilda's remains were lost again after the destruction of Bec-Hellouin's church by Napoleon, but were found once more in 1846 and this time reburied at Rouen Cathedral, where they remain.

74.

Empress Matilda was not called upon to make any major decisions, instead dealing with smaller matters and acting as the symbolic representative of her absent husband, meeting with and helping to negotiate with magnates and clergy.

75.

On her return from Germany to Normandy and Anjou, Matilda styled herself as empress and the daughter of King Henry.

76.

Empress 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.

77.

Empress Matilda gathered revenues from the royal estates in the counties under her control, particularly in her core territories where the sheriffs were loyal to her cause.

78.

Empress Matilda appointed earls to rival those created by Stephen.

79.

Empress Matilda was unable to operate a system of royal law courts and her administrative resources were extremely limited, although some of her clerks went on to become bishops in Normandy.

80.

Empress Matilda issued two types of coins in her name during her time in England, which were used in the west of England and Wales.

81.

On returning to Normandy for the last time in 1148, Matilda ceased to use the title Lady of the English, simply styling herself as empress again; she never adopted the title of Countess of Anjou.

82.

Empress Matilda's household became smaller, and often merged with Henry's own court when the two were co-located in Rouen.

83.

Empress Matilda continued to play a special role in the government of the area around Argentan, where she held feudal rights from the grants made at the time of her second marriage.

84.

Empress Matilda 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.

85.

Once Henry II assumed the throne, the tone of the chroniclers towards Empress Matilda became more positive.

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86.

Empress 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.

87.

The civil war years of Empress Matilda's life have been the subject of historical fiction.