Empress Matilda 

Lady of the English

Empress Matilda was an English Monarch in her own right, even though she is now a disputed queen. Matilda was born on February 7, 1102 at Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire. She was the daughter of King Henry I and his first Queen, Matilda of Scotland. 

Her only legitimate sibling was her younger brother, William Adelin, but with her father's many mistresses, came 22 illegitimate half siblings. (A/N: That's a big family) There is no detailed description of Matilda's appearance. Some contemporaries have stated that she was very beautiful, but this was conventional practice for many chronicles. 

In around 1108-1109, Henry V, King of the Romans proposed to Henry I that he marry Matilda. This was a good match for the King's daughter, as she would be marrying one of the most powerful rulers in Europe. 

In February 1110, 8 year old Matilda traveled to Germany and was crown Queen of The Romans. She would not marry the emperor yet, because of her young age. She stayed in Germany before her wedding and learned German culture, manners, and government. 

Matilda and the emperor were married in January 1114, when Matilda was barely 12. After the wedding however her new husband caused political conflict by arresting several German Princes. 

This outraged the Pope, and so, in 1116 , Matilda and her husband marched through the alps to settle matters with him. He'd fled by the time they reached Rome and the couple was crowned Holy Roman Emperor and Empress at St. Peter's Basillica. 

Henry V developed cancer and died on May 23, 1125. Now aged 23, the widowed Matilda was left with no choice of either becoming a nun or remarrying. She gave up her royal estates in Germany and went to Normandy. 

At the time however, England was facing a succession crisis. Matilda's only brother, William had drowned in the sinking of the White Ship, and the succession of the English throne was in doubt. King Henry had then married Adeliza of Louvain, in the hopes of fathering another son with her. Unfortunately , the couple had no children, and the succession remain at risk. 

Henry's next option was to give the crown to one of his nephews living in France. Mainly, Theobald of Blois, son of Henry's sister Adela of Normandy. After the death of her husband, Matilda returned to Normandy in 1125, when her father declared her as preferred heir. At Christmas 1126, The Barons gathered at Westminster and swore Matilda as rightful heir to the throne. 

Henry chose Geoffrey of Anjou to be Matilda's second husband. He was the son of William Adelin's widow. Matilda was unhappy with the match; she thought she was too high-born to marry a son of a count, and she was 12 years older than he was. They were married on June 17, 1127. One year later, Geoffrey was declared Count of Anjou. 

The couple were separated for 4 years after their wedding, but reconciled in 1131. Their first son, Henry was born on March 5, 1133, and would later become Henry II of England. They later had two more sons. 

Henry I died unexpectedly in 1135, aged 67. It is unknown if he had said anything about the succession before his death. Some sources claim he continued to recognized Matilda as his heir, while others say he renounced it. A/N: That's interesting. I want to believe that he continued to recognized my direct ancestor Matilda as heir. If that is true I wonder why no one listen to him and do what he wanted on his death bed? That is terrible and I agreed with Matilda that she is the rightful heir of the throne and should have gone to her and then her son Henry II but because she is a woman they didn't think she could be a good Queen in her own right. Stupid. 

When news of the King's death reached Matilda and Geoffrey, they immediately fled from Anjou to Normandy and seized several key castle. The news also reached Stephen of Blois, Matilda's cousin, who was in Boulonge. Believing himself to be the rightful king, he left for England. Within a week, he was in London and was seizing control of the kingdom. 

In 1127, Stephen had been one to swear Matilda as the rightful heir, because the throne had once been promised to his brother, Theobald. Now, Stephen was claiming that the late king had been wrong to make his court swear the oath, and that he had in fact changed his mind on his deathbed. (A/N: Yeah right. I don't believe him.)

With full support of the English people, Stephen was crowned on December 26, 1135. In Normandy, however, a group of nobles gathered to declared Stephen's older brother, Theobald King. They claimed that Theobald was the oldest living grandson of William the Conqueror, and therefore he should be king. Upon hearing the news that Stephen had already been crowned, Theobald's support ebbed away. 

Geoffrey invaded Normandy twice in 1136, raiding and burning estates rather than trying to hold territory.  Stephen returned to Normandy one year later, where he battled, and lost against Geoffrey's army. Stephen made a truce with Geoffrey: 2000 marks in exchange for peace in Normandy. 

One of Stephen's supporters, Robert of Gloucester, Illegitimate son of Henry I, suddenly declared allegiance to Matilda and declared war in Stephen in 1138. Geoffrey took advantage of the situation by invading Normandy, as well as Matilda's Uncle David, King of Scots who invaded England in the north. 

Matilda then appealed to the pope, putting forward her legal claim to the throne. Her father had made the barons swear her as his successor. However, Stephen's representative, Arnulf of Lisieux, argued that Matilda's mother had indeed been a nun before her marriage to the King, and therefore Matilda was illegitimate. The Pope put his support in Stephen. A/N: That's stupid. I don't believe she was. It was only an excuse to keep her from her throne. She was the rightful Queen. 

Matilda finally invaded England in the summer of 1139. They planned in arrived in August, but after hearing that Stephen's forces were waiting for them, they were forced to go to the south-west of England. 

Matilda was invited by her stepmother, Adeliza of Louvin, to stay at home of Arundel Castle. She arrived on September 30, with a force of 140 knights. Matilda stayed at the castle while Robert of Gloucester traveled to gain support. 

Stephen responded to this by besieging the castle and trapping Matilda inside. She was later released and escorted south-west and reunited with Robert of Gloucester. The reason for her release are unclear. 

By the end of the year, Matilda had control of south-west England and southern Wales, although Stephen still controlled the rest of the kingdom, and he was on a mission to regain all of it. On February 2, 1141, the Battle of Lincoln broke out. Matilda's forces proved strong, and she imprisoned Stephen in Bristol Castle and was recognized as the rightful Queen. 

On June 24, however, just before Matilda's planned coronation, the city of London rose up against her, and she and her husband fled to Oxford. There was a big problem with Matilda being the Queen: She had learned how to be a monarch in Germany, when she was Holy Roman Empress, and there, the Emperor had supreme power. Everyone was to obey the emperor, and the only higher power was the church and god. In England, it worked very differently. 

Stephen was released to resume his reign. In fact, he had a second coronation. Matilda spent the next 2 years fighting for the crown, until Stephen finally trapped her to starve to death in Oxford Castle. 

Amazingly though, Matilda and 3 knights escaped. After there had been a snowstorm, they dressed in all white to blend in. They moved swiftly and silently, right past Stephen's guards. After 5 years, Matilda finally gave up and returned to Normandy in 1148. 

When Geoffrey died in 1151, his and Matilda's son Henry returned to England with a small army to claim the throne. There were no fighting, however, instead, Henry recognized Stephen as the true king, and Stephen named Henry his heir and successor. He became King Henry II when Stephen died in 1154. 

Matilda spent the rest of her life in Normandy, often acting as her son's representative in the duchy. She died on September 10, 1167, age 65. She was buried under the high altar at The Abbey of Bec-Hellouin, with an epitaph reading: "Great by birth, greater by marriage, greatest in her offspring: Here lies Matilda, the daughter, wife, and mother of Henry" Her tomb was destroyed in 1421, ironically by an English army. Her body was discovered and re-buried in the church, but then was lost again after the church was destroyed by Napoleon. A/N: How dare he. 

Her remains were re-discovered in 1846, and buried in Rouen Cathedral, near Henry II's tomb, where they remain today. Many rumors circulated after Matilda's death; such as the one where her first husband , Henry V was said to have not died, but had faked his death to go live in confinement (Which would make Matilda's marriage to Geoffrey of Anjou invalied.) Or the one where she was said to have an affair with Stephen of Blois, and he was the true father of Henry II. These rumors are almost certainly false, but still interesting. A/N: I would think they are false. I wouldn't have Geoffrey as Henry II's father on my family tree if it wasn't. 

Empress Matilda is a forgotten Queen; she is today said to have not been a ruler in her own right, and that Henry I's successor was Stephen of Blois. A/N: That's stupid. She was snob her rightful crown. 

Empress Matilda, 1103-1167

My family tree

So this is how my family tree work of my direct ancestors. 

William the Conqueror who was the first Norman King of England. He lived from 1028-1087. He married Matilda of Flanders. Matilda lived from 1031-1083. They had Henry I of England. He lived from 1068-1135. Henry married Matilda (The good queen) of Scotland. Henry's mother Matilda was Matilda's godmother. Matilda of Scotland's parents were Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Matilda of Scotland lived from 1080-1118 and while her mother became a saint in the eyes of the Catholic church, Matilda did not. Henry I and Matilda of Scotland got married in 1100. Then they had a daughter who is the oldest named Matilda. Matilda lived from 1102-1167. She got married in Germany to Henry V the Roman Emperor and became an Empress. They never had children. Then she married Geoffrey Plantagenet. Her brother William II had died in drowning and she was suppose to be the next heir but because England was stupid and sexist they gave the crown to her cousin Stephen instead. Matilda and Geoffrey had Henry II. Henry II became the next king after Stephen making him the first Plantagenet king. That is my direct ancestor. From William I to Henry II. This is exciting information and I am a princess after all.