Matilda of England

English Royalty
House of Plantagenet

Henry II
Children
   William, Count of Poitiers
   Henry the Young King
   Richard I
   Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany
   King John
   Matilda of England
   Leonora of England
   Joan of England
Richard I
John
Children
   Henry III
   Richard, Earl of Cornwall
   Joan of England
   Isabella of England
   Eleanor of England
Henry III
Children
   Edward I
   Margaret of England
   Beatrice of England
   Edmund, Earl of Lancaster
Edward I
Children
   Joan of England, Countess of Gloucester
   Alphonso, Earl of Chester
   Edward II
   Thomas, Earl of Norfolk
   Edmund, Earl of Kent
Edward II
Children
   Edward III
   John, Earl of Cornwall
   Eleanor of England
   Joan of England
Edward III
Children
   Edward, Prince of Wales
   Lionel, Duke of Clarence
   John, Duke of Lancaster
   Edmund, Duke of York
   Thomas, Duke of Gloucester
   Joan of England
   Isabella of England
Grandchildren
    Richard II
    Philippa, Countess of Ulster
    Philippa of Lancaster
    Elizabeth of Lancaster
    Henry IV
    Catherine of Lancaster
    Edward, Duke of York
    Richard, Earl of Cambridge
    Constance of York
    Anne of Gloucester
Richard II

Matilda of England (1156 - July 13, 1189), also known as Maud, was the eldest daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Coronation of Henry the Lion and Matilda of England (1188)

Coronation of Henry the Lion and Matilda of England (1188)

 

Matilda was a younger maternal half-sister of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France. She was a younger sister of William, Count of Poitiers and Henry the Young King. She was also an older sister of Richard I of England, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, Leonora of Aquitaine, Joan of England and John of England. Matilda seems to have spent much of her early life in the company of her mother, Queen Eleanor.

In 1165 Rainald of Dassel, Archbishop of Cologne, arrived at the court of King Henry II at Rouen, to negotiate a German match for Matilda. There was conflict during the negotiations, however, when Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester refused to greet the archbishop, alleging him to be a schismatic and a supporter of the anti-pope, Victor IV. The original plan to match a daughter of Henry II with a son of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor was abandoned, and instead Matilda left England in September 1167 to marry Henry the Lion.

She married Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, on February 1, 1168 at Brunswick. They had four sons and one daughter:

  1. Matilda (Richenza) (1172-1213), married Geoffrey III, Count of Perche.
  2. Henry I, Palatine Count of the Rhein (1173-1227).
  3. Lothar (1174-1190).
  4. Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Duke of Swabia (1175-1218).
  5. William, Duke of Lüneburg (1184-1213).

At the time of their marriage, Henry the Lion was one of the most powerful allies ofFrederick I, Holy Roman Emperor. Matilda governed her husband's vast estates during his absence in the Holy Land from 1172 to 1173. In 1174, Henry the Lion became involved in a conflict with the Emperor Frederick, and Henry and Matilda were forced to flee Germany and take refuge in Normandy at her father's court in 1182. During this time at the royal court at Argentan, Matilda became acquainted with the troubador Bertran de Born, who, calling her "Elena" or "Lana", made her the object of his desire in two of his poems of "courtly love".

Matilda, her husband, and their family remained in Normandy under the protection and support of King Henry until 1185, when they were able to return to Saxony. When her father Henry II died in 1189, Matilda survived him by only one week.

The picture shows an idealized portrait made between 1230 and 1240 on the tomb of Matilda and Henry the Lion in Brunswick cathedral.

Sources

  • Ralph of Diceto
  • Robert of Torigny
  • Wheeler, Bonnie. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady, 2002

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