aka: Matilda van Vlaanderen
Married 1053, Cathedral of Notre Dame d'Eu, Normandy to , William I the Conqueror, King of England
Child 1: , Robert II Curthose, Duke of Normandy, b. 1054
Child 2: , Richard, Duke of Bernay, b. ABT 1055
Child 3: , Cecilia of Holy Trinity, Abbess of Caen, b. 1056
Child 4: , Adeliza, Nun, b. 1055
Child 5: , William II Rufus, King of England, b. 1056/60
Child 6: , Constance, b. ABT 1066
Child 7: , Adela, Countess of Blois, b. ABT 1067
Child 8: , Agatha, b. ABT 1064
Child 9: , Matilda
Child 10: , Henry I Beauclerc, King of England, b. ABT SEP 1068
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Matilda of Flanders (
French: Mathilde de Flandre;
Dutch: Mathilda van Vlaanderen) (c. 1031 – 2 November 1083) was the wife of
William the Conqueror and, as such,
Queen consort of the
Kingdom of England. She bore William eleven children, including two kings,
William II and
Henry I.
Contents Marriage
Matilda, or Maud, was the daughter of
Baldwin V, Count of Flanders and
Adèle Capet, herself daughter of
Robert II of France. According to legend, when Duke
William II of Normandy (later known as William the Conqueror) sent his representative to ask for Matilda's hand in marriage, she told the representative that she was far too high-born, to consider marrying a
bastard. After hearing this response, William rode from Normandy to
Bruges, found Matilda on her way to church, and dragged her off her horse by her long
braids, threw her down in the street in front of her flabbergasted attendants, and rode off. Another version of the story states that William rode to Matilda's father's house in
Lille, threw her to the ground in her room (again, by the braids), and hit her (or violently battered her) before leaving. Naturally, Baldwin took offense at this but, before they
drew swords, Matilda settled the matter
by agreeing to marry him, and even a papal ban on the grounds of
consanguinity did not dissuade her. They were married in 1053.
There were rumors that Matilda had been in love with the English ambassador to
Flanders, a
Saxon named Brihtric, who declined her advances. Whatever the truth of the matter, years later when she was acting as
Regent for William in England, she used her authority to confiscate Brihtric's lands and throw him into prison, where he died.
When William was preparing to invade England, Matilda outfitted a ship, the Mora, out of her own money and gave it to him. For many years it was thought that she had some involvement in the creation of the
Bayeux Tapestry (commonly called La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde in French), but historians no longer believe that; it seems to have been commissioned by William's half-brother
Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, and made by English artists in
Kent.[
citation needed]
Matilda bore William eleven children, and he was believed to have been faithful to her, at least up until the time their son Robert rebelled against his father and Matilda sided with Robert against William. After she died, in 1083 at the age of 51, William became tyrannical, and people blamed it on his having lost her.
Contrary to the belief that she was buried at St. Stephen's, also called l'
Abbaye-aux-Hommes in
Caen,
Normandy, where William was eventually buried, she is intombed at l'
Abbaye aux Dames, which is the Sainte-Trinité church, also in Caen. Of particular interest is the 11th century slab, a sleek black stone decorated with her epitaph, marking her grave at the rear of the church. It is of special note since the grave marker for William was replaced as recently as the beginning of the 19th century.
Height
Reputed to be 4'2" (127 cm) tall, Matilda was England's smallest queen, according to the
Guinness Book of Records. However, in 1819 and 1959 Matilda's incomplete skeleton was examined in France, and her bones were measured to determine her height. The 1819 estimate was under five feet, while the 1959 estimate was 5' (152 cm) tall. A reputed height of 4' 2" (127 cm) appeared at some point after 1959 in the non-scientific literature, misrepresenting the 1959 measurement.
Issue
Some doubt exists over how many daughters there were. This list includes some entries which are obscure.
1. Robert Curthose (c. 1054 – 1134), Duke of Normandy, married
Sybil of Conversano, daughter of Geoffrey of Conversano
2. Adeliza (or Alice) (c. 1055 – ?), reportedly betrothed to
Harold II of England (Her existence is in some doubt.)
3. Cecilia (or Cecily) (c. 1056 – 1126), Abbess of Holy Trinity, Caen
4. William Rufus (1056 – 1100), King of the English
5. Richard, Duke of Bernay (1057 – c. 1081), killed by a stag in
New Forest 6. Adela (c. 1062 – 1138), married
Stephen, Count of Blois 7. Agatha(c. 1064 – c. 1080), betrothed to (1) Harold of
Wessex, (2)
Alfonso VI of Castile 8. Constance (c. 1066 – 1090), married
Alan IV Fergent,
Duke of Brittany; poisoned, possibly by her own servants
9. Matilda (very obscure, her existence is in some doubt)
10. Henry Beauclerc (1068–1135), King of England, married (1)
Edith of Scotland, daughter of
Malcolm III, King of Scotland, (2)
Adeliza of LouvainGundred (c. 1063 – 1085), wife of
William de Warenne (c. 1055 – 1088), was formerly thought of as being yet another of Matilda's daughters, with speculation that she was William I's full daughter, a stepdaughter, or even a foundling or adopted daughter. However, this connection to William I has now been firmly debunked.
▪ Matilda was a seventh generation direct descendent of
Alfred the Great. Her marriage to William strengthened his claim to the throne. All sovereigns of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom have been descended from her, as is the present Queen
Elizabeth II.