Empress Matilda: Queen of the Romans, Ruler of the English

Matilda, Holy Roman Empress 
and claimant to the English throne 1127.
Daughter of Henry 1.
Image from the Golden Book of St Albans

 

King Henry 1

A  newly-published book by Elisabeth van Houts, described as a thoroughly researched, scholarly biography of a remarkable woman, tells a wonderfully interesting narrative of Henry 1’s only legitimate child, his daughter, Matilda, who was officially recognised as his heir at a ceremony in Normandy, when the entire Anglo-Norman nobility swore to support her claim to the English throne as England’s first queen regnant. This was a surprisingly open-minded decision given the fact that she was a woman, and that there were also at least 20 other illegitimate offspring of the notoriously sexually incontinent Henry, with perhaps equal claims to the throne.

Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor

However, once the decision had been made regarding Matilda’s future role, not of course by her but by Henry and his counsellors, she was betrothed to Henry V, the Holy Roman Emperor, in 1109 at the age of seven and sent to Triers to learn the language and customs of his people. Henry was two decades older than Matilda and as she matured, he educated her in the art of government clearly trusting her judgement when leaving her to rule in his absence as Regent; an extraordinary responsibility for one so young and a tribute to her strength of character and political acumen. He died early and unexpectedly in 1125, leaving Matilda a widow at 23. 

Geoffrey, Count of Anjou

But the royal hand of a princess could not be left long alone and her father quickly found her a suitor, Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, ten years her junior and a pessimist whose motto, “Bad today; worse tomorrow” was carved above the gate to one of his castles.  The political aim of the union was to cement peace between Normandy, Anjou and England but it was a politically unequal decision despite which, the couple managed to form the necessary effective working relationship. This clever precaution proved to be resilient when, within one month of the death of Henry 1, Stephen, one of Matilda’s cousins and a favourite of King Henry, had himself crowned King of England with the blessing of the Pope, and retaliatory action was required.                                                 

Matilda began a vigorous campaign in Normandy to secure her inheritance and demonstrated a fearless energy in achieving her goal. Two months after giving birth to her third son, she led an army to rescue her wounded husband, Geoffrey, who was described by a contemporary as "his wife's stipendiary commander," an indication of where the power in the relationship lay! True to form, it was Matilda who invaded England in 1139, supported by another half-brother, Robert, the first Earl of Gloucester. Within two years, she had captured Stephen and grown closer to her ambition of ruling as Female Lord of the English. For several months in 1141, she enjoyed all the powers of a monarch, issuing coinage, consulting her advisers and appointing loyal men to earldoms and bishoprics. But what had seemed a

Stephen, King of England 1141

fairytale ending to Matilda's story was abruptly reversed as she was preparing for her coronation when a serious  rebellion in London forced her abrupt retreat and capitulation. By the end of that year, 1141, Stephen was back on the throne. Matilda had returned to England, remaining for several more years, controlling a significant swathe of the south west but never regaining her earlier eminence and power. She consequently lived chiefly at her base in Devizes Castle, while vigorously supporting her son's claim to regal power.                                                 

King Henry 11 in 1154
formerly Henry FitzEmpress.
son of Matilda.

 Hopes  were now indeed, increasingly pinned on the next generation although the heir, her half-brother and next in line, was allegedly "more devoted to the bedchamber than to war."  Happily for the family fortunes, and probably for the stable political future of England, Matilda's son, Henry FitzEmpress, was altogether a more impressive character and when he turned 15 and announced his ambitions for the English throne, she decided to renounce her claim and return to Rouen from where she energetically supported his regal claim.  She also acted as his enforcer in Normandy, a significant region of power for the English throne and a possible base for a rival regal claim. Here, the powerful local gentry were frequently reminded that if they did not follow orders, "my mother , the Empress and Lord, will make them happen."  

 After FitzEmpress became Henry 11 of England in 1154, he implicitly acknowledged his mother's extensive political experience by consulting her on an array of problems and possible solutions. He certainly followed her advice to treat his nobles harshly so that, like hawks deprived of food, they would become more obedient. She also warned against frequent public appearances as this kept to a minimum the opportunities for subjects to present those irritating petitions with difficult problems for him to solve.  Hostile contemporary chroniclers accused Matilda of "intolerable indignation" and "insufferable arrogance"; even her friend and confidant, Nicholas of Mont-aux-Malades, described her as "a  tyrant of Norman stock" in the mould of her grandfather, William the Conqueror. At times she was called upon to display the "humble and gentle behaviour proper to a woman." a somewhat over-optimistic entreaty considering her forthright character. Perhaps her tomb epitaph best conveys the twelfth century summary of its opinion of her position: "Great by birth; greater by marriage; greatest in her offspring," though this seems to me to undersell her character and achievements.