The Empress Matilda
Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English
The life of Henry I's daughter, who fought her cousin Stephen for the English throne and was never crowned.
Henry I’s daughter was married to the Holy Roman Emperor at twelve, widowed, remarried to the Count of Anjou, and named her father’s heir, then fought her cousin Stephen for nearly twenty years without ever being crowned. Chibnall’s biography is the standard scholarly life, built from the chroniclers because almost nothing personal survives.
Recommended by 1 Person
Helen Castor
What we don’t have is anything personal that comes directly from her, other than the most formal and legal documents. But in the 12th century there were extraordinary chroniclers – so you do get a powerful sense of Matilda as a formidable woman. She left England at the age of eight to marry Henry V, the Holy Roman Emperor, and was brought up in Germany as the consort of this most powerful king.
Interview · August 2011
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