Matilda (redirected from Matildas)

Matilda, queen of England

Matilda or Maud, 1102–67, queen of England, daughter of Henry I of England. Henry arranged a marriage for her with Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, and she was sent to Germany, betrothed, and five years later (1114) married to him. Empress Matilda was popular in Germany and seemed more German than English, but after her husband's death (1125) she returned to England. Since her only legitimate brother had died (1120), her father devoted himself to securing for her the succession to the English throne, and the barons did in fact recognize her as Henry's heir in 1127. In 1128 she married Geoffrey IV of Anjou, to whom she bore three sons, the eldest being the future Henry II. Both she and her marriage were unpopular in England, however, and on Henry I's death in 1135 the barons gave their support to Matilda's cousin Stephen, who seized the throne. In 1139, Matilda, aided by her half-brother Robert, earl of Gloucester, undertook to recover the throne. After the defeat and capture of Stephen in 1141, she was elected "Lady of the English"; but her arrogance alienated supporters, and the captive Stephen had to be freed in a prisoner exchange for Gloucester. Before the end of the year her forces were routed at Winchester, and the same powerful clergy who had enthroned her then deposed her and declared for Stephen. The struggle continued, but never greatly in her favor. In 1148 she withdrew; her son Henry inherited her claim to the throne and was recognized as heir in 1153. Matilda spent her remaining years in Normandy and became noted for her charity.

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Matilda, countess of Tuscany

Matilda, 1046–1115, countess of Tuscany, called the Great Countess; supporter of Pope Gregory VII in the papal conflict with the Holy Roman emperors. Ruling over Tuscany and parts of Emilia-Romagna and Umbria, she controlled the most powerful feudal state in central Italy. It was at her castle at Canossa that Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV humiliated himself before Pope Gregory VII in 1077. Soon afterward Matilda made a donation (renewed in 1102) of her lands to the Holy See; she retained them as fiefs from the papacy. Her first husband having died in 1076, she married (1089) Duke Welf V of Bavaria. After the expedition (1110–11) of Holy Roman Emperor Henry V to Italy, Matilda willed her lands to him on her death. He seized them in 1116. The dispute over the ownership of Matilda's lands played a large part in the conflicts between the popes and the emperors, particularly the Hohenstaufen. The cities of Tuscany emerged as independent communes from the struggle; the other lands left by Matilda eventually fell under papal rule.

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Matilda

 or Maud

(born 1102, London, Eng.—died Sept. 10, 1167, near Rouen, Fr.) Daughter of Henry I of England and claimant to the English throne. She married Emperor Henry V in 1114; he died in 1125, and she made a second marriage to Geoffrey Plantagenet. Her brother's death in 1120 left her as Henry I's sole legitimate heir, and Henry named her as his successor in 1127. Stephen of Blois, Henry's nephew, seized the throne on the king's death in 1135, and his army defeated Matilda's supporters in 1141. She continued her resistance and retired to Normandy in 1148. Her son became Henry II of England, and she remained his adviser and oversaw his continental possesions.

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Matilda

known as the Empress Maud. 1102--67, only daughter of Henry I of England and wife of Geoffrey of Anjou. After her father's death (1135) she unsuccessfully waged a civil war with Stephen for the English throne; her son succeeded as Henry II