Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony
Encyclopedia
Matilda of England was the eldest daughter of Henry II of England
and Eleanor of Aquitaine
. Through her marriage with Henry the Lion
, she was Duchess of Saxony and later of Bavaria.
and Alix of France
. She was a younger sister of William IX, 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. She was named after her paternal grandmother.
, 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 1 February 1168 at Minden
Cathedral. They had four sons and one daughter:
Three other children are listed, by some sources, as having belonged to Henry and Matilda;
At the time of their marriage, Henry the Lion was one of the most powerful allies of Frederick 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 Troubadour
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 allowed to return to Saxony. Early in 1189 the Emperor again ordered Henry the Lion to go into exile. This time Matilda remained at Brunswick to defend the interests of her husband but died just three months later.
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Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
and Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...
. Through her marriage with Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion was a member of the Welf dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
, she was Duchess of Saxony and later of Bavaria.
Early life
Matilda was a younger maternal half-sister of Marie de ChampagneMarie de Champagne
Marie of France , Countess of Champagne was the elder daughter of Louis VII of France and his first wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.- Family :Marie's younger sister was Alix of France....
and Alix of France
Alix of France
Alix of France was the second daughter born to King Louis VII of France and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine.- Childhood :...
. She was a younger sister of William IX, Count of Poitiers and Henry the Young King
Henry the Young King
Henry, known as the Young King was the second of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine but the first to survive infancy. He was officially King of England; Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Maine.-Early life:Little is known of the young prince Henry before the events...
. She was also an older sister of Richard I of England
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond was Duke of Brittany between 1181 and 1186, through his marriage with the heiress Constance. Geoffrey was the fourth son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine.-Family:He was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de...
, Leonora of Aquitaine, Joan of England and John of England
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
. Matilda seems to have spent much of her early life in the company of her mother, Queen Eleanor. She was named after her paternal grandmother.
Marriage
In 1165 Rainald of DasselRainald of Dassel
Rainald of Dassel was archbishop of Cologne from 1159 to 1167 and archchancellor of Italy. He was preceded as archbishop by Friedrich II of Berg and succeeded by Philip I von Heinsberg....
, Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, arrived at the court of King Henry II at Rouen, to negotiate a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
match for Matilda. There was conflict during the negotiations, however, when Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester was Justiciar of England 1155–1168.The surname "de Beaumont" is given him by genealogists. The only known contemporary surname applied to him is "Robert son of Count Robert"...
refused to greet the archbishop, alleging him to be a schismatic and a supporter of the anti-pope, Victor IV
Antipope Victor IV (1159-1164)
Victor IV , born Octavian or Octavianus: Ottaviano dei Crescenzi Ottaviani di Monticelli, was the cardinal priest of Santa Cecilia before he was elected as a Ghibelline antipope in 1159, following the death of Pope Adrian IV and the election of Alexander III...
. The original plan to match a daughter of Henry II with a son of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
, was abandoned, and instead Matilda left England in September 1167 to marry Henry the Lion.
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion was a member of the Welf dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
, Duke of Saxony
Rulers of Saxony
This article lists Dukes, Electors, and Kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 9th century to the end of the Saxon Kingdom in 1918.-Dukes of Saxony:...
and Bavaria, on 1 February 1168 at Minden
Minden
Minden is a town of about 83,000 inhabitants in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town extends along both sides of the river Weser. It is the capital of the Kreis of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detmold. Minden is the historic political centre of the...
Cathedral. They had four sons and one daughter:
- Richenza (English chroniclers call her Matilda) (1172–1209/10), married Geoffrey III Count of Perche and Enguerrand III, Lord of CoucyEnguerrand III, Lord of CoucyEnguerrand III, Lord of Coucy was the eldest son and successor of Ralph I, Lord of Coucy. He succeeded as Lord of Coucy in 1191, and held it until his death; he was also lord of Marle and Boves....
- Henry V, Count Palatine of the RhineHenry V, Count Palatine of the RhineHenry was count palatine of the Rhine from 6 August 1195 to 1213.Henry was the eldest son of Duke Henry the Lion, from his marriage to Matilda, eldest daughter of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He grew up in England and became count palatine of the Rhine through his 1193...
(1173/1174 – 28 April 1227) - LotharLotharLothar is a modern form of the Old High German name Clotaire or Lothair. Notable people with the surname include:* Ernst Lothar, German writer* Mark Lothar , German composer* Rudolf Lothar , German writer...
(1174/1175 – 16 October 1190). - Otto IV, Holy Roman EmperorOtto IV, Holy Roman EmperorOtto IV of Brunswick was one of two rival kings of the Holy Roman Empire from 1198 on, sole king from 1208 on, and emperor from 1209 on. The only king of the Welf dynasty, he incurred the wrath of Pope Innocent III and was excommunicated in 1215.-Early life:Otto was the third son of Henry the...
and Duke of SwabiaSwabiaSwabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
(1175/1176 – 19 May 1218). - William, Duke of LüneburgLüneburgLüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...
(11 April 1184 – 12 December 1213).
Three other children are listed, by some sources, as having belonged to Henry and Matilda;
- Eleanor (born 1178); died young
- Ingibiorg (born 1180); died young
- Son (stillbornStillbirthA stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. The Australian definition specifies that fetal death is termed a stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation or the fetus weighs more than . Once the fetus has died the mother still has contractions and remains undelivered. The term is often used in...
1182)
Regency and exile
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
. 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
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
, and Henry and Matilda were forced to flee Germany and take refuge in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
at her father's court in 1182. During this time at the royal court at Argentan
Argentan
Argentan is a commune, and the seat of two cantons and of an arrondissement in the Orne department in north-western France.Argentan is located NE of Rennes, ENE of the Mont Saint-Michel, SE of Cherbourg, SSE of Caen, SW of Rouen and N of Le Mans....
, Matilda became acquainted with the Troubadour
Troubadour
A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....
Bertran de Born
Bertran de Born
Bertran de Born was a baron from the Limousin in France, and one of the major Occitan troubadours of the twelfth century.-Life and works:...
, 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 allowed to return to Saxony. Early in 1189 the Emperor again ordered Henry the Lion to go into exile. This time Matilda remained at Brunswick to defend the interests of her husband but died just three months later.
Ancestry
External links
- Betran de Born, Casutz sui de mal en pena
- Bertran de Born, Ges de disnar non for'oimais maitis
Sources
- Ralph of Diceto
- Robert of Torigny
- Wheeler, Bonnie. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady, 2002
- Diggelmann, Lindsay. Exile and the Poetic Standpoint of the Troubadour Bertran de Born, 2005
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