Sean Mcglynn

Lady of the English

The daughter of Henry I and mother of the Plantagenet dynasty, Matilda should have been England's first ruling queen

The Empress Matilda, mother of the Plantagenet dynasty, is the earliest queen of England who never was; by rights she should have been England’s first ruling queen four centuries before Mary. But she never sat on the throne. In this authoritative but accessible biography, Catherine Hanley emphasises the fortitude and steel of a woman who, as a child, experienced all the harshness of medieval diplomatic reality, having to learn and adapt to international power politics from a very early age.

Born in 1102, she was only seven when her father, Henry I of England, arranged her betrothal to Heinrich V of Germany, 15 years her senior. The following year she was packed off abroad to complete her education and to prepare herself for her forthcoming role as empress. She married the newly crowned emperor when she was not yet 12 and lived in Heinrich’s territories of Germany and northern Italy for 16 years. It was a steep learning curve.

She was clearly a capable student: her husband’s confidence in her was such that he left her in charge of the imperial government in Italy while she was still in her mid-teens. This was a heavy responsibility: she presided over courts, pronounced judgments and negotiated with powers at the highest level. Hanley convincingly argues that Matilda performed with great skill and industriousness, easing the burden on Heinrich who had to contend with civil war and excommunication. She also accompanied her husband on campaign, picking up useful military know-how. These years seem to have been contented ones for Matilda. Her real troubles began when she was drawn back into English politics.

The death of her husband in 1125 left her without a leading role in German politics, and by 1127 she was back at her father’s court.

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