Matilda

DEATH OF MATILDA OF SCOTLAND~1st MAY 1118

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Matilda was the first wife and queen consort of King Henry I of England.

Matilda was born in 1080, in Dunfermline, on the east coast of Scotland, the daughter of King Malcolm III and the future Saint, English Princess, Margaret.

From the age of 6, Matilda and her younger sister Mary, were raised under the protection of their aunt Cristina, a nun in the convent at Romsey, England, and later at Wilton.

Matilda had blond hair and blue eyes, and was said to be very beautiful.

Matilda was much sought-after as a bride.

After the death of king William II of England in August 1100, Henry I quickly seized the royal treasury, and the crown.

His next task was to marry, and his choice fell on Matilda.

Because she had spent most of her life in a nunnery, there was some controversy over whether or not she had taken vows as a nun, and thus be ineligible for Marriage.

Henry sought permission for the marriage, from the Bishops of Canterbury.

Matilda testified to the assembled bishops that she had never taken vows as a nun.

She insisted that her parents had sent her and her sister, to England for educational purposes, and that her aunt Cristina had veiled her, to protect her "from the lust of the Normans."

Matilda claimed at one point she had even pulled the veil off and stamped on it, and her aunt beat and scolded her most horribly for this.

The council concluded that Matilda had never been a nun, nor had her parents intended that she become one, and gave their permission for the marriage.

Through her mother, Matilda was descended from king Edmund Ironside, and thus from Alfred the Great.

She was also a great-niece of Edward the Confessor, and the old line of the kings of Wessex.

The marriage represented a union between the new Norman rulers of England, and the old Anglo-Saxon dynasty.

Three of Matilda's brothers served as kings of Scotland at different times, and were known to be unusually friendly to England.

Matilda and Henry were married on 11th November 1100 at Westminster Abbey.

A well-educated woman, Matilda brought both religious and cultural improvements to the court, and acted as vice-regent when her husband Henry was away from England.

Her court was filled with musicians and poets, and like her mother, she was renowned for her devotion to religion, and the poor.

She was described as attending church barefoot at Lent, washing the feet and kissing the hands of the sick.

She was a patron of the arts, especially music.

Matilda gave birth to four children.

The two who survived, one was a daughter, also named Matilda, and a son William Adelin, The Duke of Normandy.

William would go on to die in the White Ship tragedy, of 25th November 1120.

Henry I took numerous mistresses, which resulted in around 22 illegitimate siblings, for the two royal children.

Her daughter Matilda, married Holy Roman Emperor, Henry V, and at the age of 12, she became Empress Maud.

Empress Maud was ultimately named as Henry I's heir, but she was unable to hold the throne, during the English civil unrest.

From Queen Matilda's descendants, the Plantagenet royal line was established when her grandson, Henry II, became king of England.

Matilda died, aged 37/38 on 1st May 1118, at Westminster Palace, which her husband, Henry had built for her.

She was buried at Westminster Abbey, near to her great-uncle, Edward the Confessor .

The inscription on her tomb reads:

"Here lies the renowned queen Matilda the second, excelling both

young and old of her day.

She was for everyone the benchmark of morals and the ornament

of life".

Matilda was not only an able queen, and occasionally vice-regent of England, but also a pious woman who cared for the less fortunate of her realm.

After her death, she was remembered by her subjects as "Matilda the Good Queen" and "Matilda of Blessed Memory."

For a time, sainthood was sought for her, although she was never canonized.

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https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/.../Matilda_of_Scotland

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