Matilda of England

I take a leap back in history today and land some hundred years back in the family tree. I needed a boost today and reading about fascinating ancestors does it for me. Matilda was born in 1156 and was the daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. If I say that she was the older sister of Richard the Lionheart I think you can pinpoint her more easily in history.

Matilda left England in 1167 to marry Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, (at the age of eleven!!!). They had four sons and one daughter. The most noted of them is Otto who became Holy Roman Emperor. I can't remember which of the children is "mine" so to speak. I have to check.

Matilda's husband, Henry the Lion, was a close ally to Fredrik I, Holy Roman Emperor, and assisted the Emperor in his wars in the holy land from 1172 to 1173. In her husband's absence Matilda governed the realm and quite successfully. Loyalities and trust are fleeting and in 1174 Henry was in conflict with the Emperor and Matilda and Henry had to flee to her father's court. They were allowed back to Saxony in 1185. In 1189 Henry was yet again ordered into exile. Matilda stayed at Brunswick to defend her husband's interests but she died three months later.

//P.

Empress Maude

Empress Maude

If you go back in history you see the marks made by men. Women were meant to be silent and bear children. Therefore are the women who made into the pages of history books the more remarkable.

A queen or an empress was to be a thing to look up to and to emulate. They set the fashion for the rest of the court. Laden in the finest of fabrics and the best of the jewelry they were an ornament with one sole responsibility, to produce an heir.

Some of these queens ruled behind the scenes, fought to keep the power for their children and ruled by themselves. The woman on the picture above was Empress Maude or as she is also known, Matilda born in 1102.

She was the daughter of Henry I of England and Matilda of Scotland. At the age of seven she was engaged to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, and when she was eight she was sent to Germany. They married when she was twelve. The Emperor died eleven years later and then Maude was married to Geoffrey of Anjou.

Maude was next in line to the throne but had to fight with her cousin, Stephen of Blois for the power. There was a civil war in England with much unrest. For a few months in 1141 Maude was the first female ruler over England but she was never crowned.

Stephen was king of England for a few years. The throne then went to Maude's son who became Henry II and in 1157 she became grandmother to Richard, who became Richard the Lionheart. Maude died in 1167.

And 805 years later one of her offsprings was born - Me.

//P.