Matilda of Flanders - The Woman who was Beaten to Become a Queen

This historical documentary looks at the wife and queen of the William the Conquer, Matilda of Flanders.
Matilda, who was the mother of the Norman house for the kings of England, was allegedly beaten by William, Duke of Normandy in to becoming is wife before the Norman Conquest of England.

Matilda of Flanders is believed to have been born around 1031 in Flanders, which today is in modern day Belgium.

Her father was Baldwin V of Flanders, who was a count who kept close links with the Anglo-Saxons in England.

Her mother was Adela of France, who was the second daughter of Robert II of France with his wife, Constance or Arles.

Matilda would have two brothers, one older brother, Baldwin and another younger brother called Robert.

Both her brothers would go on to inherit her father’s title of Count of Flanders

Attempts at a betrothal between Matilda and William would initially be refused by Matilda, as she feared that William’s illegitimate status was beneath her.

She was also a third cousin of William.

There are rumours that William had beaten Matilda when she refused to marry him.

But before her father could challenge William to a duel, she changed her mind and agreed to the marriage.

She would marry William, who was four years her senior, between 1051 to 1052.

Before the Battle of Hastings in 1066, Matilda would have six children with William, including the heir to William’s throne, William Rufus born in 1054.

The children were two sons, Robert Curthouse born 1051 and Richard born in 1053.

Three daughters Adeliza born in 1055, Constance of Normandy was born somewhere between 1057 to 1061 and Cecilia born in 1066.

Robert Curthouse would go on to be the second Duke of Normandy, as first born son, his father would overlook him to inherit his crown of England in favour of his second born son, William.

The reason for this was Robert was a rebellious person, who continually tried to overthrow his father which cause great resentment between them.

In 1066, Matilda’s husband would set sail to England to claim the English throne.

Matilda would personally fund William’s ship for the journey in to battle, which was called Mora.

In return, William would grant Matilda with the powers to rule the Duchy of Normandy in his absence

He would go on to defeat the Saxon king, Harold at the Battle of Hastings to claim the English crown, being coronated at Westminster Abbey on the 25th December 1066.

Matilda did not travel to England with William to the Battle of Hastings, staying in Normandy, guiding the duchy through William’s absence as regent for the fourteen year old Robert.

It would be more than a year before Matilda would travel to England to be with her husband again.

She would arrive on English shore in 1068, where she would be coronated as queen at Westminster Abbey by the Archbishop of York on the 11th of May.

After the Battle of Hastings, Matilda would go on to have at least another two children with William.

A daughter called Adela was born around 1067.

And finally, Henry I was born around 1068.

In ten seventy, Matilda together with her husband would found the Abbaye aux Dames in Sainte-Trinité in Caen, Normandy.

Here Matilda would provide a deep education for all her daughters which included learning Latin.

During the summer of 1077 Matilda would fall ill and would never recover.

Matilda would die on 2nd November 1077.

Historians have speculated that most likely she had died from cancer.

A grief stricken William, who had grown to love Matilda deeply despite the violent start to their relationship, vowed to give up his favourite pastime of hunting.

She is buried in the Abbaye aux Dames in Sainte-Trinité which she founded in Caen with her husband.

From what first appeared a marriage made from roughing wooing, it seems that from William granting Matilda control of the duchy of Normandy whilst he was away during the Norman Conquest to his grief when Matilda died that the love and respect that William and Matilda had was very deep.

This could also be evidenced through Matilda gifting William his ship when set sailing to England in 1066.