Kevin Patrick Mostyn Family - Person Sheet
Kevin Patrick Mostyn Family - Person Sheet
NameMatilda Of Flanders Queen Of England, 27G Grandmother
FatherBaldwin V 'the Pious' 7th Count Of Flanders (~1012-1067)
MotherAdela CAPET Princess Of France (1009-1079)
Spouses
1William 'the Conqueror' King Of England, 27G Grandfather
FatherRobert 'the Devil' 6th Duke Of Normandy (~999-1035)
MotherHerleve Of Falaise (~1003-~1050)
ChildrenWilliam II 'Rufus' (~1056-1100)
Adela Of Normandy (~1062-1138)
Henry I 'Beauclerc' (~1068-1135)
Web Notes notes for Matilda Of Flanders Queen Of England
From "Debrett's Kings and Queens of Britain" by David Williamson, ISBN 0-86350-101-X, p. 43-6:
In 1053 William made an advantageous marriage with Matilda, the daughter of his neighbor, Count Baldwin of Flanders. There was some ecclesiastical objection to the marriage which has never been satisfactorily unravelled and it was not until 1059 that the Pope gave his approval. The couple expiated their 'sin' by founding 2 abbeys - the Abbaye-aux-Hommes (St Stephen's) and the Abbaye-aux-Dames (Holy Trinity) - at Caen. William and Matilda became devoted to each other and, in an age when marital infidelity was the norm, we hear of no mistresses. William's marriage may well have been partly motivated by his growing ambition to gain the throne of England, for Matilda was a direct descendant of Alfred the Great.
Crowned Queen of England at Winchester Cathedral 11 May 1068
She was a lady of diminutive stature whose early life is surrounded by mystery. When William the Conqueror first sought her hand, she is said to have rejected him with the crushing retort that she would not have a bastard for her husband. In retaliation William burst into her apartment in her father's castle at Lille and, dragging her across the room by her hair, gave her a sound beating. His daring on this occasion so impressed her that she at once changed her mind and accepted his hand.
There were strong papal objections to the marriage, for unclear reasons. There are some indications that Matilda was not free to marry because she had already been betrothed to Brihtric Meaw, a young Saxon nobleman who visited her father's court as an emissary of Edward the Confessor. There is also the possibility that she had compromised herself with a Flemish commoner named Gherbod and given birth to 2 children - Gherbod, who later received the Earldom of Chester, and Gundred, who married William de Warrenne, Earl of Surrey. This has been the subject of controversy over several centuries.
Married to William at last in 1053 and with dispensation finally granted by Pope Nicholas II in 1059, Matilda became an exemplary wife and mother.
She was a woman of great capability and William had no hesitation in leaving her in charge as regent of Normandy during his absences in England. William first returned to Normandy after the conquest in Mar 1067 and remained until early December. It was during the last days of his stay that the future Henry I must have been conceived. Matilda, although pregnant, left Normandy to join him in England in the spring of 1068 and was crowned at Winchester on Whitsunday. Her coronation banquet is said to have been the first at which the King's Champion made his appearance to challenge any who might dispute the King's right to the throne. He was a Marmion, one of William's Norman followers, and the office became hereditary in his descendants, the Lords of Scrivelsby. It passed by marriage to the Dymokes, who still possess the proud title, although the full exercise of the office ceased with the coronation banquet of King George IV.
Matilda accompanied William to the north of England and gave birth to Henry at Selby, probably in Sep 1068. She remained in England until the following year when she returned to Normandy for good and busied herself with the affairs of the duchy and her religious foundations at Caen and Rouen.
In 1083 Matilda, aged about 52, fell ill, and William hastened from England to be at her side. She died at Caen on 2 Nov 1083 and was buried there in her foundation of the Holy Trinity. Her magnificent tomb was desecrated by the Calvinists in 1562 and later restored in simpler fashion only to be destroyed again during the French Revolution.
Weis' "Ancestral Roots. . ." (121:23), (162:23), (169:23). An interesting story is told in Cokayne's "Complete Peerage" (Gloucester). According to the Tewkesbury Abbey Chronicle, Brictric, son of Algar, otherwise known as Brictric Mawr, a great thegn of the time of Edward the Confessor, held, with Tewkesbury, various lordships in Worcester, Gloucester, Somerset, and other counties. Maud [Matilda], afterwards wife of WILLIAM THE CONQUERER, in her youth wished to marry Brictric, who refused her. When she became Queen, she imprisoned him, and on his death shortly afterwards his manors, the (later) honour of Gloucester, were given to her.
In 1053 William made an advantageous marriage with Matilda, the daughter of his neighbor, Count Baldwin of Flanders. There was some ecclesiastical objection to the marriage which has never been satisfactorily unravelled and it was not until 1059 that the Pope gave his approval. The couple expiated their 'sin' by founding 2 abbeys - the Abbaye-aux-Hommes (St Stephen's) and the Abbaye-aux-Dames (Holy Trinity) - at Caen. William and Matilda became devoted to each other and, in an age when marital infidelity was the norm, we hear of no mistresses. William's marriage may well have been partly motivated by his growing ambition to gain the throne of England, for Matilda was a direct descendant of Alfred the Great.
Crowned Queen of England at Winchester Cathedral 11 May 1068
She was a lady of diminutive stature whose early life is surrounded by mystery. When William the Conqueror first sought her hand, she is said to have rejected him with the crushing retort that she would not have a bastard for her husband. In retaliation William burst into her apartment in her father's castle at Lille and, dragging her across the room by her hair, gave her a sound beating. His daring on this occasion so impressed her that she at once changed her mind and accepted his hand.
There were strong papal objections to the marriage, for unclear reasons. There are some indications that Matilda was not free to marry because she had already been betrothed to Brihtric Meaw, a young Saxon nobleman who visited her father's court as an emissary of Edward the Confessor. There is also the possibility that she had compromised herself with a Flemish commoner named Gherbod and given birth to 2 children - Gherbod, who later received the Earldom of Chester, and Gundred, who married William de Warrenne, Earl of Surrey. This has been the subject of controversy over several centuries.
Married to William at last in 1053 and with dispensation finally granted by Pope Nicholas II in 1059, Matilda became an exemplary wife and mother.
She was a woman of great capability and William had no hesitation in leaving her in charge as regent of Normandy during his absences in England. William first returned to Normandy after the conquest in Mar 1067 and remained until early December. It was during the last days of his stay that the future Henry I must have been conceived. Matilda, although pregnant, left Normandy to join him in England in the spring of 1068 and was crowned at Winchester on Whitsunday. Her coronation banquet is said to have been the first at which the King's Champion made his appearance to challenge any who might dispute the King's right to the throne. He was a Marmion, one of William's Norman followers, and the office became hereditary in his descendants, the Lords of Scrivelsby. It passed by marriage to the Dymokes, who still possess the proud title, although the full exercise of the office ceased with the coronation banquet of King George IV.
Matilda accompanied William to the north of England and gave birth to Henry at Selby, probably in Sep 1068. She remained in England until the following year when she returned to Normandy for good and busied herself with the affairs of the duchy and her religious foundations at Caen and Rouen.
In 1083 Matilda, aged about 52, fell ill, and William hastened from England to be at her side. She died at Caen on 2 Nov 1083 and was buried there in her foundation of the Holy Trinity. Her magnificent tomb was desecrated by the Calvinists in 1562 and later restored in simpler fashion only to be destroyed again during the French Revolution.
Weis' "Ancestral Roots. . ." (121:23), (162:23), (169:23). An interesting story is told in Cokayne's "Complete Peerage" (Gloucester). According to the Tewkesbury Abbey Chronicle, Brictric, son of Algar, otherwise known as Brictric Mawr, a great thegn of the time of Edward the Confessor, held, with Tewkesbury, various lordships in Worcester, Gloucester, Somerset, and other counties. Maud [Matilda], afterwards wife of WILLIAM THE CONQUERER, in her youth wished to marry Brictric, who refused her. When she became Queen, she imprisoned him, and on his death shortly afterwards his manors, the (later) honour of Gloucester, were given to her.