TimeRef - Medieval and Middle Ages History Timelines for kids and adults

You are here : People » Rulers of England » Matilda (Daughter of Henry I)

Search/Year:

Details
Family Tree
Timeline

Born

1102

Born At

Died

1167

Buried At

Royal House

Arranged Marriages

atilda was the daughter of Henry I, King of England and was to become the mother of Henry II, King of England. Matilda is also known by the name Maud. At the age of eight Matilda was married to Emperor Henry V of Germany, but he died in 1125 and Matilda was brought back to England by her father Henry. Henry then arranged the marriage of Matilda to Geoffrey Plantagenet, the fourteen year old heir of Anjou and Maine. Matilda and Geoffrey were married in 1128.

The Disaster of the White Ship

In 1120 Matilda's elder brother William Adelin and heir to the English throne died returning from Normandy when his ship, called the White Ship, hit rocks and sank. As Henry I had no other children, Matilda was declared heir to the English throne. Henry made the Barons swear allegiance to Matilda and made them swear that they should crown her as Queen upon his death. One of these barons was Stephen of Blois, Henry's nephew.

Stephen becomes King of England

When Henry died in December of 1135 Stephen saw his chance to take the English throne for himself and came to England to take control. Stephen was supported by many of the English Barons who did not want a woman to rule their country and also by his brother the Bishop of Winchester. Back in Normandy, Matilda and Geoffrey were planning to take back the throne that should have been theirs.

Civil War

The civil war between Stephen and Matilda began in 1136 when Matilda's half brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester, rebelled against Stephen. Matilda arrived in England in 1139 and after a series of battles Stephen was captured in 1141 at the Battle of Lincoln.

Matilda fails to become Queen of England

After the success at Lincoln Matilda was temporarily elected Queen, but as she entered London for her coronation angry Londoners opposed to her mistreatment of them ran her out of the city. At this point Stephen's wife arrived from France with an army and at Winchester captured the Earl of Gloucester. Matilda managed to escape to the south-west of the country where she had more support. Stephen's imprisonment was ended when he was exchanged for the Earl of Gloucester.

Matilda leaves England

In 1147 the Earl died and Matilda, now without her chief supporter, left England for Normandy. Back in Normandy she planned her son's attempts to win back the English throne. Her son was to become Henry II, King of England.

Options

	Time Span
	Give your Feedback
	Feedback Results

See Also - Other

Family Tree Details

Father:	Plantagenet, Henry (I, King of England 1100-1135) (b.1068 - d.1135)
Mother:	Matilda Edith (of Scotland)

Matilda (Daughter of Henry I) (b.1102 - d.1167)
         +Geoffrey (Plantagenet, 'The Fair', Count of Anjou) ( - d.1151)
         |        =Henry (II, King of England 1154-1189) (b.1133 - d.1189)
         |        |        +Eleanor (of Aquitaine) (b.1122 - d.1204)
         |        |        |        =William (b.1153 - d.1156)
         |        |        |        =Henry ('the Young King') (b.1155 - d.1183)
         |        |        |        |        +Margaret (Young Queen of England) (b.1158 - d.1197)
         |        |        |        =Matilda (b.1156 - d.1189)
         |        |        |        |        +Henry (Duke of Saxony)
         |        |        |        |                 =Otto (IV, Roman Emperor) (b.1182 - d.1218)
         |        |        |        =Richard (I, King of England 1189-1199) (b.1157 - d.1199)
         |        |        |        |        +Berengaria (of Navarre, Queen of England)
         |        |        |        =Geoffrey (b.1158 - d.1186)
         |        |        |        |        +Constance (of Brittany)
         |        |        |        |                 =Arthur (of Brittany) (b.1187 - d.1204)
         |        |        |        |                 =Eleanor (Grand-daughter of Henry II) ( - d.1241)
         |        |        |        =Eleanor (of England) (b.1162 - d.1214)
         |        |        |        |        +Alfonso (King of Castile)
         |        |        |        |                 =Blanche (of Castile) (b.1188 - d.1252)
         |        |        |        |                          +Louis (VIII, The Lion, King of France 1223-1226)
         |        |        |        |                                   =LOUIS (IX, King of France, St. Louis) ( - d.1270)
         |        |        |        =Joan (of England, Queen of Sicily) (b.1165 - d.1199)
         |        |        |        |        +William (II, King of Sicily)
         |        |        |        |        +Raymond (VI, Count of Toulouse)
         |        |        |        |                 =Raymond (VII, Count of Toulouse)
         |        |        |        =JOHN (King of England 1199-1216) (b.1167 - d.1216)
         |        |        |                 +Isabella of Gloucester ( - d.1217)
         |        |        |                 +Isabella (of Angouleme)
         |        |        |                          =HENRY (III, King of England 1216-1272) (b.1207 - d.1272)
         |        |        |                          |        +Eleanor (of Provence)
         |        |        |                          |                 =EDWARD (I, King of England 1272-1307) (b.1239 - d.1307)
         |        |        |                          |                 =Edmund (Earl of Lancaster) ( - d.1296)
         |        |        |                          |                 =Margaret ( - d.1275)
         |        |        |                          |                 =Beatrice ( - d.1275)
         |        |        |                          =Richard (Earl of Cornwall) (b.1209 - d.1272)
         |        |        |                          =Joan (Daughter of King John) (b.1210 - d.1238)
         |        |        |                          |        +Alexander (II, King of Scotland 1198-1249) (b.1198 - d.1249)
         |        |        |                          =Isabelle (b.1214 - d.1241)
         |        |        |                          =Eleanor (Daughter of King John) (b.1215 - d.1275)
         |        |        |                                   +Marshal, William (the younger)
         |        |        |                                   +Montfort, Simon de ( - d.1265)
         |        |        |                                            =Montfort, Henry de ( - d.1265)
         |        |        +Illegitimate
         |        |                 =Plantagenet, Geoffrey (Archbishop of York)
         |        |                 =Longsword, William
         |        =Geoffrey (VI of Anjou)
         |        =William (Count of Paitin) (b.1136 - d.1164)
         +Henry (V of Germany)

Please note that this area should be showing an interactive timeline. This area will not show if you are currently on the btinternet version of TimeRef or you are running an older version of your web browser. The timeline viewer has been tested on IE9 and the latest versions of Firefox and Chrome.

Mini Timeline

1114	Jan	Matilda marries an Emperor
		Matilda, the daughter of Henry I is married to Emperor Henry V.
1128		Matilda marries Geoffrey Plantagenet
		Henry I arranged a marriage between his daughter Matilda and the son of Fulk V of Anjou, Geoffrey Plantagenet. He had previously arranged a marriage between his son William Adelin to Fulk's daughter also called Matilda, but William had died when the 'White Ship' sank returning the Prince from Normandy.
1138		Start of Civil War
		Robert, the Earl of Gloucester and half brother to Matilda (daughter of Henry I) rebels against King Stephen, supporting Matilda's claim to the throne of England.
		Arundel Castle siege
		Matilda was given refuge by William de Albini at Arundel Castle. Stephen built siege works around the castle in response.¹
		Ludlow castle siege
		Ludlow Castle was captured on behalf of Matilda in 1138 and King Stephen besieged the castle in an attempt to regain it. During the siege the King bravely saved Prince Henry of Scotland from being injured by a grappling hook thrown from the castle.²
	May	Robert sides with Matilda
		Robert, the Earl of Gloucester announces that he will assist Matilda, his step-sister in her claim for the English throne.³
1139		Matilda arrives in England
		Matilda arrives in England to further her attempts to take the throne from king Stephen.
		Leeds Castle siege
		King Stephen besieged Leeds Castle which was being held against him by supporters of Matilda. The castle fell to the King and he took control of it.⁴
1140	Dec	Stephen besieges Lincoln
		Lincoln, held by Matilda's supporters, was besieged by King Stephen. The siege would continue until February the next year.⁴
1141	Feb 2	Battle of Lincoln
		Matilda's forces defeated and captured King Stephen at the battle of Lincoln. Stephen was held captive until September when Matilda's forces were defeated at Winchester.
	Apr	Matilda is elected Queen
		After Stephen had been captured at Lincoln, Matilda was elected as Queen of England at Winchester. Her new position as ruler of England was not to last for long
	Jun	Matilda enters London
		Matilda and her supporters entered London for her coronation. Her supporters included David I, king of the Scots. Geoffrey de Mandeville who controlled the Tower of London, abandoned his king as he saw Matilda had the upper hand. He joined her side and offered her the Tower of London. He did this to ensure he kept the Earldom of Essex which made him one of the most powerful barons of the time.
	Sep 14	Rout of Winchester
		Matilda's forces were besieging a royalist held castle at Wolvesey near Winchester and were attacked and defeated by a royalist relief army. King Stephen who was being held captive at the time was exchanged for Robert, earl of Gloucester one of Matilda's supporters who was captured in the defeat.
1142		Mandeville and Matilda
		Secret negotiations between Matilda and Mandeville take place.⁵
	Oct	Oxford siege and Matilda's escape
		Oxford was besieged by King Stephen trapping Matilda inside the city. But just before Christmas Matilda managed to escape across the snow and ice of the frozen Thames dressed in white so that she would not be seen. Matilda escaped to Wallingford Castle and Oxford fell to the King.⁴
1144		Geoffrey Plantagenet captures Normandy
		After several years of conflict between the Angevins and the Barons of Normandy Geoffrey Plantagenet, count of Anjou, captured Rouen and took control of the whole of the duchy of Normandy. Geoffrey also took the title of Duke of Normandy.⁴
1145		Stephen takes Farringdon Castle
		King Stephen captures the castle at Farringdon from Matilda.
1147	Oct 31	Robert, Earl of Gloucester dies
		The death of Robert was a blow to Matilda's attempts to fight for the English throne. Matilda was to leave England shortly afterwards.
1148	Feb	Matilda leaves England
		Without the support of the Earl of Gloucester, who died the previous year, Matilda left England for Normandy.