Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony

Matilda of England
Duchess of Saxony and of Bavaria
Tenure	1168–1180
Born	January 6, 1156 Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England
Died	28 June 1189 (aged 33) Brunswick, Lower Saxony
Burial	Brunswick Cathedral, Lower Saxony
Spouse	Henry the Lion
Issue Detail	Matilda, Countess of Perche and Coucy Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine Lothar of Bavaria Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Swabia William of Winchester, Lord of Lunenburg
House	Plantagenet / Angevin[nb 1]
Father	Henry II of England
Mother	Eleanor of Aquitaine

Matilda of England (also called Maud; January 6, 1156 – 28 June 1189) was the eldest daughter of Henry II, King of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Through her marriage with Henry the Lion, she was Duchess of Saxony and of Bavaria.

Marriage

In 1165 Rainald of Dassel, Archbishop of Cologne, arrived at the court of King Henry II at Rouen, to negotiate a German match for Matilda. There was conflict during the negotiations, however, when Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester refused to greet the archbishop, alleging him to be a schismatic and a supporter of the anti-pope, Victor IV. The original plan to match a daughter of Henry II with a son of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, was abandoned, and instead Matilda left England in September 1167 to marry Henry the Lion.

Coronation of Henry the Lion and Matilda, from an idealized portrait on their tomb.

She married Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, on 1 February 1168 at Minden Cathedral. They had four sons and one daughter:

• Matilda (or Richenza) of Saxony (1172–1209/10), married Geoffrey III Count of Perche (see counts of Perche) and Enguerrand III, Lord of Coucy
• Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (1173/1174 – 28 April 1227)
• Lothar (1174/1175 – 16 October 1190).
• Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Duke of Swabia (1175/1176 – 19 May 1218).
• William, Duke of Lüneburg (11 April 1184 – 12 December 1213).

Three other children are listed, by some sources, as having belonged to Henry and Matilda:

• Eleanor (born 1178); died young
• Ingibiorg (born 1180); died young
• Son (stillborn 1182)

Regency and exile

At the time of their marriage, Henry the Lion was one of the most powerful allies of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor. Matilda governed her husband's vast estates during his absence in the Holy Land from 1172 to 1173. In 1174, Henry the Lion became involved in a conflict with the Emperor Frederick, and Henry and Matilda were forced to flee Germany and take refuge in Normandy at her father's court in 1182. During this time at the royal court at Argentan, Matilda became acquainted with the Troubadour Bertran de Born, who, calling her "Elena" or "Lana", made her the object of his desire in two of his poems of "courtly love".

Matilda, her husband, and their family remained in Normandy under the protection and support of King Henry until 1185, when they were allowed to return to Saxony. Early in 1189 the Emperor again ordered Henry the Lion to go into exile. This time Matilda remained at Brunswick to defend the interests of her husband but died just three months later.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony

16. Fulk IV, Count of Anjou               8. Fulk of Jerusalem                       17. Bertrade de Montfort               4. Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou                             18. Elias I, Count of Maine               9. Ermengarde of Maine                       19. Matilda of Chateau-du-Loire               2. Henry II of England                                   20. William I of England               10. Henry I of England                       21. Matilda of Flanders               5. Matilda of England                             22. Malcolm III of Scotland               11. Matilda of Scotland                       23. Margaret of England               1. Matilda of Saxony                                         24. William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine               12. William IX, Duke of Aquitaine                       25. Hildegarde of Burgundy               6. William X, Duke of Aquitaine                             26. William IV, Count of Toulouse               13. Philippa of Toulouse                       27. Emma of Mortain               3. Eleanor of Aquitaine                                   28. Boson II de Châtellérault, Viscount of Châtellérault               14. Aimery I, Viscount of Châtellerault                       29. Aenora of Thouars               7. Aenor de Châtellerault                             30. Bartelmy de l'Isle-Bouchaard               15. Dangereuse de L' Isle Bouchard                       31. Gerberge de Blaison

Sources

• Ralph of Diceto
• Robert of Torigny
• Wheeler, Bonnie. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady, 2002
• Diggelmann, Lindsay. Exile and the Poetic Standpoint of the Troubadour Bertran de Born, 2005

External links

• Betran de Born, Casutz sui de mal en pena
• Bertran de Born, Ges de disnar non for'oimais maitis

Notes

1. Historians are divided in their use of the terms "Plantagenet" and "Angevin" in regards to Henry II and his sons. Some class Henry II to be the first Plantagenet King of England; others refer to Henry, Richard and John as the Angevin dynasty, and consider Henry III to be the first Plantagenet ruler.