Matilda of Flanders confounded the traditional views of women in Medieval society and she influenced the history of both England and France. Born about 1031 she was descended from Charlemagne and was niece of the current King of France. She was married to William, Duke of Normandy, later known as William the Conqueror, William I of England but is remembered in her own right.
She was Queen of England from 1068 and was occasionally William's regent. Many revere her as the artist of the Bayeux tapestry but scholars now doubt that she was directly involved. Nevertheless, she achieved a lot in her lifetime.
William of Normandy proposed marriage to Matilda of Flanders in 1053, and, according to legend, she first refused his proposal. He is then supposed to have pursued her and thrown her on the ground by her braids. Despite her father's objections after that insult, Matilda, stubbornly independent, then accepted the proposal. But there were still obstacles in the way of the marriage - at first Pope Leo IX refused permission claiming that the couple were too closely related. Permission was finally granted in 1051 after Matilda agreed to pay for the building of the Holy Trinity for nuns at Caen.
When William was preparing to invade England, Matilda outfitted a ship from her own money and gave it to him. But after William conquered England and became its king, it took her more than a year to visit her new kingdom. Matilda was crowned queen in Winchester Cathedral in 1068, taking the formal title for the first time of "Regina". Her ancestry added some credibility to William's claim to the throne, as she could trace her history back to Alfred the Great. William realised that he couldn't rule England by the sword alone and, to win the hearts and minds of his new subjects, he gave his wife a prominent role. The English were said to be fortunate to be ruled by the ability and wisdom of the queen and during William's frequent absences, she served as regent although she did spend most of her life in France. That England wasn't entirely consumed by violence is tribute to Matilda's great diplomatic skills.
In 1077, Matilda secretly sent money to support her eldest son, Robert Curthose, when he suggested that he should become the ruler of Normandy and Maine. When William refused, Robert rebelled and attempted to seize Rouen. When the rebellion failed Robert was forced to flee and William denounced her a s a "faithless wife" but she eventually managed to persuade the two men to end their feud.
After Matilda and William separated, she spent her last years in Normandy, at l'Abbaye aux Dames in Caen -- the same abbey she had built as penance for her marriage. When she died after a long illness in Normandy on 3rd November 1083, Matilda of Flanders was buried in her church in Caen. William commissioned an exquisite monument "wonderfully worked with gold and precious stones" and is said to have given up hunting to express his grief. Without her he became increasingly tyrranical.
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