Empress Matilda - Early Life and First Marriage

Early Life and First Marriage

Matilda was the elder of the two children born to Henry I of England and his first wife, Matilda of Scotland, who survived infancy; her younger brother and heir apparent to the throne was William Adelin. Her father had at least twenty illegitimate children, half-siblings to Matilda. Most historians believe Matilda was born in Winchester, but one, John M. Fletcher, argues for the possibility of the royal palace at Sutton (now Sutton Courtenay) in Oxfordshire. As a child her relationship with her father was probably not close, considering Henry I ventured to Normandy whilst Matilda was two years old, and the king stayed there for three years. It is likely she saw little of him upon his return either, as Matilda then commenced her education at the Abbey of Wilton, where she was educated by the nuns.

When Matilda was still in early childhood, envoys from Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, travelled to England and asked for her hand in marriage. In spring of 1110 she was sent to Germany, taking with her a large dowry, estimated at 10,000 marks in silver, to become the bride of the emperor. The couple met at Liège before travelling to Utrecht where, on 10 April, they became officially betrothed. On 25 July of the same year, she was crowned queen of the Romans in a ceremony at Mainz. As well as being a young stranger in a foreign court, she also saw most of her English retinue dismissed by the emperor, who also wished that Matilda learn to speak German. She found herself continuing her education in Germany, being taught by Archbishop Bruno of Trier. Matilda and Henry were married in June 1114. The title she then assumed is somewhat dubious; she was never crowned empress by the pope, though she was crowned in Rome by the archbishop of Braga, Maurice Bourdin, at Pentecost (13 May 1117). As Matilda later claimed to have been crowned twice, a ceremony may have taken place earlier in the year at Easter. To add further ambiguity to the title, Archbishop Bourdin was excommunicated by the pope in April 1117, before Pentecost but after Easter. However, as she was the lawfully wedded wife and anointed queen at the time of her husband's coronation by Pope Paschal in 1111, her title held some legitimacy and official records addressed her as regina Romanorum. Bourdin, following the death of Paschal in January 1118, became Antipope Gregory VIII, in opposition to Pope Gelasius II. Later, she led Norman chroniclers to believe that she had been crowned by the pope himself.

Matilda acted as her husband's regent in Italy, gaining valuable political experience. Her tenure as regent of the Italian lands of the Holy Roman Empire probably lasted from 1117 to 1119, whereupon she rejoined her husband in Lotharingia. However, in 1120, Matilda's brother drowned in the White Ship disaster. Being the only legitimate son, his death cast uncertainty over the succession to the throne. Matilda was the king's only legitimate child, but as a female, she was at a substantial political disadvantage. The closest male agnate at the time was William Clito, but instead of naming a successor, Henry turned his attention to fathering another child. Widowed from Matilda of Scotland in 1118, Henry commenced negotiations for a remarriage following Adelin's death. In 1121, he married Adeliza of Louvain, but the union failed to produce any children.

Meanwhile, the marriage of the imperial couple remained childless, and the empress's father was at the time unwilling to rest his hopes on his daughter providing an heir, assuming that she may be barren. The emperor had already produced an illegitimate daughter, so it was presumed that he was not infertile. Nonetheless, though she had failed to produce an heir for her husband, she was not blamed; instead, the couple's childlessness was regarded as God's punishment to Henry V for his mistreatment of his father. The emperor died on 23 May 1125, leaving Matilda a widow at the age of 22. They had no surviving offspring, but Hermann of Tournai stated that Matilda bore a child who lived only a short while. On his deathbed, Henry V entrusted Matilda with the imperial insignia. Having not produced a legitimate child, the Salian dynasty ended. Though the imperial throne was elective rather than hereditary, the title often passed from father to son. Matilda handed over the insignia, which were at Trifels Castle, to Adalbert, archbishop of Mainz, and he began proceedings towards the election, which resulted in the enthronement of her husband's former rival, Lothair III.