Уильям Басқаншаның жұбайы Матильда Фландрлық

Queen of England from 1066 to 1083

Matilda of Flanders (; Machteld; German: Mechtild) ( 1031 – 2 November 1083) was Queen of England and Duchess of Normandy by marriage to William the Conqueror, and regent of Normandy during his absences from the duchy. She was the mother of nine children who survived to adulthood, including two kings, William II and Henry I. In 1031, Matilda was born into the House of Flanders, the only daughter of Count Baldwin V of Flanders and Adela of France. Flanders was of strategic importance to England and most of Europe as a "stepping stone between England and the Continent" necessary for strategic trade and for keeping the Scandinavian intruders from England. In addition, her mother was the daughter of Robert II of France. For these reasons, Matilda was of grander birth than William, who was illegitimate, and, according to some more romantic tellings of the story, she initially refused his proposal on this account. Like many royal marriages of the period, it breached the rules of consanguinity, then at their most restrictive (to seven generations or degrees of relatedness); Matilda and William were third cousins once removed. She was about 20 when they married in 1051/2; William was some four years older, and had been Duke of Normandy since he was about eight (in 1035). The marriage appears to have been successful, and William is not recorded to have had any illegitimate children. Matilda was about 35, and had already borne all but two of her children, when William embarked on the Norman conquest of England, sailing in his flagship Mora, which Matilda had given him. She governed the Duchy of Normandy in his absence, joining him in England after more than a year, to be crowned in an elaborate ceremony. She subsequently returned to Normandy, but crossed to England repeatedly, and ruled England in William's absence between the years 1081 and 1083. Matilda also regularly served as regent in Normandy. She was about 52 when she died in Normandy in 1083. Apart from governing Normandy and supporting her brother's interests in Flanders, Matilda took a close interest in the education of her children, who were unusually well educated for contemporary royalty. The boys were tutored by the Italian Lanfranc, who was made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070, while the girls learned Latin in Sainte Trinité Abbey in Caen, founded by William and Matilda as part of the papal dispensation allowing their marriage.

There were rumours that Matilda had been in love with the English ambassador to Flanders and with the great Anglo Saxon thegn Brictric, son of Algar, who (according to the account by the Continuator of Wace and others) in his youth declined her advances. Whatever the truth of the matter, years later she is said to have used her authority to confiscate Brictric's lands and throw him into prison, where he died.

Matilda, or Maud, was the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, and Adela, herself daughter of King Robert II of France. According to legend, when the Norman duke William the Bastard (later called the Conqueror) sent his representative to ask for Matilda's hand in marriage, she told the representative that she was far too high born to consider marrying a bastard. After hearing this response, William rode from Normandy to Bruges, forced himself into her bedroom and soundly beat her. Another version has the illegitimate duke dragging her from her horse and pursuing his rough courtship in the roadside mud. She stood as godmother for Matilda of Scotland, who would become Queen of England after marrying Matilda's son Henry I. During the christening, the baby pulled Queen Matilda's headdress down on top of herself, which was seen as an omen that the younger Matilda would be queen some day as well.

Matilda fell ill during the summer of 1083 and died on 2 November 1083. Her husband was present for her final confession. William swore to give up hunting, his favorite sport, to express his grief after the death of his wife. He himself died four years later in 1087. Contrary to the common belief that she was buried at St. Stephen's, also called l'Abbaye aux Hommes in Caen, Normandy, where William was eventually buried, she is entombed in Caen at l'Abbaye aux Dames, which is the community of Sainte Trinité. Of particular interest is the 11th century slab, a sleek black ledger stone decorated with her epitaph, marking her grave at the rear of the church. In contrast, the grave marker for William's tomb was replaced as recently as the beginning of the 19th century. Over time Matilda's tomb was desecrated and her original coffin destroyed. Her remains were placed in a sealed box and reburied under the original black slab. In 1959 Matilda's incomplete skeleton was examined and her femur and tibia were measured to determine her height. Her height was 5 feet (2 m), a normal female height for the time. However, as a result of this examination she was misreported as being 4 feet (1 m) leading to the myth that she was extremely small.

Matilda and William had four sons and at least five daughters. The birth order of the boys is clear, but no source gives the relative order of birth of the daughters. Robert (c.1053 – 10 February 1134), Duke of Normandy, married Sybil of Conversano, daughter of Geoffrey of Conversano. Richard, (c.1055 – c.1069 74)). Constance (c.1062 – 1090),