Matilda of Boulogne

Female Abt 1105 - 1152  (~ 47 years)


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  • Name Matilda of Boulogne  [1, 2
    Born Abt 1105  Boulogne, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Gender Female 
    Died 03 May 1152  Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Buried Faversham, Kent, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Notes 
    • Matilda I (or Maud) (1105? - 3 May 1152) was suo jure Countess of Boulogne. She was also queen consort of England as the wife of King Stephen.

      Biography

      She was born in Boulogne, France, the daughter of Eustace III, Count of Boulogne and his wife Mary of Scotland, daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Matilda was first cousin of her husband's rival, Empress Matilda. Through her maternal grandmother, Matilda was descended from the pre-Conquest English kings.

      In 1125, Matilda married Stephen of Blois, Count of Mortain, who possessed a large honour in England. When Matilda's father abdicated and retired to a monastery the same year, this was joined with Boulogne and the similarly large English honour Matilda inherited. On Eustace III's death, Matilda and her husband became joint rulers of Boulogne. Two children, a son and a daughter, were born to the Countess and Count of Boulogne during the reign of King Henry I, who had granted Stephen and Matilda a residence in London.The son was named Baldwin, after Matilda's uncle, King Baldwin I of Jerusalem. The daughter was named Matilda. Baldwin died in early childhood and the young Matilda is thought to have died during childhood too, although some scholars state that she lived long enough to be espoused to the count of Milan.

      On the death of Henry I of England in 1135, Stephen rushed to England, taking advantage of Boulogne's control of the closest seaports, and was crowned king, beating his rival, the Empress Matilda. Matilda was heavily pregnant at that time and crossed the Channel after giving birth to a son, Eustace, who would one day succeed her as Count of Boulogne. Matilda was crowned queen at Easter - 22 March 1136.

      Matilda was a supporter of the Knights Templar. She founded Cressing Temple in 1137 and Temple Cowley in 1139. Like her predecessor, Matilda of Scotland, she had a close relationship with the Holy Trinity Priory at Aldgate. She took the prior as her confessor and two of her children were buried there.

      In the civil war that followed, known as the Anarchy, Matilda proved to be her husband's strongest supporter. When England was invaded, she called troups from Boulogne and its ally Flanders and besieged Dover Castle with success and then went north to Durham, where she made a treaty with David I of Scotland.

      After Stephen was captured at the Battle of Lincoln she rallied the king's partisans, and raised an army with the help of William of Ypres. While the Empress Matilda waited in London to prepare her coronation, Matilda and Stephen's brother Henry of Blois had her chased out of the city. The Empress Matilda went on to besiege Henry of Blois at Winchester. Matilda of Boulogne then commanded her army to attack the besiegers. There was a rout in which the Empress's half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, was captured. The two Matildas then agreed to exchange prisoners and Stephen ruled as king again.

      Matilda died of a fever at Hedingham Castle, Essex, England, and is buried at Faversham Abbey, which was founded by her and her husband.

      Issue

      Stephen and Matilda had three sons:

      Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne, married Constance of France, no issue
      Baldwin of Boulogne (d. before 1135)
      William of Blois, Count of Mortain and Boulogne and Earl of Surrey, married Isabel de Warenne, no issue

      They also had two daughters:

      Matilda of Boulogne, married Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester, no issue
      Marie of Boulogne, married Matthew of Alsace, had issue
    Person ID I5477  Bosdet Genealogy
    Last Modified 16 May 2013 

    Father Eustace, III Count of Boulogne,   b. Abt 1080,   d. 1125  (Age ~ 45 years) 
    Relationship Natural 
    Mother Mary of Scotland, Countess of Boulogne,   b. Aft 1079,   d. 31 May 1116  (Age 35 years) 
    Relationship Natural 
    Family ID F2200  Group Sheet

    Family Stephen, King of England,   b. Between 1092 and 1096, Blois, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 25 Oct 1154  (Age ~ 62 years) 
    Married 1125  [2
    Children 
     1. Marie, I Countess of Boulogne,   b. 1136,   d. 25 Jul 1182, Montreuil, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 46 years)
    Family ID F2186  Group Sheet

  • Sources 
    1. [S174] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_of_England.

    2. [S174] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_of_Boulogne.