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Matilda of Boulogne
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Matilda I or Maud (1105? – 3 May, 1152), was suo jure Countess of Boulogne. She was also wife of King Stephen and thus Queen of England.
was born in Boulogne, France, the daughter of Eustace III, Count of Boulogne and his wife Mary of Scotland, herself the daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Matilda was thus 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 also possessed a large honour in England.
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Encyclopedia
Matilda I or Maud (1105? – 3 May, 1152), was suo jure Countess of Boulogne. She was also wife of King Stephen and thus Queen of England.
History
She was born in Boulogne, France, the daughter of Eustace III, Count of Boulogne and his wife Mary of Scotland, herself the daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Matilda was thus 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 also possessed a large honour in England. When Matilda's father abdicated and retired to a monastery in that 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 across the channel 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 only after gaving birth to a son, Eustace, who would one day succeed her as Count of Boulogne. Matilda was crowned queen the following Easter, March 22, 1136.
In the civil war that followed, known as the Anarchy, Matilda proved to be her husband's strongest supporter. After his capture at the Battle of Lincoln she rallied the king's partisans, and raised an army with the help of William of Ypres. Empress Matilda was besieging Stephen's brother Henry of Blois, but she in turn besieged the Empress, driving her away and capturing the Empress's brother Robert of Gloucester.
Around 1125, her father died and she succeeded as Countess of Boulogne. She ruled this area jointly with her husband until 1150, when she reigned alone until 1151, when the County was given to her eldest son Eustace, then her surviving son William inherited it, and then her daughter Marie.
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:
They also had two daughters:
Ancestry
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