The Empress Matilda Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English [Paperback]

This is the first comprehensive and fully documented study of the Empress Matilda to be published in English. Much of the serious work on her life and historical importance has never been translated from German, and almost all has concentrated on the years of her struggle with Stephen for the English crown. This book examines her career as a whole, including the years as consort of the Emperor Henry V and as regent in Normandy for her son Henry II. It illustrates the problems of female succession in the early twelfth century, and gives a balanced assessment of Matilda's character and achievements in the context of her own times.List of Illustrations.

Foreword.

Genealogical Tables.

1. Great by Birth.

2. Greater by Marriage.

3. Political Inheritance.

4. Disputed Succession.

5. Lady of the English.

6. Lordship and Governance in a Divided Realm.

7. Greatest in her Offspring.

8. Personal Patronage.

9. The Empress in History.

Bibliography of Abbreviated Titles.

Index.

The first serious study of the career of the Empress Matilda ... Dr Chibnall's aim, ably achieved, has been to reconstruct the outline of Matilda's life, place her in the society and politics of the age, and form an assessment of her character. Times Literary Supplement

A formidable book about a formidable woman ... based on an extremely thorough understanding of the sources and casts a broad beam of light on the twelfth century. Journal of Ecclesiastical History

Very satisfying ... written with lucidity and force ... a very valuable addition to the corpus of core texts for any student of Norman and Angevin England. History

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