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  • Empress Matilda: Queen of the Romans, Ruler of the English by Elisabeth Van Houts book cover
  • Empress Matilda: Queen of the Romans, Ruler of the English by Elisabeth Van Houts book cover
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Empress Matilda: Queen of the Romans, Ruler of the English

by Elisabeth Van Houts

A contested claim to the English throne

$47.41 USD
$47.41 USD $47.41 USD

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A contested claim to the English throne

Elisabeth Van Houts’s biography traces Matilda’s path from German empress and designated heir of Henry I to a claimant whose succession was challenged by Stephen of Blois. The dispute after Henry’s death led to civil war, during which Matilda ruled in opposition in south-west England. Alongside this political history, the book examines female rulership in the Middle Ages and Matilda’s relationships with the men around her, including her husbands, father, half-brothers, and cousins. Her dynastic ties to Wessex and Normandy frame an account of how she navigated a position shaped by inheritance and contested authority.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in medieval English history and the Norman period
  • Those seeking a biography of a medieval woman ruler
  • Readers interested in women’s political authority and dynastic succession

Themes

Female rulershipDynastic inheritanceContested successionCivil warPolitical relationships

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

An authoritative new biography of Empress Matilda

Born in 1102, Empress Matilda combined the blood of two dynasties: the house of Wessex and their conquerors, the dukes of Normandy. As a widowed German empress, she was named as heir successor by her father, Henry I. But, after his death in 1135, Matilda's place on the English throne was usurped by her cousin, Stephen of Blois. Civil war followed, and she ruled the south-west of England in opposition.

Elisabeth van Houts explores the remarkable life of medieval England's only queen regnant. Van Houts examines female rulership in the Middle Ages, from Matilda's relationships with her husbands, to her self-identification as granddaughter of William the Conqueror. Matilda used her persuasiveness effectively with the men who surrounded her, including her father, husbands, half-brothers and cousins.

This is a fascinating account, which reveals Matilda to be an assertive, if on occasion disappointed, woman who made the best of her position with intelligence and stamina.
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