Matilda of england biography of barack

Was Matilda a power-hungry she-wolf, as history portrays her, or a woman ahead of her time, fighting for the continuation of her family line? In her new book, Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior, researcher and medieval historian Catherine Hanley highlights how Matilda fought for the throne, and argues that although she never sat on it herself her reward was to see her son become king.

Read on for her introduction to Matilda’s life as an empress, skilled military leader, and one of the greatest figures of the English Middle Ages.

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Matilda: The Greatest King England Never Had

When Henry I died in 1135, he left the English crown to his eldest legitimate child: an intelligent, well-educated, multilingual adult who had years of international political and governmental experience.

It should have been the easiest succession imaginable, but it wasn’t – because Henry’s heir was not a son but his daughter, Empress Matilda.

Childhood and Marriages

Matilda led a remarkable and well-tr