11. Empress Matilda: Chains, Castles, and Courage

The Unstoppable Empress Matilda: Chains, Castles, and Courage

In this episode of 'She Changed History,' the hosts delve into the story of Empress Matilda, an inspiring historical figure who fought valiantly for her rightful place on the English throne. Despite living in a time dominated by men, Matilda's perseverance, strategic mind, and leadership qualities led her to challenge King Stephen in a prolonged civil conflict known as 'The Anarchy.' Listeners will learn about Matilda's battles, her alliances with powerful figures, and how she ultimately ensured her legacy continued through her son, Henry II. The episode highlights her determination and resilience, providing a captivating look at medieval English history.

Sources today are:
https://retrospectjournal.com/2022/10/31/empress-matilda-what-happened-to-englands-first-female-heir/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etng7e53UFw

Beem, C. (2015). The Virtuous Virago: The Empress Matilda and the Politics of Womanhood in Twelfth-Century England . In C. Levin, Queenship and Power (pp. 85-99). New York: St Martins Press LLC. 

Castor, D. H. (Director). (2012). She Wolves: Englands Early Queens, Episode 1 [Motion Picture]. 

Lys, L. (2021, July 19). Empress Matilda: Lady of the English. Retrieved from Museum of Oxford: https://museumofoxford.org/empress-matilda-lady-of-the-english/

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/King-Stephen-Anarchy/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anarchy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Romans

00:00 Introduction and Casual Conversation
01:49 Welcome to She Changed History
02:03 The Unstoppable Empress Matilda
04:54 Matilda's Early Life and Marriage
07:24 The White Ship Disaster and Its Aftermath
14:05 Matilda's Struggle for the Throne
15:36 Stephen's Betrayal and Rise to Power
21:36 The Anarchy: Civil War in England
22:41 The Brutal Reality of Medieval Warfare
23:32 Matilda's Appeal to the Pope and Invasion of England
26:40 The Battle of Lincoln and Matilda's Temporary Victory
28:34 Matilda's Struggle for Recognition and the Flip-Flopping Nobles
31:06 The Stalemate and Matilda's Strategic Shift
39:24 The Final Years and Legacy of Empress Matilda
42:45 Conclusion and Reflections on Gender and Power

Transcript

audio1908345547: 0:08

What are you minchin? my gosh, you're kind. Oh, one of Liz's. Bloody good. they're really nice. Lovely. Good. Nice short pastry. Nice filling. Lovely. Anything with pastry, I tend to like a thin pastry. I like thinner pastry rather than thicker. I understand that. I want soggy pastry. With, um, like with pies, I prefer them just on top rather than all around. Oh, I see. Less stodgy. I've just tried one of Ash's Christmas pudding chocolate things. Um, my God, it was strong. Afterwards I was like, oh my god, it's like I've had a shot. A little bit tipsy for this one. A little bit tipsy. I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong. I think she's on to something. But yeah, if you need to be working, it's not the one for you. No, okay. should we do it? You're in the Let's go in. Hi Simon. Hi Vicky. Hi, I'm good. How are you? Yeah, okay. Thanks. Yeah, yeah. Just, uh, What date's it today? We're recording on the 18th, so 7 days till Christmas, 11 days till the wedding, you know, there's a lot going on, night's fortnight. Wow. Yeah, so just a combination of busy, tired and excited. That's okay, hopefully this is a nice little respite of escapism. Uh huh. whilst your life is propelling 100 miles an hour around you. It's been quite a year. Yes, it's fantastic. Well, Welcome to She Changed History. I've got a little story for you. I'm ready. Brilliant. So this is about a lady called, well, she's an empress, so already amazing. So this is the unstoppable Empress Matilda, chains, castles, and courage. What happens when the rightful heir to the throne is a woman in a world ruled by men. Meet Empress Matilda, the almost queen of England. Who waged a relentless battle for her crown in a bloody civil war that tore a nation apart. Betrayed by her cousin, outmaneuvered by politics, and vilified for her ambition, Matilda's story is one of power, resilience, and determination join us as we uncover the gripping tale of the anarchy, a time of castles, treachery, and one woman's fight to reshape the future of England. It's Game of Thrones. Oh, my God. So I don't watch Game of Thrones. You can kill me later. Um, right, but I can read you. Matilda was the inspiration for Rhaenyra, Targaryen, during the Dance of the Dragons in the House of the Dragon, the Black Queen. Is this meaning anything to you? Yeah. We're only surviving child and name successor of Viserys. First, whose death led to this war. Targaryen. Those words. So, you were right. She inspired, a bit in Game of Thrones, House of Dragons. So, very exciting. That's so cool that you went straight there. That was going to be my little tidbit for the end. But that's very cool. Oh, sorry. So, the photo that you've put in looks quite Sorry, yeah. Honestly, well, we're in medieval England. We're before, refined illustrations. So all the images of all the main characters in the story I'm going to show you today have incredibly long necks. First of all, like they seem to have really long necks and all the drawings, but they also look all completely different, if you Google empress Matilda, this kind of was the most frequent picture that I found of her. Um, so take that on face value. Okay, cool. So sources today are, a retrospect, journal from 2022, a really good video by history calling, around Empress Matilda. It was really good. an episode of She's Wolves, uh, that was done in 2012 by director Castor. a History UK article, a couple of Wikipedia articles. I'm not gonna lie, I had to use them for definitions. but let's dive in. Prefix, there's about eight Henrys. There's at least two Matildas. So I've even had to colour coordinate the Henry's in my notes, so I know which Henry we're talking about. Okay, so Matilda was born on, we think around 7th of February 1102. Her dad is King, so King Henry the first of England and then his wife. it was Matilda of Scotland. So her mum's called Matilda. Her mum was known as Edith, which I find adorable. Why don't we have a Queen Edith? For heaven's sake. Matilda's granddad was actually William the Conqueror. Battle of Hastings was 1066. The Battle of Hastings was between Norman French forces led by William the Conqueror versus Anglo Saxon English army led by King Harold II. Harold was killed and then William the Conqueror ruled and then his family ruled through. her dad then became King of England. So King Henry the first, he had many illegitimate children. Matilda therefore only had one full sibling. Her brother was called William. This is really important. So just remember William. he was born younger than her, but obviously Males were traditionally their father's heir, so that's how that worked. Matilda's original life story was to be engaged off, which she was incredibly young, at seven years old, to another guy called Henry, or Honric he just happened to be the Holy Roman Emperor, otherwise known as the King of the Romans. I know what a title. he was in his twenties. I had to Google what King of the Romans meant because I was like, that can't mean King of all Romans. Yes, it does. It means, Holy Roman Empire, the ruler elected by the empire's princes to be the future Holy Roman Emperor. So it's the title you get before the coronation. Poor Matilda's only seven years old has been carted off, which is quite standard, sadly, for medieval times. And, um, it is gross. It's disgusting. so yes, she was betrothed to Anrich, and he was eventually crowned, but she didn't marry him, for a little while. And she didn't live with him for a few more years. So it was 11, 14, where they moved in together. Um, and by then she was 12. She was 12 Simon. It's totally fine at 12. So she's the Empress, the Holy Roman Empress. and that was meant to be her fortitude. Yeah. So she's doing well. but that all changed. In 1120, her brother, say little William, he died in something called the White Ship Disaster. Have you heard about the White Ship Disaster? No, no. Very important. Um, it occurred on 25th of November, 1120, when, The white ship carrying William, the only legitimate son of King Henry I of England, hit a rock, essentially, classic Titanic. It was in the English Channel. The boat sank off the coast of Normandy and everyone was killed on board, including several noble men, but most importantly, this is like Prince George dying today. Like it's a big deal. So this horrible tragedy left King Henry without a mailer did it default then to Matilda, or did they just ignore her? This is where it gets a bit mm mm mm. So, there was nobody else. Matilda's mother had died, so the king couldn't even really produce another legitimate, son very quickly. He rapidly remarried to Adeliza of Louvain, with the idea of producing another legitimate son. That didn't happen either. but then another twist. So five years later, Matilda's husband on rate the fifth, he also dies. So I know. So Matilda is now a childless, but do, um, what's it called? Doja? Doja. Doja. Yeah. Doja. Um, Empress Darling. Dja. Oh Empress. My apologies. But because her husband died, she was recalled back to England. She retained her title, but she was brought to England. Checking on dad, basically make sure he's okay. when she got on, English soil. Um, Henry the first made every attempt to do what you just explained there. So try to make sure that it didn't go to another male, Yeah. In order to strengthen her position to do that, Henry in January 1127, made bishops and barons swear an oath of loyalty to Matilda. So he was like, you promised me. one of these people who didn't convince like, I'm not convinced how strong that promise was. Well, having watched Game of Thrones, Oh, I see. So he was like, please sign this piece of paper and please swear on God that you will make my daughter the heiress. One of the people who said, yes, I'll do that is her cousin, Stephen of Blois, B L O I S, whose mother was Henry's sister. So Matilda and Stephen are cousins. Okay. Just put that in the back of your mind for later, it's important. So there's no formal law in England. barring a woman from inheriting the throne. They didn't even think about it. So it wasn't even in law at this point. but there was also no precedent that for there to be a Queen Regnant, if you were ruling in lieu of an absent husband or a son, like a baby, they kind of got on board with that, but in your own right, it was a big fat. Okay. So you're purely sort of temporary cover. That's a great way of thinking about it. Yeah. but while you're in that temporary cover, it's important to note you're doing all the same stuff. Oh yeah. You're ruling. Yeah. so what did dad Henry do? He was like, right, well, you need to get married again, but you need to firm this up. With the idea that then if you produce a grandson, we can do the caretaking thing that you just spoke about. In 1128, her dad got Matilda to marry another guy called Geoffrey, so a new name. That's exciting, isn't it? So, Geoffrey was soon to become the Count of Anjou, which is an inland, northwestern France. So you know like we have counties, that's like their district. It, I really feel for her at this point, not that I didn't feel for her before, but she's 26, right? She is empress of all Roman people, right? And then her dad gives her a barely 15 spotty lad who is also just a count. He's got a bit of land in France. She was, and quite rightly so, her reaction was like, Ugh, Dad, I don't want this little boy near me, which is absolutely, I was like, I understand Matilda, I totally get you. Hello Matilda, bonjour, I'm Jeffrey. So there was a huge age gap. And also, she's directed to the Roman EM empire. Come on. I don't need this kid. Because of that, she rarely used the Countess of Anjou, which was her title, and she kept calling herself the Empress. I'd stick with Empress rather than her. I think so. Yeah. Absolutely. There's not really anywhere to go from there, so. Yes, so this part of her personality is really important because it shows a couple of things it shows how Matilda wants to create her own identity. She understands power and influence It shows clear determination to go against the way like, oh, technically you should be Camtas, and she's like, no. so it's just really interesting, nobody asked her to do that. She did that herself. They were her ways of asserting power. Her marriage to little Geoffrey was a bit rough, which is fair, within a year they weren't really talking, she actually moved back to her dad, King Henry, who was in Normandy at the time, so he was in a place called Rowan, which is a couple of hours away. Northwest of Paris, dad listens. He's like, right, I get it. So they go back to England and then he does the whole allegiance thing again. So he's like, you swear that you will give this to Matilda. But you really, really promise. Yeah. In this round of doing it, he crucially doesn't mention Geoffrey, which, History Collection really noticed very interesting given how common it was, in this period of time for husbands to hold titles and lands in the right of their wives. So it's very interesting that he cut Geoffrey out. Poor Geoffrey. The dad tries again with them. He's like, I still really want you to have a son, Matilda, so she does, she goes back to Jeffrey and they actually become parents. They give it another go and it's successful. So they have a baby boy on the 5th. of March 1133. The boy they call Henry. I'm sorry. Okay. they had another son later down the line who they called Jeffrey. So they had a very small pool of names. Yeah. So Jeffrey Jr. On the 1st of December 1125, while she is pregnant with her third child, King Henry I dies. And this is where things get super, super messy. I'm guessing not a smooth transition to her. Taking power. Well, in my notes, I've put so does Matilda become the next ruler? Question mark. And if she did, there wouldn't be an episode. So we can safely say no. And here is the end. everyone. for your time. Little Jeffrey and Jeffrey Jr. But she had all those promises. Bloody barons the problem is to claim King of England, queen of England, you actually have to go to England. So, you know, nowadays, so Queen Elizabeth second, she died in Scotland. In that moment, it. directly went to King Charles like, it was, automatic as soon as they die. Doesn't happen like that in Medieval England. You have to jump through a load of admin and you have to be there. Matilda didn't go. It never says 100 percent why she didn't go, it just says certain reasons in documentation that's been found. But we can safely say it's probably because she was struggling with her third pregnancy. Pregnancy can be rough, it can be absolutely, bed bounds you, you know, she probably couldn't travel the channel. Yeah, 100%. So, what does her cousin Steven, who was one of these people who promised Oh, I'll swear you in, Matilda. He's like I'm going to take this chance. So Stephen then makes moves to become King Stephen, King of England. A little bit about King Stephen is that he's thought, in one of the articles, he was thought to be a pleasant looking man with an agreeable character. So he was quite well thought of in medieval England. Essentially long neck. There was a vacuum, he saw his opportunity. Absolutely. So he quickly betrayed Matilda. He binned her off he organized his own, coronation. I wonder how quickly the news travelled as well, because there was no X or texting, so if she's still in France, he probably found out days before her that her dad was dead. Well, he was away as well. Yeah, between, dad dying and Stephen getting on the throne, we're talking three weeks. So Stephen made his play hella quick. He, the reason he was in Boulogne was because his wife, also called Matilda, was, Countess of that area. He traveled to London as soon as his uncle died with the support of his brother. His brother is a guy called, is a guy called Kent. Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on. Is it Henry? In my notes, this is Pink Henry. I've given him a pink font. Who is the Bishop of Winchester. Again, the reason I say his name is because he's an important character later. So remember Pink Henry, he is the Bishop, he is Stephen's brother, they're teaming up. Stephen, like I said, got himself crowned at Westminster Abbey, 22nd of December, 1135. So how did Stephen make that happen? First thing he did, he was putting a story out. The King Henry had released his barons and his noble men from their oaths to Matilda on his deathbed. So Stephen said, Henry's changed his mind, guys. Actually, he doesn't want a woman to be queen. Lucky I was the only person there to hear it. Nobody would have known. Yeah. Stephen would also claim that the oaths that they took were invalid, because it was done by force, that's probably his stronger argument of the ones that he's got. And he said, Oh, anyway, it doesn't really matter, because. you know Matilda's mum, she was raised in a convent, so that makes the whole thing, illegitimate, the marriage, the children, everything. Really important to know that was completely unfunded. Her mum was not a nun. She did not take any vows. She wasn't educated in a convent. Stephen was just making all this up. The second thing he did was, position himself cleverly. So he got support from Pope Innocent II. He got support from English and Norman Barons. It sounds like they didn't really put up a fight. Very little resistance also a few other things kind of built his case. So there'd never been a Queen Reginald in Norman England. Matilda's eldest son, Henry, was still a toddler and they would have preferred a man to be in charge over a woman caretaking for a toddler. And also, there was also grumblings from the noble men anyway, because they were annoyed at King Henry I, the one that had just died, because he hadn't consorted them when marrying off Matilda to Geoffrey. They were a little bit upset that, they weren't consorted over that potential future of their land. This was according to a chronicler of the time called William of Moundsbury. I guess like any oath that you're forced into making. is way less strong than someone who comes along with a convincing argument of why you should make your own mind up to commit an oath to something else. And like, if they don't stick to the oath, well, Henry's gone, isn't he? So who's going to Especially at that time when their documentation was very different to our documentation today. on top of that, Matilda didn't come. So she was in Normandy. So he walked in, he took the crown with very little opposition, what What does the Matilda do?

audio1832870951: 19:44

First off, she just kind of chill out and watch him fail, which I really appreciate. I'm not sure, I'm not sure how intentional this is, but I just love the idea of her sitting back and being like, go on then, yes, if you think you can do it, off you go. So she watches him struggle a bit. His personality kind of rubbed people at the wrong way, slightly. Stephen's inability to make decisions often led to chaos during his reign. And it meant that noble men would be able to exploit his weak leadership for their own gain. There's a quote from an Anglo Saxon chronicle, for the times. In the days of this king there was nothing but strife, evil, and robbery. He lost control, like it was just havoc caused. Stephen also made enemies in the church by arresting members he suspected were giving their castles over to Matilda as potential strongholds. Bit paranoid as well. He knows he shouldn't there. However successfully he got their oaths in the first place, he will always be like deceitful and devious, won't He that guy. He's always the person who did that. Actions speak louder than words, don't they? By the late 1130s, support for the king was starting to wane and this is where Matilda strikes. She's recovered from her birth. She's ready. she enlists the power of her uncle, who is David, new name, David King of Scotland. And her half brother, Robert, who is the Earl of Gloucester, So for the first time, because she's got these two big hitters, she's got Robert and David, she's kind of on equal standing with Stephen in the war for the throne. is when the anarchy happens. We heard about the anarchy. So it was a huge civil war in England and Normandy, and it lasted for ages. So 1138 to 1153, and it resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. And basically it was team Matilda versus team Stephen. That's what the whole anarchy was about. That's a massive war. It's so long. I'm going to take you through some key moments of the war. so obviously their wars weren't like our wars today, the goal was essentially to secure castles. So this is a time just for people to envisage, where cities had city walls, you couldn't get through the city walls, and then you had a castle in the middle on a hill, normally. these are the kind of wars that were led by knights, very excited, so armoured knights, foot soldiers, many of them had mercenaries. which is a private individual, had to Google this, a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit. So they're just there making good, making hay, making dollar on the fight. So each side had a body of knights, they were called, uh, familiar regis, I think like the round table, you know, these were a very private inner circle and swords were very common, along with lances for cavalry, crossbowmen, um, lots of long bows were used, and occasionally a short bow, so very different to wars that we've spoken about before. Yeah. This is just. Proper medieval stuff. And brutal. really brutal. Because it was so long and living standards weren't what they are today. Living standards and healthcare and first aid and no such thing as painkillers. And yeah, It shouldn't have gone on this long. There are so many opportunities for it to stop. The first thing that Matilda does is she appeals to the Pope in 1139 to declare herself Queen of England but the Pope couldn't really decide. He just felt a bit indecisive of it. He didn't really allege one way or the other. So in 1139, with the support of Robert and David, Empress Matilda and her forces invade England. Her husband Geoffrey is keeping Normandy, so she's like, you focus on Normandy, you keep that under our rule, I'll go to England. Probably peak fighting condition, I'd say. This is where Geoffrey comes into his own right now. Go on Geoffrey. Come on. There's a real glow up he's gone through. So Robert manages to get to Bristol. And then, Matilda actually gets trapped. So she gets trapped at the Arundel castle, which is the home of her stepmother, the Dowager Queen Adeliza, and her second husband, Earl of Arundel, who supported Stephen. So somehow she gets captured by the evil stepmom, which is absolutely wild. She's trapped in this castle, Robert's on the ground doing his thing, and then King Stephen does something which looks very odd. He lets Matilda go. He allows her to leave the castle unopposed and gives her safe passage to the west really odd. There's a couple of reasons explored in the, history collector video that I was referencing, and why he did this. One was just chivalry. one was that he didn't want his army tied up in this castle while Robert of Gloucester runned free. Like he ran through. So he was like, actually, probably my biggest problem is Robert. It's probably not Matilda, which is complete opposite of chivalry. That is just right up sexism. It's really patronizing, isn't it? Matilda finds, Earl Robert, and then, they rally the troops so nobles flock to support them so the empress comes to control the southwest of England which makes perfect sense that's Bristol Gloucester all that kind of stuff and a lot of the Thames Valley while Stephen remains in control of the southeast okay so the rest of England and Scotland were just a bit annoyed. I think they were just like, mate, I'm just trying to live my, I've got some farming to do. Just need to, just need to survive the winter. So the tactics kind of changed a little bit over time. Because the castles at the time were so secure, it was kind of really difficult in attacking them. So the strategy changed to become something called attrition warfare, which is basically grinding the other side down as much as possible, whether it's material money, people, siege warfare, and that sort of thing. I mean it's still done today where they like blockade shipping routes or something, it II. Yeah, it's a well known, it's a well known strategy, I think, in, yeah, yeah. What happens, is a really important, uh, event that kind of tips the balance in Matilda's favor, which is something called the Battle of Lincoln. in the Battle of Lincoln, Stephen comes with his forces, Robert of Gloucester comes with his forces, and in the lead up to this, Stephen had secured Lincoln Castle, but they had found themselves under attack, from Robert, and he was supported by, Welsh soldiers, like they had such a big army, Matilda's side, it was amazing. Sounds like Quiet on the Lion. Massive. And I think that's something really important that kind of reflect on in the end is that she must have had skill to drum up this support. So Matilda's Knights launched their charge against Stephen's Earls. but it was the Welsh section that actually were defeated. Robert's army kind of fell down. But it became clear that the Earls were going to be outmaneuvered and outnumbered anyway. So actually, even though it was a tie battle, Matilda won. So it was a really fierce battle, fighting on both sides, blood spilling out on the streets. Stephen's army was essentially overwhelmed. He was captured and taken to England. Bristol where he was imprisoned. So they caught the king. Quite a big Excellent. And they properly caught him this time. They really did. It is also said she chose to chain him up. So he was shackled in Bristol. So she's like, right, let's do this then. I bet it was. And she was mad. Like the reports are that she was so angry, so enraged. She just wants what's rightfully hers, in her eyes. And now the whole irony is, is that she can't just storm in there. She actually has to do some admin now. She's got to go through all the noobs. she would need the cities of Winchester and London to open their gates to her because obviously they're all within walls and she would need a valid coronation carried out by the church. So who does she need to do that? Frickin Henry Bishop of Winchester. That's who she needs. So that is Stephen's brother. Don't know if you remember that from earlier. So Yeah, he's he's popped up. He's popped up again. Um, luckily, he's a wet blanket and he fell into line really easily. He was like, of course, Matilda, of course, my favorite Matilda, and to be fair, she did promise him that she would consult him in all major matters concerning the kingdom. So she kind of gave him a little bit of a little bit of a fish. Yeah. So Henry the Bishop, he pulled some strings, and then she was accepted, as Lady of England and Normandy, on the 7th of April in Winchester. And in history, she is often known as the Lady of the English. That was what she became. Right. Yeah. Which is the reason, not technically. So, she's got the support of Henry. She has not got the support of the Arbiters of Canterbury. Stephen weirdly told his followers, it must've been a horrible dungeon. He was like, yeah, yeah, no, it's fine. I think you should submit to Matilda. I think this is, this is over. So it's all sounding quite positive. And whilst all this was going through. because she wants to do it properly. She actually is reigning of England, but she hasn't got the title yet. So she's doing it in practical ways. She was allowed in London. So she got through that hurdle. So, you know, she practically was queen, but in terms of the coronation, that. Never happened So the reason that never happened was because she could not get enough support basically. So the English nobles, despite she's got this huge power base in the West of England because they're the ones that fought with her, but the nobles who, they just couldn't decide. They kind of flip flop. they said for a little bit, yeah, we, we got your back Matilda, but a short time after they actually changed their mind and they re declared their allegiance to Stephen. So she could not get enough public opinion around that. These nobles and barons just sound like self serving little arseholes. I've put in my notes, they're flip flops. Flip flops, yeah. They're flip flops. Annoying the Pope through his support behind Stephen II, which was a major problem. Matilda's kind of running the show. She's kind of lady in waiting, queen in waiting. And whilst that was going on, she wasn't really doing herself any favours, allegedly. So, and this is the problem with women in power, her personality was not liked. She was reported to be arrogant. She was reported to be unwomanly. That was a problem. Yeah. One of the chroniclers, which are journalists at the time, wrote that she had assumed an air of extreme haughtiness, and she did not have gentle and graceful manners. She was reported, that she treated allies with a coldness. She's just Queen of England, mate. Like, she's just, isn't it? Queen of England, Empress of the Roman Empire. You just don't like a woman in power, right? No, if a man does it, then he's confident and charismatic and decisive. If a woman does it, then she's uptight and, you know, You have hit the nail on the head. she did do some stuff that would put people at the wrong way, so she demanded taxes of her already exhausted, citizenship because they've been through this horrific war. And she also lacks, diplomacy. I think that's perceived diplomacy again. She probably was listening to you. She just didn't agree with you in very different things. And she was happy to tell you that. So she makes her way to Westminster. It's her coronation day. She's meant to be crowned in late June, but she was never, ever declared queen. What happened was really interestingly. So, Stephen's in prison, shackled up. His wife, still shackled. His wife, Queen Matilda is missing him. She's like, I'd really like my husband back actually. It's been a while. So she actually. Rallied the troops, got her soldiers and they were just across the river Thames from Empress Matilda getting coronated. What they did was they attacked when the coronation was meant to be happening. So they attacked and they forced Matilda out and made her retreat to Oxford and then eventually Gloucester. Queen Matilda attacks Empress Matilda. And then because of this, all those noblemen and barons we were talking about before, they flip flopped back and they were like, oh yeah, actually you're right, it should be King Stephen. So they're just supporting whatever happens. Oh my god. I know. They would really do my head in. They've just got no backbone. They've just got no backbone whatsoever. They're just, they're just trying to pace the game. Peace. That's all they're trying to do, isn't it? That's their main goal. Probably out of their own self interest. One of the people who flip flopped back was Henry the Bishop, right? So he was all, he was the one who helped organize this fricking coronation and he's flip flopped back. So what, Empress Matilda does is she attacks his castle in late July. She's like, I'm not having that. But because he had Queen Matilda's support. So his brother and his brother's wife support, they hit back and they forced Empress Matilda to retreat. what then happened is that they took Robert. So, you know, her ally, Robert has been from the beginning, Earl of Gloucester. That's it. This is a big blow to Matilda. He's been with her through thick and thin. He was the one that helped her, come across Normandy in the first place. So the only way to get Robert back, we Matilda said, so swap in Robert for Steven. So you've got your prisoner now. I've got my prisoner now. I want yours. You want mine. That's a prisoner swap. Do it on a bridge. Prisoner swap. Yeah. That's what happens. So King Stephen is then released. and he actually went back to power. So he became king again on the 1st of November, 1141. While Stephen was released and in power, the war itself continued. So Matilda did not give up. I know. for several years with both sides enabled to initiate a significant defeats against one another. So they're quite evenly matched. Matilda was banished from Westminster. She was forced out to Oxford and Gloucester where she regrouped. Oxford actually had really good city walls and it had rivers protecting it so she felt quite safe. What she ended up doing was sending her brother Robert, who's been in prison, she sent him to France and said go and get Geoffrey. Geoffrey's been doing a cracking job in Northern India, I need him back over here. This shit just got real, now that Geoffrey's getting involved. We were a bit harsh on Geoffrey in the end, but he could be the saviour, we don't know. Oh my god. Maybe, maybe. Stephen launched a surprise attack on Matilda and her small army, leading many to retreat to the castle where he had actually laid siege there for three months. So, um, He forced her into this castle knowing he owned that castle and he knew once she was in there, he would be able to force her out. he did, he captured her. So Matilda is now a prisoner. this is in 1142. This goes on for, I think the siege happens in September. And then she's kept prisoner for a little while. It's December and it's snowy. So their snow is not our snow. Snow nearly a thousand years ago is very different to snow today. It was thick. They had not had global warming and they didn't have even the equipment. That we had today, you know, like there's no cozy park, park, a jacket and a scarf. Um, so they didn't have all that asphalt on the road to keep the sun's warmth in and snow for you or four vehicles. You know what? I don't think they did. I don't think they have. but that doesn't stop Matilda. She makes this escape a couple of nights and her managed to sneak out the building. there's a couple of. Stories about how they did it. One thinks they exited through the posting gate. Other people think that she was lowered down the walls of the castle with a rope. Either way, quite dramatic. And then she had to walk across the Thames, which had frozen over, which is very cool. And then they travel to Abingdon. From there, she made her way to her ally, a guy called Brian, completely Um, prime fit count, and then she went to Wilshire where she set up base, in the Bishop of Salisbury's Castle, according to historian Marjorie ship, because Matilda knew She couldn't beat Stephen, but Stephen couldn't beat her. They'd become on this like stalemate. Matilda made a really clever play and like changed tactic completely and she's like, okay, well Rather than securing England for myself because they seem to have a problem with me How about I start securing it for my son Henry? So by this time Henry's growing up. He's not a toddler anymore Poor Henry's having quite a traumatic childhood he's like a kid between divorced parents. So like he spends a lot of time in Normandy Yeah, so he spends a weekend in Normandy, pops back to Gloucester, goes to Oxford, so he's traveling about, bless him. Matilda started including Henry in all her royal charters and her paperwork and things. So she was making serious plays. she stayed in England until 1148, issuing decrees and minting queenage while the anarchy continued. but she wasn't able to fully exercise her royal power over the country, obviously, Unfortunately in 1147, this is like another catalyst for Matilda's change in thinking is that her brother Robert, who's been amazing, he died in 1147. Mm-hmm on top of everything else, the poet was demanding that she vacate the Salisbury castle. The pope was, even though it was the bishop's castle, the Pope was like, you can't stay here anymore. Yeah. But because Henry's now old enough to fight for his right and fight for something that is potentially his, she kind of passes that off to Henry. She, like, enlists him to, you carry on the good fight. So Matilda at this point returns to Normandy to see her family that she hasn't seen in nearly a decade. And it's at this point she stops using the title Lady of the English. Her personal fight for the throne is over. She stays in mainland Europe for the rest of her life, helping her husband and son, because let's be honest, they still own land, manage their businesses. And she also acts on their behalf when they're absent, offers advice. She kind of becomes a consultant, I guess. so she passes the baton, to Henry. Henry marries up, he's a clever sausage. He marries Eleanor of Aquitaine and she is the ex wife of the King of France and an heiress. So he kind of marries into money, which is great, gives him material and ways to invade England, which he eventually does in 1153. King Stephen also has a son. So it's kind of like the battles passed down a generation. So he also has a son eustace, E U S T A C E. So King Stephen's making plans for his son to become king, but this is really sad, is that Estes dies. So in the Horrible History Song, you never hear King Estes because it becomes king. Henry. So what happens is they make a truce, Matilda and Stephen make a truce and agree that Stephen will be king for the rest of his life, then it will pass on to Henry. And that's what happened. Matilda will sort of leave him in peace until that happens. So Stephen can just do his thing. Yeah. But when the time comes, Yep, and that time did happen, and, it all came good, empress Matilda lived out her days in Normandy. She died in 1167 at the age of 65, and she's buried in front of the High Altar in the Abbey of Beck. So she came good in the end. She was clever about how she did it, but she managed to get the succession of the throne back into the family line where it should have been. So her family lived on, and I suppose it's a lesson in knowing when you're, maybe not even when you're beat, but when, it seemed a fruitless endeavour. Just this war would have trudged on and on and on. And obviously there was no one else there. These barons and bishops just flip flopping between, no one else was going to make a decisive decision. It seemed like it sort of needed that agreement between the two of them. Yeah, and she did it. And I suppose Stephen kept his power. Yeah, Stephen interestingly had another son, William, but for an unknown reason he wasn't considered for, being heir. I couldn't find much more on that, so that's why we have King Henry the second. Henry the second. So it's sort of Henry the first, Stephen, Matilda, bracket. And Henry the second being Henry the first's grandson. That's it. So it did, it did flow. It's just that Stephen replaced Matilda, just with a right old mess in the middle. Yeah. That's it. Good. I'm pleased you've got that because it was a really hard story to convey. in conclusion, I've written here that I think gender played a huge part in her story. There has been some arguments by historians that it, It didn't because of that massive showdown where Stephen's wife was like, give my husband back and she like, stormed the cryonation. And they were like, well, don't say it's because she's a woman, because she also fought a woman, but I think that double standard part before the coronation of, oh, she's arrogant, you wouldn't say that, you wouldn't say that if that was a man. Based on everything I've learned in the last hour, I'm calling bullshit on that. Yeah. It sounds like if she was a, if she was a man, there wouldn't have been any question in the first place. She would have just taken the throne from her father. That would have been that, yeah. And then Stephen wouldn't have considered coming along and trying to usurp the throne. I think she's got leadership. She controlled that entire army for so long. She built the allies. Also she was relentless. She managed to get what she wanted in the end, she just went about it a different way. Incredibly determined. And I mean, she could, it sounds like, Empress of the Roman Empire, you got Geoffrey as your husband, you're living in Normandy, she could have just Let it go. Oh, well, that's all right then. But it seems that a slight sense of unfairness which crops up in so many of these stories. And injustice, yeah. And injustice, yeah. And just wasn't standing for it. I love that she went back to attack Stephen's brother. I loved it. I thought it was just really exciting and it was, yeah, it was fun, talking about someone from, because this is way further back in history than anyone we've discussed so far. It's so out of my comfort zone talking about this kind of stuff. Yeah. Especially when they're all called Henry. I know, I was like, how do I make this into a story where they're actual people you care about and they've got their own personalities So yeah. Now I'm pleased you enjoyed it. Thank you. It means a lot. Yeah. Nice one. It was really good. Well, thank you, Vicky. Yeah, nice distraction to the wedding. Yeah. I don't want any of this family drama. No, I really enjoyed that. Amazing. And we hope you enjoyed it too. Thank you so much for listening. Um, if you have any suggestions of women you want us to cover please let us know at shechangedhistory at gmail. com. If you're enjoying it, let us know. rate, review and subscribe, we hope you have a really wonderful, restful, festive period, if you celebrate or if you don't.

audio1018601680: 45:13

Brilliant. Okay. Thanks folks. See you next time. Thank you. Bye