Matilda of Flanders: Norman Co-Ruler

Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror, was a key political and financial architect of the Norman Conquest, despite her absence from the Bayeux embroidery. Her important role in the 1066 conquest of England has been historically overlooked. As a co-ruler, her financial backing, political alliances, and administrative skill were key to William's power.

An 18th-century rumour, recorded by scholar Father Bernard of Montfaucon, claimed Matilda sewed the embroidery herself. It was known as Queen Matilda's embroidery until the 19th century. A Victorian-era replica made between 1885 and 1886 suggested multiple embroiderers were involved.

Matilda was born around 1030 to Count Baldwin V of Flanders and Princess Adela of France. Her royal lineage far outstripped that of William, an illegitimate duke facing rebellion. Pope Leo IX forbade their marriage in 1049, but the couple wed in the early 1050s. A new pope, Nicholas II, lifted the ban in 1059 on condition they each founded a monastery.

Matilda's Piety and Political Strategy

As Duchess of Normandy, Matilda used her wealth to patronise religious projects. She founded Sainte-Trinité Abbey in Caen to appease the pope. William founded St Stephen's for men, but progress was slower. Matilda strove to dedicate her abbey before the conquest began in June 1066. She even gave one of her daughters, Cecilia, as a child oblate destined to be a nun on the same day. These acts demonstrated piety and power while securing divine favour for the invasion.

The Gift of the Mora

Her most direct contribution was commissioning and gifting her husband the ship Mora. It was the largest and swiftest vessel in his invasion fleet. The Mora is a centrepiece of the Bayeux embroidery, shown with a gold cross and banner. A 12th-century list from Fécamp monastery described it.

Historians debate the golden child's meaning. Elisabeth van Houts argued it represented the couple's unborn child, Adela of Blois, symbolising the dynasty's future. Laura Gathagan, in a new biography, argues the ship physically embodied Matilda's contribution to the Conquest.

A Cohesive Partnership of Rule

Matilda's solo coronation in 1068, while visibly pregnant, demonstrated William's need for her royal blood to bolster his power in England. She had already been a key ally. Matilda acted as William's lieutenant in Normandy during his English campaigns. She was connected to 137 charters and served as regent in England from 1081 to 82, even presiding as a judge. Historian Laura Gathagan argues this was a new extension of queenly power.

As a major English landowner after the Conquest, Matilda used her wealth to enrich religious institutions. The Domesday Book records her holdings at Hambledon and Little Marlowe in Buckinghamshire. At her death in 1083, the monk Orderic Vitalis described William facing "constant storms" thereafter. He recorded Matilda's magnificent funeral at Sainte-Trinité Abbey, attended by bishops, abbots, monks, and the poor.

Her tombstone epitaph highlighted her powerful lineage. It emphasised that her wealth and toils provided lands for the convent and comforted the poor. Arguably, without Matilda's backing, family ties, and co-ruling skills, William may never have achieved his ambitions. The central portrayal of the Mora in the Bayeux embroidery provides an important opportunity to tell her story, challenging us to reconsider the contributions of the Conquest's women, hidden in plain sight.