Edith of Scotland

Edith as Queen Matilda (representation from the 13th century)

Edith of Scotland (picture from 1851)

Edith of Scotland or Matilda of Scotland (* 1080 ; † May 1, 1118 ) was the first wife of King Henry I of England . She was the eldest daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland . and St. Margaret , and related to the Anglo-Saxon royal family through her mother . Her godparents were Robert Kurzhose and his mother, Queen Mathilde of Flanders .

After childhood at the Scottish court, Edith was taken to the Anglo-Saxon monasteries of Romsey and Wilton, where she received a classical education. Her aunt Christina forced her there to wear a veil, which should lead to various conflicts, since she was never intended for a spiritual career. In 1093 she left the monastery, where she stayed afterwards is not known.

In 1100 she married Henry I of England and was crowned Queen of England. In advance, an investigation by the then Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury had to be clarified whether Edith, who at that time already called herself Matilda, was marriageable or whether she had made her vows in the monastery. The former was proven, after which she was able to get married. She and Heinrich had two children, including one of the heir to the throne, William Ætheling . As queen, Matilda II founded several monasteries and also supported other religious institutions and hospitals. She was also regent at times when the king was out of the country. She was considered a pious and active queen, for whom after her death in 1118 a canonization was sought, but was ultimately not carried out.

Birth and parentage

Edith was believed to be the fifth child and first daughter of the Scottish King Malcolm III in late summer or early autumn 1080 . and his wife Margareta (also known as Saint Margaret ). Since her mother was the granddaughter of Edmund Eisseite and thus a descendant of Alfred the Great , Edith also belonged to the Anglo-Saxon dynasty of Wessex . Her name (as well as that of her brothers) was of Anglo-Saxon origin, which her parents wanted to emphasize. Presumably it was named after the wife of Edward the Confessor and after Saint Edith , who is dedicated to a monastery in Wilton, where the Scottish princess spent part of her youth. The political significance of their origins was already reflected in the choice of their godparents: these were Robert Kurzhose , who was ambassador at the Scottish court, and his mother, the then English Queen Mathilde of Flanders .

Childhood and youth

She spent her early childhood at the Scottish court before moving to Romsey with her sister Maria in 1086 (when she was probably six years old) , where her aunt Christina became a nun that same year . She came to Wilton within the next six years (when exactly is not known). Both convents were founded by Anglo-Saxons and had well-known schools. There Edith received a classical education that made her familiar with many Roman authors , including Ovid and Cicero . In 1093 Edith was betrothed to Alain the Red , the Earl of Richmond , but they did not get married. The exact circumstances are very complex and have not been clearly clarified. In any event, Alain kidnapped another noble girl, Gunnhild, from the convent in August of that year and died a few months later (Gunnhild married his brother instead). In the year of her engagement to Alain , both the then English King Wilhelm Rufus and Edith's father Malcolm III visited. the convent (whether Romsey or Wilton is being discussed), where they found Edith veiled. Edith had never taken the vow, but had been forced by her aunt Christina, possibly abbess at the time , to wear the veil as protection from the Normans . This led to a later controversy as to whether Edith had become a nun (see below). Wilhelm Rufus , of whom Hermann von Tournai claims he would also have wanted to ask for Edith's hand (the abbess would have wanted to protect the girl from him), then left the convent and canceled a planned meeting with Malcolm in Gloucester . Her father would have torn the veil off her head when he saw her and said that he would rather marry her to Alain the Red than let her become a nun. From the very beginning the princess was not destined for an intellectual career but for a marriage. She had already left the monastery when Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury wrote to Osmund of Sées , the Bishop of Salisbury , asking him to bring the daughter of the King of Scotland back there.

It is not entirely clear in what order these events (the kidnapping of Gunnhild and the visits of Malcolm and Wilhelm ) happened. There are various theories, the thesis that Wilhelm Rufus was in the convent before Malcolm and, because he wanted to ask for Edith's hand himself, left the monastery when she was veiled , is widely accepted and therefore canceled the meeting with Malcolm . However, this opinion is also partly questioned.

After she left the monastery , her traces are lost. Her father and brother Eduard died in 1093, three days later her mother Margareta , and it is not clear where Edith was afterwards. One possibility, according to Green, would be that she was in southern England with her sister Maria. Huneycutt contemplates that she may have been at Wilton or at the English court, in which case she probably no longer wore a veil. During this time, William II von Warenne, the Count of Surrey, rejected a marriage proposal . It is possible that Edith and her future husband Heinrich were already in contact with each other at this time (see below).

Marriage to Heinrich I.

After Heinrich I ascended the throne in 1100, he looked around for a wife and his choice fell on Edith. But since she had been seen veiled during her training in the monastery , there was now an argument as to whether she had already taken the vow or not. Anselm of Canterbury , who had returned to England in September 1100 after a long exile, was investigating the case. Edith went to him herself and explained how her aunt had forced her to wear the veil and that she had never become a nun . Anselm then called a synod in Lambeth Palace to examine the legality of the proposed marriage, where Edith also testified again. He also had investigations carried out at Wilton, where there was no evidence to the contrary to the princess's reports. Both this and the synod (at which he was not present) came to the conclusion that Edith had not become a nun. A letter from Lanfrank von Bec was also mentioned at the synod , in which he advocated that Anglo-Saxon women who had sought refuge from the Normans in monasteries could not be forced to become nuns and could continue to be marriageable. Eventually Anselm decided to marry the couple, but on the day of the wedding (November 11, 1100), he asked the people for the opinion of the connection in front of the Church of Westminster Abbey , describing the incidents and the process in advance. Only when no one spoke out against it did the wedding take place.

Edith was crowned Matilda II of England. When she took the name Matilda is controversial. One suggestion was that she should be given the name when she was baptized, after her godmother Mathilde von Flanders . However, as Huneycutt explained, Edith is actually her maiden name. Tyler writes that Matilda is her "married name". Hollister and Huneycutt explain that she previously called herself Matilda and that it is unknown when she started calling herself that.

Edith (or Matilda) and Heinrich seem to have known each other a long time before the wedding, some sources even assumed a love marriage. In fact, Hollister argues that Edith must have had a strong interest in the marriage, as she approached Anselm and advocated being allowed to marry Heinrich. In addition to the personal relationship, there was also a political component, which probably played a bigger role: through her mother, Edith was a descendant of the English King Edmund II and thus Alfred the Great from the old family of the Kings of Wessex (see above). Their ancestry had several advantages for Heinrich , because the Norman and Anglo-Saxon dynasties would be united with their descendants, which also legitimized Heinrich's dynasty , which had not long been on the English throne. In addition, England and Scotland would move closer together politically, as three of Edith's brothers became Scottish kings and relations between the two countries were good during their reigns. In addition, Hollister noted, Heinrich had pledged in his coronation oath to restore old Anglo-Saxon law, which the marriage to Edith underlined.

progeny

Heinrich and Matilda had two children:

1. Matilda , * about February 7, 1102
2. William Ætheling , * before November 23, 1103

It was discussed whether a stillbirth had occurred in the summer of 1101 before Matilda was born, but this is now doubted. Chibnall argues that in such a case there would be too little time between the two pregnancies, which is why stillbirth is unlikely. Two years after Matilda's death, her son died in the sinking of the White Ship , which meant that the English line to the throne was no longer guaranteed. As a result , a civil war broke out after the death of Heinrich I , who despite a second marriage no longer had a son.

Queen Matilda II

Matilda held court mainly in Westminster , but also accompanied her husband on his travels to Normandy . Her court consisted largely of musicians, poets and scholars; she herself was well educated (see above). She had her own household and several lands from which she received income and over which she exercised legal power. Many of her successors on the English throne no longer did this and Heinrich's second wife was considered a less active queen. An example of her ability to act was that she not only accompanied her husband, as described above, but also partially represented him when he was out of the country and so z. B. presided over the Exchequer Court in Heinrich's absence . In addition, she was considered a promoter of literature and the church, and she was known for her piety. For example, in 1107 or 1108 she founded the Augustinian priory of Holy Trinity in Aldgate, London , founded a hospital for lepers dedicated to St. Giles and supported at least one other house in Chichester . As for her personal piety, William of Malmesbury writes that during Lent she went to church barefoot and kissed the feet of the sick. Her “spiritual advisor” was Anselm von Canterbury, with whom she kept in close correspondence., At the beginning of her reign she also had the monk Turgot write the Vita Sanctae Margaretae , a saints vita about the life of her mother, which is probably also a kind of manual for a should serve good reign. At times, a canonization was sought for Matilda , but it was never implemented.

After her death on May 1, 1118, her subjects remembered her as the "Good Queen Maud". Three years after her death, Heinrich - who had two legitimate children and at least twenty illegitimate children - married a second time.

Web links

Commons : Edith of Scotland  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

• Marjorie Chibnall : The Empress Matilda. Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English. Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 1992, ISBN 0-631-15737-9 .
• Judith A. Green: Henry I. King of England and Duke of Normandy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge u. a. 2006, ISBN 978-0-521-59131-7 .
• C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. Edited and completed by Amanda Clark Frost. Yale University Press, New Haven CT et al. a. 2001, ISBN 0-300-08858-2 ( Yale English Monarchs Series ).
• Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. Boydell Press, Rochester NY, et al. a. 2003, ISBN 0-85115-994-X .
• Elizabeth M. Tyler: England in Europe. English Royal Women and Literary Patronage, c. 1000-c. 1150 . University of Toronto Press, Toronto u. a. 2017, ISBN 978-1-4426-4072-6 ( Toronto Anglo-Saxon Series 23 ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 9.
2. ^ Elizabeth M. Tyler: England in Europe. English Royal Women and Literary Patronage, c. 1000-c. 1150. 2017, p. 302.
3. ^ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, p. 126.
4. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 10.
5. ^ Elizabeth M. Tyler: England in Europe. English Royal Women and Literary Patronage, c. 1000-c. 1150. 2017, p. 302.
6. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 10.
7. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 10.
8. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, pp. 17-19.
9. ^ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, p. 128.
10. ^ Elizabeth M. Tyler: England in Europe. English Royal Women and Literary Patronage, c. 1000-c. 1150. 2017, pp. 310f ..
11. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 21f.
12. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 17f.
13. ↑ This may also be her aunt Christina, but only under the premise that the events took place in Romsey, since Christina probably lived there until her death, cf. Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 18.
14. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, pp. 21-23.
15. ^ Judith A. Green: Henry I. King of England and Duke of Normandy. 2006, p. 54.
16. ↑ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, pp. 128f.
17. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, pp. 21-24. where some other theories are also presented,
18. ^ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, p. 128. who questions the credibility of Herman of Tournai, on whose statements this finding is based.
19. ^ Judith A. Green: Henry I. King of England and Duke of Normandy. 2006, p. 54.
20. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 25.
21. ^ Judith A. Green: Henry I. King of England and Duke of Normandy. 2006, pp. 54, 324.
22. ^ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, p. 126.
23. ^ Judith A. Green: Henry I. King of England and Duke of Normandy. 2006, p. 53.
24. ^ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, p. 128.
25. ^ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, p. 118.
26. ^ Judith A. Green: Henry I. King of England and Duke of Normandy. 2006, p. 55f.
27. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 28f.
28. ^ Judith A. Green: Henry I. King of England and Duke of Normandy. 2006, p. 56.
29. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 29.
30. ^ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, p. 130.
31. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 26.
32. ^ Elizabeth M. Tyler: England in Europe. English Royal Women and Literary Patronage, c. 1000-c. 1150. 2017, p. 302.
33. ^ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, p. 126.
34. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 26.
35. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 27.
36. ^ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, p. 129.
37. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 27.
38. ^ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, p. 126.
39. ^ Elizabeth M. Tyler: England in Europe. English Royal Women and Literary Patronage, c. 1000-c. 1150. 2017, p. 302.
40. ^ Marjorie Chibnall: The Empress Matilda. Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English. 1992, p. 7.
41. ^ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, pp. 112, 126.
42. ^ Marjorie Chibnall: The Empress Matilda. Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English. 1992, p. 9.
43. ^ Elizabeth M. Tyler: England in Europe. English Royal Women and Literary Patronage, c. 1000-c. 1150. 2017, p. 303.
44. ^ Judith A. Green: Henry I. King of England and Duke of Normandy. 2006, p. 58.
45. ^ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, p. 130.
46. ^ Judith A. Green: Henry I. King of England and Duke of Normandy. 2006, p. 57f.
47. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, pp. 60-69.
48. ^ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, p. 130.
49. ^ Judith A. Green: Henry I. King of England and Duke of Normandy. 2006, p. 140.
50. ^ C. Warren Hollister: Henry I. 2001, p. 130.
51. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, pp. 66, 105f.
52. ^ Judith A. Green: Henry I. King of England and Duke of Normandy. 2006, p. 58.
53. ^ Elizabeth M. Tyler: England in Europe. English Royal Women and Literary Patronage, c. 1000-c. 1150. 2017, p. 309.
54. ^ Marjorie Chibnall: The Empress Matilda. Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English. 1992, p. 10.
55. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 10.
56. ↑ Lois L. Huneycutt: Matilda of Scotland. A Study in Medieval Queenship. 2003, p. 146f.
57. ^ Judith A. Green: Henry I. King of England and Duke of Normandy. 2006, pp. 138, 140.
58. ^ Judith A. Green: Henry I. King of England and Duke of Normandy. 2006, pp. 168f., 322f.

predecessor	Office	Successor
Mathilde of Flanders	Queen Consort of England 1100–1118	Adelheid von Löwen