Queen Matilda Of England And The Marriage Table A Dowry Of...

Queen Matilda of England brought to the marriage table a dowry of estates. While, she did not grant William great wealth, she did possess great wealth of her own. Roughly one fourth of the wealth of Matilda and William belonged to Matilda. She presented her husband with the ship the Mora as a symbol of her approval of his conquest of England. Matilda, being well educated and capable, served as regent of Normandy while her husband was away in England. Matilda made the journey to England in 1068 where she was crowned Queen of England. Matilda, like many queens of her time, actively participated in government. Roughly one hundred charters bear Matilda’s name, suggesting that she occasionally maintained full responsibility of Normandy in her husband’s absence. Matilda became a wealthy landowner in England, where she held lands in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Buckinghamshire, and Gloucestershire. She maintained contact with he r family in Flanders and even provided William with Flemish men for his army. She was also a key player in King William’s rule of England, hearing land pleas and negotiating with nobles. Matilda played a lesser role in foreign politics than her husband. She did, however, maintain contacts with the Church. She sent gifts to French abbots and German hermits along with open contact with Pope Gregory VII. Pope Gregory VII encouraged Matilda to bring her husband closer to the church where the Pope’s could keep a