A01=Lois L Huneycutt
Alfred the Great
Anglo-Saxon
Author_Lois L Huneycutt
Category=JBSF1
Category=NHDJ
Category=NHTG
Curia Regis
Ecclesiastical Patronage
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
Henry I
Lay Patronage
Matilda of Scotland
Medieval Church
Medieval Culture
Politics
Romsey
Ruling
Vice-Regal Authority
Wilton
Women
Product details
- ISBN 9780851159942
- Weight: 415g
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 28 Aug 2003
- Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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A study of Matilda of Scotland (wife to Henry I) and the political acumen and personal skills she brought to the role of queen.
Matilda of Scotland was the daughter of Malcolm II of Scotland and his Anglo-Saxon queen Margaret. Her marriage to Henry I of England in 1100 thus brought to Henry, descendant of the conquering Normans, a direct and politically desirable link to Matilda's ancestor Alfred the Great.
Her life makes clear that Matilda had outstanding talents. She was educated in the exclusive convents of Romsey and Wilton, a grounding which enabled her to further the literate court culture of the twelfth century, and under her control was a substantial demesne that allowed her to exercise both lay and ecclesiastical patronage. In the matter of ruling, she was an active partner in administering Henry's cross-channel realm, served as a member of his curia regis, and on occasion acted with what amounted to vice-regal authority in England while Henry was in Normandy.
Chroniclers of the twelfth and thirteenth centuriesoften refer to her as Mathilda bona regina, or Matildis beatae memoriae, and for a time she was popularly regarded as a saint. Huneycutt's study shows how Matilda achieved such acclaim, both because the political structures of her day allowed her the opportunity to do so and because she herself was skilled at manipulating those structures.
This study will be valuable to those interested in not only English political history, but also to historians of women, the medieval church, and medieval culture.
LOIS HUNEYCUTT is professor of history at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Lois L Huneycutt is Associate Professor of History at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
