Empress Matilda

Empress Matilda was the daughter and designated heir of Henry I of England who contested the crown with Stephen of Blois during the Anarchy.

Henry I of England: King of England from 1100 to 1135 and father of Empress Matilda. He named Matilda his heir and required leading nobles to swear allegiance to her.
Anarchy (English history): The civil war in England and Normandy from 1135 to 1153 between supporters of Stephen and Matilda. Matilda’s campaign for the crown was the central dynastic conflict of this war.
Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester: An Anglo-Norman magnate and illegitimate son of Henry I who supported Matilda’s claim. He was her most important military and political ally in the civil war.
Angevin Empire: The collection of territories ruled by Henry II and his descendants in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Matilda’s marriage and her son’s inheritance helped assemble its dynastic foundations.
Matilda of Scotland: Queen of England as the wife of Henry I and mother of Empress Matilda. Her royal ancestry connected Matilda to the Anglo-Saxon line of English kings.
Battle of Lincoln (1141): A 1141 battle in which Matilda’s forces defeated and captured Stephen. Stephen’s capture briefly left Matilda with the strongest claim to rule England.
Henry II of England: King of England from 1154 to 1189 and son of Empress Matilda and Geoffrey of Anjou. Matilda’s son became king after Stephen recognized him as successor.
Treaty of Winchester (1153): The agreement by which Stephen recognized Henry FitzEmpress as his heir to the English throne. It secured the succession Matilda had pursued, though she never became queen regnant.
Holy Roman Emperor Henry V: Holy Roman Emperor from 1111 to 1125 and husband of Empress Matilda. Her marriage to him gave her the title by which she is known.
Empress Matilda’s escape from Oxford Castle: Matilda’s winter escape from besieged Oxford Castle in 1142 across the frozen landscape. The escape preserved her position after Stephen’s forces trapped her at Oxford.

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Matilda of BoulogneCompared with: She was the rival claimant whose forces Matilda of Boulogne repeatedly opposed.