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Empress Matilda: Queen of the Romans, Ruler of the English, by Elisabeth van Houts

Empress Matilda: Queen of the Romans, Ruler of the English, by Elisabeth van Houts

A new biography that challenges narratives and restores one of medieval England’s most influential women to centre stage.
Adam Staten

Empress Matilda: Queen of the Romans, Ruler of the English is a new biography by the University of Cambridge historian Elisabeth van Houts. The subject of the book, Empress Matilda, is one of the most fascinating and, arguably, one of the most overlooked characters in...

The Complex Character of Empress Matilda

The Complex Character of Empress Matilda

While her determination was sometimes mistaken for arrogance, Matilda’s resilience and political judgement ended up securing the English crown for her son, Henry II, and laid the foundations for the Plantagenet dynasty.
Elisabeth van Houts

In my new biography of Empress Matilda, I have emphasised Matilda’s capacity for collaboration with the men surrounding her, revealing her concomitant skill of persuasion and negotiation. Nevertheless, it is clear from her life story that there were moments that these...