Cultural depictions of Empress Matilda

Portrait of Empress Mathilda, from "History of England" by St. Albans monks (15th century)

The 12th-century ruler Empress Matilda has been depicted in various cultural media.

## Theatre, film and television

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Matilda is a character in Henry I of England, a play by Beth Flintoff, which was first performed in November 2016 at St James's Church, Reading.[1][2] The drama follows the story of the three sons of William the Conqueror and ends with the early reign of her father Henry, including the time when Matilda became Empress by marrying Henry V of Germany. The narrative continues in Flintoff's play Matilda the Empress, first performed in 2017 at the same venue with Dani McCallum taking the lead part. It depicts Matilda's later life and The Anarchy period after Henry I's death when she and her cousin Stephen were rivals for the succession.[3][4] In the concluding part of Flintoff's trilogy, Henry II, which was first performed in October 2018 at Reading's Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin, Matilda is depicted attending the dedication of Reading Abbey over the Easter weekend of 1164.[5][6]

Matilda is also a character in Jean Anouilh's play Becket. In the 1964 film adaptation, she was portrayed by Martita Hunt.[7]

She was played by Brenda Bruce in the 1978 BBC TV series The Devil's Crown, which dramatised the reigns of her son and grandsons.[8]

Alison Pill portrayed Matilda in the 2010 TV miniseries The Pillars of the Earth, an adaptation of Follett's novel.

## Historical fiction

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Novels dealing with the civil war between Matilda and Stephen include:

* A Legend of Reading Abbey (1845) by Charles Macfarlane.[9]
* The Fool by H. C. Bailey (1927), deals with Matilda's relationship with her son, Henry II.[10]
* The Empress (1932) by Carola Oman[11]
* Cecelia Holland, The Earl (1971)
* Graham Shelby, The Villains of the Piece (1972) (published in the US as The Oath and the Sword)
* E. L. Konigsburg, A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver (1973)
* Jean Plaidy, The Passionate Enemies, the third book of her Norman Trilogy (1976)
* The Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters (beginning in 1977 with A Morbid Taste for Bones) and the TV series made from them starring Sir Derek Jacobi. In these books Empress Matilda is referred to by her vernacular name, Empress Maud.[12]
* Roberta Gellis, The Sword and the Swan (1977).[10]
* Ken Follett, The Pillars of the Earth (1989)
* Ellen Jones, The Fatal Crown (1991)
* Sharon Penman, When Christ and His Saints Slept tells the story of the events before, during and after the civil war (1995)
* Haley Elizabeth Garwood, The Forgotten Queen (1997)
* Elizabeth Chadwick, Lady of the English (2012)
* Amy Mantravadi, The Girl Empress (2017), part of a series of novels telling Matilda's life story
* Gemma Lawrence, The Heirs of Anarchy (2020-2022), four book series

## See also

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* Cultural depictions of Henry I of England
* Cultural depictions of Henry II of England
* Cultural depictions of Adelaide of Italy
* Cultural depictions of Theophanu
* Cultural depictions of Gisela of Swabia

## References

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1. ^ "Henry I of England". Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
2. ^ "Review of Henry I of England". 2 November 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
3. ^ "Matilda The Empress". Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
4. ^ "Review of Matilda The Empress". Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
5. ^ "Henry II". Retrieved 2 December 2018.
6. ^ "Review of Henry II". Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
7. ^ "Becket (1964) - IMDb". IMDb.
8. ^ ""The Devil's Crown" if All the World Were Mine (TV Episode 1978)". IMDb.
9. ^ "A LEGEND OF READING ABBEY, Dutton, 1904. Conflict between Matilda and the usurper Stephen". McGarry, Daniel D. McGarry, White, Sarah Harriman, Historical Fiction Guide: Annotated Chronological, Geographical, and Topical List of Five Thousand Selected Historical Novels. Scarecrow Press, New York, 1963 (pgs. 62)
10. ^ a b Myron J. Smith, War story guide: an annotated bibliography of military fiction. Scarecrow Press, 1980. ISBN 978-0810812819 (p. 13, 24).
11. ^ Sydney Morning Herald 30 December 1932 "Novels of the Day:The Empress by Carola Oman" p. 3.
12. ^ "Peters, Ellis. Dead Man's Ransom. New York: Morrow, 1984. 190p. $13.95. ISBN 0-688-04194-9. YA In 1141, King Stephen and Empress Maud battle at Lincoln for the crown, and their conflict results in a prisoner exchange". Adamson Lynda G., Literature connections to world history, 7-12 : resources to enhance and entice Englewood, Colo. : Libraries Unlimited, 1998. ISBN 9781563085055 (pg. 329)

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Cultural depictions of English and British monarchs

Kingdom of the
English
886–1066|

* Alfred the Great
* Edward the Elder
* Æthelflæd
* Ælfweard
* Athelstan the Glorious1
* Edmund the Magnificent1
* Eadred1
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* Edgar the Ætheling

Kingdom of
England
1066–1649|

* William I
* William II
* Henry I
* Stephen
* Matilda
* Henry II2
* Henry the Young King
* Richard I
* John2
* Henry III2
* Edward I2
* Edward II2
* Edward III2
* Richard II2
* Henry IV2
* Henry V2
* Henry VI2
* Edward IV2
* Edward V2
* Richard III2
* Henry VII2
* Henry VIII2
* Edward VI2
* Jane2
* Mary I2 with Philip2
* Elizabeth I 2
* James I3
* Charles I3

Commonwealth of
England, Scotland and Ireland
1653–1659|

* Oliver Cromwell4
* Richard Cromwell4

Kingdom of
England
1660–1707|

* Charles II3
* James II3
* William III and Mary II3
* Anne3

Kingdom of
Scotland
843–1707 (traditional)|

* Kenneth I MacAlpin
* Donald I
* Constantine I (II)
* Áed
* Giric
* Eochaid
* Donald II
* Constantine II (III)
* Malcolm I
* Indulf
* Dub
* Cuilén
* Amlaíb
* Kenneth II
* Constantine III (IV)
* Kenneth III
* Malcolm II
* Duncan I
* Macbeth
* Lulach
* Malcolm III Canmore
* Donald III
* Duncan II
* Donald III
* Edgar
* Alexander I
* David I
* Malcolm IV
* William I the Lion
* Alexander II
* Alexander III
* Margaret
* John
* Robert I
* David II
* Robert II
* Robert III
* James I
* James II
* James III
* James IV
* James V
* Mary I
* James VI 5
* Charles I5
* Charles II5
* James VII5
* Mary II5
* William III5
* Anne5

British monarchs after
the Acts of Union 1707|

* Anne
* George I
* George II
* George III
* George IV
* William IV
* Victoria
* Edward VII
* George V
* Edward VIII
* George VI
* Elizabeth II
* Charles III

1Overlord of Britain. 2Also ruler of Ireland. 3Also ruler of Scotland and Ireland. 4Lord Protector.
5Also ruler of England and Ireland. Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics.
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