Matilda's End

Matilda of Tuscany had become a powerful woman with a great deal of influence in northern Italy. She had a big concern, however: she was the last of the House of Canossa, and there was no one to whom to leave her position and possessions. She needed an heir. A daughter born of her first marriage to Godfrey the Hunchback, Beatrice, died within a few weeks. She also wanted allies in her ongoing hostility with Hole Roman Emperor Henry IV, and political marriages were a traditional way to make allies.

In 1089, she married Welf (the illustration is their marriage from a 14th century history by Giovanni Villani), who in 1101 would become Duke of Bavaria. Matilda was in her 40s by now, and Welf was a teenager. Cosmas of Prague in his Chronicle of Bohemians records a letter from Matilda to Welf:

Not for feminine lightness or recklessness, but for the good of all my kingdom, I send you this letter: agreeing to it, you take with it myself and the rule over the whole of Lombardy. I'll give you so many cities, so many castles and noble palaces, so much gold and silver, that you will have a famous name, if you endear yourself to me; do not reproof me for boldness because I first address you with the proposal. It's reason for both male and female to desire a legitimate union, and it makes no difference whether the man or the woman broaches the first line of love, sofar as an indissoluble marriage is sought. Goodbye.

This "letter" is now considered fictional, but it is a clue from a contemporary historian regarding what he thought the motivations would be for the teen to marry Matilda. There were 120 days of wedding festivities. Cosmas also suggests that Welf was reluctant to act the proper husband; whatever the reason, the two separated by the spring of 1095. There was no annulment or divorce, but the two were no longer together. Matilda had another idea for an heir, however.

Around 1099, she turned to her allies in Florence, the Guidi Family, adopting one member of the family, Guido Guerra. He appears in records as adoptivus filius domine comitisse Matilde ("her adoptive son accompanied count Matilda"). Unfortunately for Guido, she donated all her possessions to the Apostolic See at Canossa in 1102. Guido, realizing he had nothing to inherit, left her side. If she had not adopted Guido or made the donation, Welf would have inherited, since there is no record of the marriage being dissolved. She cut them both out of the picture with what is called the Matildine Donation.

That seems to be another story, however. Scholars now believe the Matildine Donation is a faked document from the 1130s, long after her death. The pope did not want Canossa's ownership to go outside of Italy to Bavaria, which it would have done because of the marriage to Welf. So the Church faked the Donation.

In reality, references to the Matildine Donation are only found in religious documents, not in any other secular collection of records. In her later years, Matilda had better relations with Henry IV's heir, Henry V. In May of 1111, Henry V visited her, and from that visit apparently came an inheritance agreement that Henry V would be her heir and all hostilities and penalties that had been imposed upon her by her opposition to Henry IV would be dropped.

Matilda's life became quieter in her final years. Donizo of Canossa, a monk, wrote a history of the House of Canossa, part of it especially focusing on Matilda. She continued to promote the arts and literature, especially religious literature. One work dedicated to her was the Orationes sive meditationes ("Prayers and Meditations") by Anselm of Canterbury.

She died on 24 July 1115, but her prominence in life led to legendary status in death. She became known (erroneously) as the sole benefactor of several churches and monasteries in northern Italy. She can be seen at night at the Savignano Castle, riding a white horse during the full moon. A fountain she asked the pope to bless can get a woman pregnant with a single drink from it. Scholars looking at the Investiture Controversy give her plenty of attention.

Anselm of Canterbury (also known as Anselm of Bec), who dedicated a work to her, was not an ordinary figure. Despite being Italian by birth, he rose to the highest clerical position in England, Archbishop of Canterbury. He also wrote what was probably the most significant work of theology in the history of Roman Catholicism. Let's look at him tomorrow.

La Gran Contessa

After Matilda of Tuscany's mother and husband died (from old age and assassination, respectively), Matilda became the sole Margravaine of Tuscany. There was suspicion about the "convenient" death of her husband and whether she had somehow engineered the assassination. There was also a rumor that she had been having an affair with an "old family friend," Pope Gregory VII.

She increased the animosity against herself by going to Lorraine to claim her dead husband's lands in Verdun. Godfrey the Hunchback, however, had willed it to his nephew, Godfrey of Bouillon. Godfrey was understandably opposed to this, and also argued that she should not have the estates that had been given by Godfrey's father when he married Matilda's mother. The debate went before Bishop Theodoric of Verdun, who pleased himself and the pope by ruling in Matilda's favor. (Godfrey went on to became historically famous in other ways.)

Her first large-scale political event was providing military protection for Pope Gregory when he traveled north to meet with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV during their conflict—as Margravaine of Tuscany and heir to Canossa she technically controlled all the passes across the Apennines. Henry decided to travel south, however, and meet Gregory on Henry's terms. Gregory had excommunicated Henry and placed Germany under Interdict (so no one in Germany could receive any Sacraments). German nobles had told Henry he had to submit to the pope within a year or be deposed.

Learning of Henry's approach, Matilda told Gregory to come to Castle Canossa for safety. There was no danger, however: it turns out that Henry was coming to do penance. At the end of January 1077, Henry stood outside the gates of Canossa, barefoot in the snow, for a few days to show his sincerity. He had his wife and son and some others with him. The pope finally forgave him.

Matilda likely had a significant role in the negotiations that followed, given her political position as well as her role as host at Canossa. She continued to make waves, fighting later with Henry. Her court became a center of art and culture in northern Italy, and she became known as la Gran Contessa. She encouraged scholars to publish their works. We have a psalter written at her request by Bishop Anselm of Lucca. Johannes of Mantua made a commentary in the Song of Songs. Several works were also dedicated to her, which she had copied and distributed.

As the years went by, she became mindful of the fact that she was the last heir to the House of Canossa. Her search for an heir led to a second marriage to a man 20 years younger. That didn't work out, but she thought of another option. I'll tell you about those tomorrow.

Matilda of Tuscany

Matilda of Tuscany (c.1046 - 1115) was one of the most important figures in Italy in the second half of the 11th century. After the deaths of her father and brother, she ruled from the Castle of Canossa in northern Italy. She was said to be literate in Latin, French, and German; some believe she was taught military strategy as well, along with riding and weaponry.

As a strong female, she had a role model in her mother, Beatrice of Lorraine, who managed the regency of Matilda's brother Frederick and made alliances with other important political and religious figures. Beatrice was supportive of church and papal reforms, such as those proposed by Pope Gregory VII. Beatrice re-married; her choice of second husband was Godfrey the Bearded, Duke of Upper Lorraine, who had openly rebelled against Holy Roman Emperor Henry III. Henry, angered by her choice of his enemy as her husband, had Beatrice and Matilda arrested in 1055 and taken to Germany (Godfrey evaded capture). Henry died a year later, and the regency of his successor, the very young Henry IV, saw Godfrey reconciled with Henry's family and the women released. Upon their return to Italy, the pope (now Victor II) made clear that he valued the House of Canossa.

Matilda was understandably not inclined to look kindly on the family of her German captors. She supported Pope Gregory and his reform movement over Henry IV's choice of the Antipope Clement III. This led at a later date to Henry's forces ravaging parts of Tuscany.

Matilda was betrothed to Godfrey the Bearded's son from an earlier marriage, Godfrey the Hunchback. The elder Godfrey died on 30 December 1069 in Verdun, and records of the event tell us that Matilda was present and describe her as the wife of Godfrey the Hunchback.

The marriage was a way to consolidate Tuscany and Lorraine, but it was otherwise not typical. The two had a daughter, Beatrice, who died within a year, and the couple lived apart. Godfrey, perhaps because he learned from family history the dangers of crossing the Holy Roman Emperor, chose to support Henry IV in the Investiture Controversy, despite his wife's feelings and public stand on the matter.

By this time Beatrice—still co-regent with her daughter—was preparing her daughter for sole rule, encouraging her to be in charge of decisions and charters. When Beatrice died in 1076, Matilda became sole ruler of her parents' real estate possessions. Life was not simple, however. Godfrey had been assassinated (while relieving himself) two months earlier; if Beatrice had died first, Matilda's husband would have taken possession of her estates. As it happens, the deaths happened within a couple months in just the right order to make Matilda more powerful.

Suspicion fell on her for their deaths, as well as another accusation regarding her relationship to the pope. Let's dig into that, and into her career as ruler, next time.

War in Rome

After King Henry IV of Germany and Pope Gregory VII clashed over several issues, Henry decided to depose Gregory and put Guibert of Ravenna on the Throne of Peter as (antipope) Clement III. Henry promised to bring his army to Rome to accomplish this, but failed in his first attempt in 1081. A later attempt succeeded, however.

Henry marched into Rome on 21 March 1084. Pope Gregory barricaded himself in the Castle Sant'Angelo, which meant abandoning the papal complex. Three days later, Clement III took possession of the papacy. In return, he crowned Henry as Holy Roman Emperor.

Gregory had allies, however, one of whom was the powerful King of Sicily, Robert Guiscard. Robert brought his Norman army to Gregory's aid, prompting Henry and Guibert to abandon Rome. On their way north, Henry ravaged parts of Tuscany which were possessions of Matilda of Tuscany, who had supported Gregory. Guibert went to Ravenna, where he had been archbishop, and wielded limited power.

Although Gregory was free to resume his job as pope, Romans were upset at damage done by his Norman allies. Opposition to Gregory grew great enough that he decided to live at Monte Cassino. He died a year later, on 25 May 1085. His immediate successor (Victor III) did not relish the public life of the papacy, and did not last long before he retired. His successor was Urban II, who also had problems because of German support (and some in Rome) for Clement. Clement returned to Rome in 1089, taking up residence at the Vatican and forcing Urban to stay away from Rome.

The King of France's brother, Hugh of Vermandois, marched on Rome to deal with the antipope, prompting Clement this time to flee to Monte Cassino. Hugh captured Monte Cassino as well, however, and Clement fled to Albano, a day's journey from Rome. By this time, however, Urban had died, and Paschal II was the pope of the anti-Germany faction.

Guibert/Clement died on 8 September 1100, having outlived two popes who were his opposition and who failed to depose him. His supporters elected another antipope, Theodoric, who never wielded any real authority and lasted a year.

Who was this Matilda of Tuscany, who supported Gregory and suffered because of Henry IV? Let me tell you about la Gran Contessa tomorrow.