Matilda of Flanders

“ Then feeling more secure in his own power, after he had taken Alençon and Domfront and laid his iron hand on Maine, while Anjou and Brittany were too bent upon intestine strife to trouble him, he pacified the continual quarrels with Flanders by taking Matilda the daughter of its Count Baldwin as his wife. Descended from the stock of Wessex, of Burgundy, and of Italy, with the blood of Charlemagne in her veins, Matilda was beautiful, virtuous and accomplished, and worthy to be the mate64 of one who set an example of domestic purity to all the princes of his time. ”

“ In 1070 she and her son Robert joined in requesting Lanfranc to accept the archbishopric of Canterbury. William FitzOsbern was in December sent over from England by the king to help Matilda in the regency of Normandy; he marched at the queen's desire to uphold the cause of her brother's widow and son in Flanders against Robert the Frisian (William of Jumièges, viii. 14) . Matilda was deeply afflicted by the death of her brother and nephew and by the troubles that war brought upon her native land (Orderic, p. 527) . ”

“ Molde, as the Normans were pleased to term it, was regarded as so decidedly a Norman name, that the Scottish-Saxon Eadgyth was made to assume it, and it continued the regnant royal name until it sunk beneath the influences of the Provençal Alienor. It seems as if Matilde had been freshly introduced in Flanders when Count Philip married Matilda of Portugal; and this, and the old traditional Mehaut, went on side by side, just as in England did the full name Matilda, and the Anglicized Norman contraction Maude. ”

“ She who gave the king her hand and heart, is accused by the man who, at that time, promised to be her lord and protector. She, who by the unanimous verdict of the nation, received the name of mother of the country, is tried by those men who at that day would have joyfully shed their blood for her. So unhappy is Queen Caroline Matilda, and she alone among all the Queens of Denmark! At an age, and gifted with all the qualities, which seemed to determine her felicity, she finds herself on the verge of an abyss, in which her honour, her dignity, and her peace may be lost. ”

“ Banished with every circumstance of indignity from the throne of Denmark, her noble soul retained no sentiment of revenge or resentment against the wicked authors of her fall, or against the Danish people. Ambition, a passion from which she was singularly exempt, never disturbed her peace of mind; and she looked back to the diadem which had been torn from her brow with wondrous calmness and magnanimity.
It was not the crown Caroline Matilda regretted, for her children alone occupied all her care and solicitude; the feelings of the queen were absorbed in those of the mother ”

“ M. le Grand, in his preface to some of Mary's fables, which he has published in French prose, informs us that this person was Earl William de Dampierre. But William, Lord of Dampierre, in Champagne, had in himself no right whatever to the title of Earl. During the 13th century, this dignity was by no means assumed indiscriminately, and at pleasure, by French gentlemen; it was generally borne by whoever was the owner of a province, and sometimes of a great city, constituting an earldom: such were the earldoms of Flanders, of Artois, of Anjou, of Paris, &c. ”

“ Matilda seated herself by him, and most enchanting, most pensive music, drawn by her fingers from a harp, thrilled his soul with an ecstasy of melancholy; tears rolled rapidly down his cheeks; deep drawn, though gentle sighs heaved his bosom: his innocent eyes were mildly fixed upon Matilda, and beamed with compassion for one whose only wish was gratification of her own inordinate desires, and destruction to his opening prospects of happiness. ”

“ Thus saying, Zastrozzi departed, and Matilda retraced her steps to her castella.
Amid the delight, the ecstasy, for which her soul had so long panted—amid the embraces of him whom she had fondly supposed alone to constitute all terrestrial happiness, racking, corroding thoughts possessed Matilda’s bosom.
Deeply musing on schemes of future delight—delight established by the gratification of most diabolical revenge, her eyes fixed upon the ground, heedless what path she pursued, Matilda advanced along the forest. ”

“ Her efforts had been sedulously devoted to the excitement of some feeling of attachment on the part of Matilda; but as women can only excite love in their female companions by rivalship, her praises went for nothing more than an old woman's garrulity. Matilda felt it impossible to give her affections to her English suitor, and was glad to take refuge behind the commands of her father, never to see him, and never to listen to his high-flown professions of passion.
Many other suitors sought the favour of the far-famed Rose of Roseallan. ”

“ Matilda was a dark-haired, dark-eyed, romantic-looking girl, with a tall figure and a slender waist, with more poetry in her head than would have turned any ordinary brain; always unhappy, in need of consolation, never meeting with the kindred spirit that understood her, destined to walk the world alone, her fair thoughts smothered in the recesses of her own heart. ”

“ Matilda then related to him her whole story, who her father was, how her mother had died while she was still a child, and about her stepmother and her nixie godmother. She also told him of how she had chanced to come to his castle and take service there.
The count listened to all she had to say, and when she had come to an end, he took her in his arms and embraced her tenderly.
“I care not who you are,” he said, “nor whence you come. I know only that I love you, and that you and you alone shall be my bride.” ”

“ Queen Matilda’s coffin is easily found, as it is the only [Pg 309] wooden (mahogany) one there. It is of extraordinary breadth—almost as broad as long—and at the head is the following inscription in Latin: Here are deposited the mortal remains of Caroline Matilda, Princess of Great Britain and Brunswick-Lüneburg, Queen of Denmark and Norway. ”

“ The fame of her good deeds spread abroad, and the poor throughout Denmark, even thousands to whom she was only a name, came to look upon her as a protectress and a friend. They believed that the golden days of good Queen Louise had come [Pg 178] back again. “The English,” they said, “send us not Queens, but angels.”
For the rest, Matilda lived in great retirement. Occasionally she received visits of ceremony from the Dowager-Queens, from Sophia Magdalena, who lived at Hirschholm, or from Juliana Maria, who lived at Fredensborg. ”

“ THE YOUTH OF CAROLINE MATILDA—MEMOIRS OF AN UNFORTUNATE QUEEN—EDUCATION OF THE PRINCESS—SPECIMENS OF HER CORRESPONDENCE—PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE—CAROLINE MATILDA'S FEELINGS—THE ROYAL ASSENT—DEATH OF THE KING OF DENMARK—PUBLIC OPINION—THE MARRIAGE PORTION—THE MARRIAGE—FAREWELL TO ENGLAND—LANDING IN DENMARK—ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION.
It is not possible to give any detailed account of the youth of Caroline Matilda, for young princesses are not brought much into evidence. ”

“ Frau von Plessen strove for influence and power. If she could so contrive that Caroline Matilda should attain as much mastery over Christian VII. as Sophia Magdalena had held over Christian VI., she, as her confidante, would easily be able to direct matters as she pleased. The speculating lady, unfortunately, fancied she had discovered the best way of effecting this, by advising the young queen to behave more reservedly towards her husband, who—so the clever lady-in-waiting calculated—would become all the more in love with his beautiful wife, and more indulgent to her wishes. ”

“ Princess Amelia told Lord Hertford, on the 26th, that when the King of Denmark was in England, observing how coldly he spoke of his wife, she asked him why he did not like her. He answered, 'Mais elle est si blonde!' The princess added, that Queen Matilda had a very high spirit, and that she believed the Danes would consent to let her go to Hanover. 'But she will not be let go thither,' added the princess, meaning that the queen's brother, Prince Charles of Mecklenburg, commanded there, 'or to Zell, but she will not go thither (another of the queen's brothers was there) ”

“ On one occasion, Caroline Matilda, conversing on the early commencement of her misfortunes, observed that, since she was born to suffer, she found some consolation in being marked out so soon by the hand of adversity. "I may possibly live," said her Majesty, "to see Denmark disabused with respect to my conduct: whereas my poor mother, one of the best women that ever existed, died while the load of obloquy lay heavy upon her, and went to the grave without the pleasure of a vindicated character." ”

“ The English envoy was so delighted at Caroline Matilda's reception, that he wrote home at once:—"The princess seems to gain approbation and affection wherever she shows herself, and those more closely connected with her praise unanimously and in the highest terms her disposition and conduct." The English cabinet, however, did not put entire faith in this enthusiasm. The youth of the princess could not but cause anxiety, because the king, her husband, was, so to speak, a child too. ”

“ From the first day she saw Matilda, she hated the child because of her beauty and her gentleness. She treated her so unkindly that Matilda was very unhappy. She was worse fed and clothed than any servant in the castle, and the meanest room and the hardest bed were given to her. Still she grew in beauty day by day, and every one except the stepmother loved her for her gentle ways and her sweetness.
“DO NOT BE AFRAID, MY CHILD,” SAID THE NIXIE TO MATILDA
One day the stepmother wished to examine the jewels that had once belonged to the Lady Matilda. ”

“ As Matilda grew towards womanhood, more than one Norman chieftain had endeavoured to obtain her hand in marriage; but on preferring their request to William Rufus, that politic monarch had refused his consent. He did not wish to see an English princess, a lineal descendant of Alfred the Great, allied to any man whose power or abilities might enable him to aspire to the throne. Matilda, therefore, remained in the seclusion of the cloister until King Henry sent to her his proposals of [154] marriage. It is related that the young princess received the offer with dislike if not with disdain. ”

“ These may be deemed trite reflections: still it is worthy of remark, that many of the turbulent spirits who then made earth echo with their fame would have been literally and altogether as though they never had been—for historians make little or no mention of them—were it not for the lasting monument raised to them in this tapestry by woman’s industry and skill.
Matilda the Queen’s character is pictured in high terms by both English and Norman historians. “So very stern was her husband, and hot, that no man durst do anything against his will. ”

“ Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and Norway, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland (a sister of George III.) , was born at Leicester House, London, on Thursday, July 22, 1751. She was the ninth and youngest child of Frederick Prince of Wales and of his wife Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, and came into the world a little more than four months after her father’s death. There is a Scandinavian superstition to the effect that children born fatherless are heirs to misfortune. ”

“ Christian had left Matilda an unformed girl, he came back to find her a beautiful and self-possessed woman. His wayward fancy was pleased, and soon the mot ran round the palace that the King had actually fallen in love with his own wife. He might well have done so, for she was by far the most beautiful woman at his court. There is a portrait of Queen Matilda in the Rosenborg at Copenhagen, painted about this time, when she was in her eighteenth year. It represents her in the full bloom of her beauty. ”

“ Fate has brought me again to the neighbourhood o' Roseallan; but duty must—ay, shall drive me again far away."
A sudden recollection glanced on the mind of Matilda; she threw her eyes upon his countenance, the origin of all her day-dreams, and quickly, and as if in terror, withdrew them. A slight struggle released her from his gentle hold; she sprang out of the bower, and, with trembling steps, sought quickly the bridge, along which she hurried to the castle, where she sought instantly the chamber of Bertha. She found the old woman on her knees, at her evening's devotion. ”

“ The entire decay of the queen dowager's influence on the one hand, and the too little known character of Caroline Matilda on the other, promised them no support, if they declared for either party. The king, on his departure, had displayed neither the sentiments of an obedient son nor the attention of a loving husband, and none of the statesmen at the head of affairs appeared to be in special favour with him. The friendship of the courtiers, which never springs up without selfish views, and cannot last without tangible advantages, hence saw no object that could decide their choice. ”

“ Matilda's first husband had been thirty years older than herself; the second was ten years younger—a boy scarce fifteen, the heir of an upstart race whose territory, insignificant in extent, was so placed as to make their hostility a perpetual thorn in the side of the ruler of Normandy, until it was bought off with Matilda's hand. The empress and her boy-husband soon quarrelled; and in July 1129 Geoffrey, now Count of Anjou, drove his wife out of his dominions. She withdrew to Rouen (Sim. Durham, a. 1129) , and remained there till July 1131, when she went with her father to England. ”