Matilda of Tuscany - Mighty in war Matilda of Tuscany (c.1046-1115) was born to Beatrice of Lor

Matilda of Tuscany - Mighty in war Matilda of Tuscany (c.1046-1115) was born to Beatrice of Lorraine, also a military commander in her own right, and Boniface of Tuscany. By 1052, two years after her father’s death, Matilda was her mother’s only surviving child. Beatrice remarried, but she her and new husband were kin to a prohibited degree and decided to stay chaste. Matilda’s first experience of battle came in 1067 when she accompanied her stepfather on a military campaign. Though her exact role in the operation isn’t described, Bonizo of Sutri calls this the “first service” that she offered to the papacy, something that suggests direct participation.Around 1069, Matilda married her stepbrother, Godfrey the Hunchback, to whom she was still related to a degree forbidden by Canon Law. Matilda had a daughter who died shortly after her birth. She separated from her husband in 1071 and never saw him again. Matilda afterward refused to take the Communion, as if she felt sinful, and the pope had to urge her to take the sacrament again. Perhaps Matilda saw her wedding as a transgression and resented her mother for the choice that led to this situation. She began ruling in 1072 when she issued a joint charter with her mother. Beatrice died in 1076 and Matilda would become the papacy’s most stalwart defender. There was indeed a conflict at that time between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV (then king and later Holy Roman Emperor) over the right to appoint bishops, abbots and the pope himself. This power struggle marked the beginning of the Investiture controversy. The tensions ultimately culminated in the excommunication of Henry IV and his opponents asked for the election of a new king.Matilda actively mediated between the two. She escorted the pope as he went to meet with Henry and housed him in her fortress of Canossa. Henry crossed the Alps and stood before Canossa barefoot in the snow for three days, asking for absolution. The pope finally had to comply. This episode shows Matilda as a key diplomatic player and negotiator.This was by no means the end of the conflict. In 1080, Henry was excommunicated again and intended to depose the pope. Matilda stood in his way. A battle took place on October 15,1080 between Henry’s Italian supporters and Matilda’s troops. Matilda was defeated.She didn’t give up. Matilda gathered Henry’s opponents and held to her strongholds. Since he couldn’t bring her to battle, the king tried to prevent her from supplying her armies, but to no avail.Then, Matilda managed to turn the tide. On July 2,1084, at Sorbara, her troops surprised and crushed an army of Henry’s supporters. Her biographer Donizone wrote that: “the renowned Matilda was a terror to them all”. She then busied herself with recovering her lost positions, supported Gregory’s successor, Pope Victor III and tried to establish him in Rome in 1087. At that time, she also backed a successful campaign against the Muslim trading city of Mahdia in North Africa.Though it’s certain that Matilda was a military commander in her own right and  was fully in charge, did she actively participate in the battles? According to tradition, she led her armies from the front, standing on her stirrups as she brandished her father’s sword. Some other elements could indicate her presence on the field.First of all, there are many references to Matilda as a “soldier” or a “warrior” such as “the most prudent leader and most faithful warrior of St Peter”. Matilda was also said to be “fighting manfully”. The fact that she was called “daughter of St Peter” after her “first service” in 1067 is extremely eloquent. Indeed, this epithet was given to those who “who lent their swords to the cause of the papacy”, who fought physically for the church.Bishop Alselm of Luca furthermore recounts that Matilda “prepared not only to sacrifice all earthly considerations for the sake of defending righteousness but also to struggle even to the shedding of her own blood to bring about your confusion and for the sake of reverence for the glory and exaltation of holy Church, until the Lord delivers His enemy into the hands of a woman”. This could indicate that Matilda was either wounded or was in danger of being wounded during the battles. Two sets of armor were sold in the marketplace of Regio 1622 and their shape was allegedly different from men’s armor. Those sets were said to have belonged to Matilda. In 1089, Pope Urban II settled in Rome with his own troops. He arranged a marriage between Matilda and 17 years old Welf of Bavaria to secure a strategic alliance. In autumn 1091, Matilda sent 1,000 soldiers against Henry, but her troops were defeated. It’s important to note that Matilda wasn’t present during this engagement.In 1092, Henry moved against Canossa, hoping to deal a fatal blow to Matilda. She withdrew with her forces to one of her other castles. While Henry’s army was stuck in the fog, Matilda’s troops attacked and captured his standard. She kept harassing Henry during his retreat, preventing him from regrouping or resupplying his troops. This defeat marked the end of the support of the Italian nobles for Henry. He attempted a last military action at the siege of Nogara in 1095, but failed. The same year, Matilda escorted the pope as a went to France to preach the First crusade. The consequences of the Investiture controversy didn’t end with Henry’s defeat. Matilda was still militarily active in 1114, a year before her death, when she crushed a revolt in Mantua. When her troops approached the city with their siege engines, Mantua immediately surrendered. Matilda’s life can be summed up by this quote by a priest who was with her in 1084: “Although she was most religious and devout in private, in the world she openly led the life of a soldier”.Here’s the link to my Ko-Fi if you want to support me.Bibliography:Creber Alison, “Women at Canossa. The role of royal and aristocratic women in the reconciliation between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV of Germany”Eads Valerie, “Matilda of Tuscany”, in: Higham Robin, Pennington Reina (ed.), Amazons to fighter pilots, biographical dictionary of military women, vol.1Fraser Antonia, The warrior queensLazzari Tiziana, “Matilda of Tuscany: New Perspectives about Her Family Ties”Nash Penelope, Empress Adelheid and Countess Matilda: Medieval Female Rulership and the Foundations of European Society  -- source link
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