Biography of Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony 1156-1189

Paternal Family Tree: Anjou aka Plantagenet

Maternal Family Tree: Dangereuse Ile Bouchard Viscountess Chatellerault 1079-1151

1137 Marriage of Prince Louis and Eleanor of Aquitaine

1152 Marriage of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine

Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony was appointed Duke Saxony.

Marriage of Prince Louis and Eleanor of Aquitaine

On 25 Jul 1137 [her step-father] Louis VII King Franks (age 17) and [her mother] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (age 15) were married at the by Archbishop Geoffrey of Loroux. Her father [her grandfather] William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine had died some three months previously leaving Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England as a ward of Louis's father King Louis VI of France (age 55) who quickly married her to his son Louis with a view to the Duchy of Aquitaine becoming joined with the Kingdom of France. A week later King Louis VI of France died and his son Louis and Eleanor became King and Queen of France. She the daughter of William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine and [her grandmother] Aenor Chatellerault Duchess Aquitaine. He the son of King Louis VI of France and Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France. They were fourth cousins.

Eleanor gave Louis a rock-crystal vase as a wedding gift which he subsequently gave to Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis. The vase is no in the Louvre.

Crystal vase, 'of Eleanor'. Crystal: Iran (?), 6th-7th century (?). Mounting: Saint-Denis, before 1147; 13th and 14th centuries. Rock crystal, nielloed and gilded silver, precious stones, pearls, champlevé enamels on silver. Originating from the treasury of the Abbey of Saint-Denis. Inscription: "+ HOC VAS SPONSA DEDIT A(ie)NOR-REGI LUDOVICO MITADOL(us) AVO MIHI REX S(an)C(tis)Q(ue) SUGER(ius)" (This vase, Eleanor, his spouse, gave it to King Louis, Mitadolus to his ancestor, the king to me, Suger, who have offered it to the saints).

Vase de cristal, "d’Aliénor". Cristal: Iran (?), VI-VII siécle (?). Monture: Saint-Denis, avant 1147; XIII et XIV siécles. Cristal de roche, argent niellé et doré, pierres pécieuses, perles, émaux champlevés sur argent Provient du trésor de I'abbaye de Saint-Denis. Inscription: "+ HOC VAS SPONSA DEDIT A(ie)NOR-REGI LUDOVICO MITADOL(us) AVO MIHI REX S(an)C(tis)Q(ue) SUGER(ius)". (ce vase, Aliénor, son épouse, l'a donné au roi Lous, Mitadolus a son aïeul, le roi à moi, Suger, qui l'ai offert aux saints).

Archbishop Geoffrey of Loroux: In 1137 he was appointed Archibishop of Bordeaux. On 18 Jul 1155 he died.

William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine: William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine and Aenor Chatellerault Duchess Aquitaine were married. She by marriage Duchess Aquitaine. He the son of William "Troubadour" Poitiers IX Duke Aquitaine and Philippa Rouerge Duchess Aquitaine. In 1099 he was born to William "Troubadour" Poitiers IX Duke Aquitaine and Philippa Rouerge Duchess Aquitaine at Toulose. On 10 Feb 1127 William "Troubadour" Poitiers IX Duke Aquitaine died. His son William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine succeeded X Duke Aquitaine. On 09 Apr 1137 William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine died. His daughter Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England succeeded XI Duchess Aquitaine.

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In 1147 [her future husband] Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria (age 18) and Clementia Zähringen Duchess Saxony Duchess Bavaria were married. They divorceddd in 1162. She the daughter of Conrad Zähringen 1st Duke Zähringen. He the son of Henry "Proud" Welf X Duke Bavaria and Gertrude Süpplingenburg Duchess Bavaria.

Louis and Eleanor's Divorce

On 21 Mar 1152 the marriage of [her step-father] Louis VII King Franks (age 32) and [her mother] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (age 30) was dissolved by Hugh Toucy Archbishop of Sens at the Château de Beaugency on the grounds of consanguinity. Both Louis and Eleanor were present as were the Archbishops of Rouen and Bordeaux. Samson Mauvoison Archbishop of Reims acted on behalf of Eleanor. In dissolving the marriage Louis lost control of the Duchy of Aquitaine which was to have far reaching consequences for the next three centuries.

Marriage of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine

On 18 May 1152 Whit Sunday [her father] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England (age 19) and [her mother] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (age 30) were married at Poitiers Cathedral [Map]. They were more closely related than Eleanor and her previous husband [her step-father] Louis VII King Franks (age 32). The marriage would bring the Kingdom of England, and the Duchies of Normandy and Aquitaine under the control of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. She the daughter of [her grandfather] William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine and [her grandmother] Aenor Chatellerault Duchess Aquitaine. He the son of [her grandfather] Geoffrey Plantagenet Duke Normandy and [her grandmother] Empress Matilda (age 50). They were half third cousins. He a grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

On 06 Jan 1156 Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony was born to King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England (age 22) and Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (age 34) at Windsor Castle [Map] (probably) and named after her paternal grandmother Empress Matilda (age 53).

On 29 Dec 1158 [her mother] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (age 36) travelled from Normandy [Map] on board the Esnecca (Snake) with her children [her brother] Henry the Young King (age 3) and Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony (age 2) to Southampton, Hampshire [Map]. She then went to Winchester, Hampshire [Map] where she collected funds from the Royal Treasury and returned to Normandy.

On 01 Feb 1168 Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria (age 39) and Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony (age 12) were married. She by marriage Duchess Bavaria, Duchess Saxony. The difference in their ages was 27 years. She the daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England (age 34) and Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (age 46). He the son of Henry "Proud" Welf X Duke Bavaria and Gertrude Süpplingenburg Duchess Bavaria.

In 1172 [her daughter] Matilda Welf Countess Perche was born to [her husband] Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria (age 43) and Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony (age 15). She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

Around 1173 [her son] Henry Welf V Count Palatine of the Rhine was born to [her husband] Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria (age 44) and Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony (age 16). He a grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

Around 1174 [her son] Lothar Welf was born to [her husband] Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria (age 45) and Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony (age 17). He a grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

Around 1175 [her son] Otto Welf IV Holy Roman Emperor was born to [her husband] Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria (age 46) and Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony (age 18). He a grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

On 11 Apr 1184 [her son] William of Winchester Welf was born to [her husband] Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria (age 55) and Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony (age 28) in Winchester, Hampshire [Map] during his father's exile. He a grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

In 1189 [her son-in-law] Geoffrey Chateaudun III Count Perche and [her daughter] Matilda Welf Countess Perche (age 17) were married at Rouen, France [Map]. She by marriage Countess Perche. She the daughter of [her husband] Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria (age 60) and Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony (age 32). He the son of Routrou Chateaudun IV Count Perche (age 54) and Matilda Blois Countess Perche. They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 2 grandson of King William "Conqueror" I of England. She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

On 28 Jun 1189 Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony (age 33) died. She was buried at Brunswick Cathedral [Map].

On 06 Aug 1195 [her former husband] Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria (age 66) died at Ravensburg.

Before 1212 [her grandson] Henry Welf VI Count Palatine of the Rhine (age 14) was raised at the court of his great-uncle [her brother] King John of England (age 45). Henry's paternal grand-mother was John's sister Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony.