Queen of the Conqueror

Posted on 25 July 2018 by Tracy Borman

Around the year 1049, William, Duke of Normandy and future conqueror of England, raced to the palace of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders The count s eldest daughter, Matilda, had refused William s offer of marriage and publicly denounced him as a bastard Encountering the young woman, William furiously dragged her to the ground by her hair and beat her mercilessly Matilda s outraged father immediately took up arms on his daughter s behalf But just a few days later, Baldwin was aghast when Matilda, still recovering from the assault, announced that she would marry none but William, since he must be a man of great courage and high daring to have ventured to come and beat me in my own father s palace Thus began the tempestuous marriage of Matilda of Flanders and William the Conqueror While William s exploits and triumphs have been widely chronicled, his consort remains largely overlooked Now, in her groundbreaking Queen of the Conqueror, acclaimed author and historian Tracy Borman weaves together a comprehensive and illuminating tapestry of this noble woman who stood only four foot two and whose role as the first crowned Queen of England had a large and lasting influence on the English monarchy From a wealth of historical artifacts and documents, Matilda emerges as passionate, steadfast, and wise, yet also utterly ruthless and tenacious in pursuit of her goals, and the only person capable of taming her formidable husband who, unprecedented for the period, remained staunchly faithful to her This mother of nine, including four sons who went on to inherit William s French and English dominions, confounded the traditional views of women in medieval society by seizing the reins of power whenever she had the chance, directing her husband s policy, and at times flagrantly disobeying his orders Tracy Borman lays out Matilda s remarkable story against one of the most fascinating and transformative periods in European history Stirring, richly detailed, and wholly involving, Queen of the Conqueror reveals not just an extraordinary figure but an iconic woman who shaped generations, and an era that cast the essential framework for the world we know today. Read Queen of the Conqueror – kino-fada.fr I was quite enjoying this a lot of research seems to have gone into it, but there are significant problems too Borman doesn t seem to have known how to be selective with her sources she repeats myths as if they re true and only then explains the dubious provenance of the story and she still uses it as part of her narrative, suggesting that it may reflect elements of the truth.Matilda was surely a formidable woman, and at its best this work shows us that side of her, the woman who was dec I was quite enjoying this a lot of research seems to have gone into it, but there are significant problems too Borman doesn t seem to have known how to be selective with her sources she repeats myt...I found this book to be ultimately, a very frustrating read Part of the frustration comes from the fact that there isn t that much historians know about Matilda the records just aren t there, so a lot of the book isn t about her.But a much bigger part of the frustration comes from the author and her writing style I started questioning what I was reading when the author stated that bones thought to be Matilda s meant that she was only 4 2 This is just not true There was a miscommunication w I found this book to be ultimately, a very frustrating read Part of the frustration comes from the fact that there isn t that much historians know about Matilda the records just aren t there, so a lot of the book isn t about her.But a much bigger part of the frustration comes from the author and her writing style I started questioning what I was reading when the author stated that bones thought to be Matilda s meant that she was only 4 2 This is just not true There was a miscommunication when those bones were measured if they were Matilda s, she would have been about 5 If the author gets this detail wrong, what else is she missing Also, several times she presents items from sources as if they are fact, not letting the reader know that some of the sources were very biased either pro English or pro Norman until many chapters into the book Or she wo...Although everyone may have heard of William the Conqueror less is known about his influential wife, Matilda Tracy Borman attempts to open the windows into Matilda s life with Queen of the Conquer The Life of Matilda, Wife of William I.The life and sometimes plight of Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror is unfortunately loose in resources Thus, Queen of the Conqueror begins like many other biographies surrounding ill documented figures by describing the world and events surrounding Although everyone may have heard of William the Conqueror less is known about his influential wife, Matilda Tracy Borman attempts to open the windows into Matilda...Tracy Borman chose a difficult subject for a biography, and succeeded at it remarkably well Though a significant person in the affairs of western Europe during her lifetime, concrete information on Matilda of Flanders is difficult to find and ascertain.Nonetheless, Borman builds as comprehensive picture as possible on the wife of William the Conqueror, placing her at the center of their new dynasty and utlimately making her the glue that bound the family together.There were a few places where t Tracy Borman chose a difficult subject for a biography, and succeeded at it remarkably well Though a significant person in the affairs of western Europe during her lifetime, concrete information on Matilda of Flanders is difficult to find and ascertain.Nonetheless, Borman builds as comprehensive picture as possible on the wife of William the Conqueror, placing her at the center of their new dyna...As biographies of historical figures of the eleventh century go, Tracy Borman s Matilda Queen of the Conqueror 2011 is quite good She writes historical narrative in a very colourful way that makes for easy reading.She relies heavily for her sources upon Norman and English 11th and 12th century writers William of Jumieges for the Norman histories and William of Malmesbury and Orderic Vitalis for theEnglish perspectives, as well as the Anglo Saxon Chronicles and all the way into the ni As biographies of historical figures of the eleventh century go, Tracy Borman s Matilda Queen of the Conqueror 2011 is quite good She writes historical narrative in a very colourful way that makes for easy reading.She relies heavily for her sources upon Norman and English 11th and 12th century writers William of Jumieges for the Norman histories and William of Malmesbury and Orderic Vitalis for theEnglish perspectives, as well as the Anglo Saxon Chronicles and all the way into the nin...In general this was a decent narrative biography, but the writing style left Much to be desired Regularly throughout the book, the author would write up a known historical bit as if it were a continuation in the Matilda story, comment on it, and Then announce it was from a 19th c writer or some other source that would obviously be unlikely to be factual It would have been so muchinteresting if the author had collected all these later glosses and had a last chapter of Matilda s developm In general this was a decent narrative biography, but the writing style left Much to be desired Regularly throughout the book, the author would write up a known historical bit as if it were a continuation in the Matilda story, comment on it, and Then announce it was from a 19th c writer or some other source that would obviously be unlikely to be factual It would have been so muchinteresting if the author had collected all these later glosses and had a last chapter of Matilda s development in history or similar, where she could examine the ridiculous stories of William the Conqueror tying her to his horse and the Victorian images of Matilda sewing on the Bayeux Tapestry as part of a sensible historiography A typical example near the end, p.204, starting with lengthy paragraph of a prophecy The fate that the hermit predicted for Robert must have grieved his mother Matilda sorelythat under her son s leadershipNormandy would wretchedly li...Tracy Borman s book about Queen Matilda William the Conqueror s wife, if you re not keeping score at home does a very good job with tracing the live of a medieval woman much better than Weir sEleanor of Aquitaine A Life , but it is also only 3 4s the length of that book , but manages to be irritating on a regular basis.The introduction of the book gives a commonly told story of Matilda, upon hearing that she was to be betrothed to Duke William the Bastard of Normandy, rejecting the idea Tracy Borman s book about Queen Matilda William the Conqueror s wife, if you re not keeping score at home does a very good job with tracing the live of a medieval woman much better than Weir sEleanor of Aquitaine A Life , but it is also only 3 4s the length of that book , but manages to be irritating on a regular basis.The introduction of the book gives a commonly told story of Matilda, upon hearing that she was to be betrothed to Duke Wil...A biography of Matilda of Flanders is one of the things I have been hoping for, for many years Tracy Borman has written a very good book which would appeal to a wide ranging audience I highly enjoyed it.There are a few things which may surprise people for example that Judith, wife of Tostig Godwineson, may have been Matilda s aunt and not her sister as has been assumed for years I am not entirely convinced by many of the Brihtric stories that form part of Matilda s legend, and I would have A biography of Matilda of Flanders is one of the things I have been hoping for, for many years Tracy Borman has written a very good book which would appeal to a wide ranging audience I highly enjoyed it.There are a few things which may surprise people for example that Judith, wife of Tostig Godwineson, may have been Matilda s aunt and n...A very coherent, thorough biography of one of the lesser known queens of English history, Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror A great deal is given over to the beating that he gave her when she refused his offer of marriage, the familial background of the couple, their many children and the role that Matilda played in shaping what would be the queen s duties as the consort of an English king She was cultured, well educated, generous to the Church and to the poor I was very surp A very coherent, thorough biography of one of the lesser known queens of English history, Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror A great deal is given over to the beating that he gave her when she refused his offer of marriage, the familial background of the couple, their many children and the role that Matilda played in shaping what would be the queen s duties as the conso...As one goes back in time, it often becomesanddifficult to create a convincing biography When I first read about this book, I wondered how a biography of a king s wife could be sustained But Tracy Borman has accomplished exactly that Using what sources are available and extrapolating sensibly not going far beyond what is based on documentation however uncertain those sources might be , Borman develops a pretty compelling story of Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, who became As one goes back in time, it often becomesanddifficult to create a convincing biography When I first read about this book, I wondered how a biography of a king s wife could be sustained But Tracy Borman has accomplished exactly that Using what sources are available and extrapolating sensibly not going far beyond what is based on documentation however uncertain those sources might be , Borman develops a pretty compelling story of Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, who became England s king after the Battle of Hastings in 1066.At the outset, we have two genealogical tables, depicting the ancestry of Matilda, daughter of Baldwin V, the Duke of Flanders, and relative of both the King of England and King of France, giving her an impeccable background William was the illegitimate son of Robert I, the Duke of Normandy.The book begins with the family backgrounds of both and the story perhaps apocryphal of ho...

English
25 July 2018

Tracy Borman