Cultural depictions of Empress Matilda

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The 12th-century ruler Empress Matilda has been depicted in various cultural media.

Theatre, film and television

Matilda is a character in Henry I of England, a play by Beth Flintoff, which was first performed in November 2016 at St James's Church, Reading. The drama follows the story of the three sons of William the Conqueror and ends with the early reign of her father Henry, including the time when Matilda became Empress by marrying Henry V of Germany. The narrative continues in Flintoff's play Matilda the Empress, first performed in 2017 at the same venue with Dani McCallum taking the lead part. It depicts Matilda's later life and The Anarchy period after Henry I's death when she and her cousin Stephen were rivals for the succession. In the concluding part of Flintoff's trilogy, Henry II, which was first performed in October 2018 at Reading's Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin, Matilda is depicted attending the dedication of Reading Abbey over the Easter weekend of 1164.

Matilda is also a character in Jean Anouilh's play Becket. In the 1964 film adaptation, she was portrayed by Martita Hunt.

She was played by Brenda Bruce in the 1978 BBC TV series The Devil's Crown, which dramatised the reigns of her son and grandsons.

Alison Pill portrayed Matilda in the 2010 TV miniseries The Pillars of the Earth, an adaptation of Follett's novel.

Historical fiction

Novels dealing with the civil war between Matilda and Stephen include:

A Legend of Reading Abbey (1845) by Charles Macfarlane.
The Fool by H. C. Bailey (1927), deals with Matilda's relationship with her son, Henry II.
The Empress (1932) by Carola Oman
Cecelia Holland, The Earl (1971)
Graham Shelby, The Villains of the Piece (1972) (published in the US as The Oath and the Sword)
E. L. Konigsburg, A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver (1973)
Jean Plaidy, The Passionate Enemies, the third book of her Norman Trilogy (1976)
The Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters (beginning in 1977 with A Morbid Taste for Bones) and the TV series made from them starring Sir Derek Jacobi. In these books Empress Matilda is referred to by her vernacular name, Empress Maud.
Roberta Gellis, The Sword and the Swan (1977).
Ken Follett, The Pillars of the Earth (1989)
Ellen Jones, The Fatal Crown (1991)
Sharon Penman, When Christ and His Saints Slept tells the story of the events before, during and after the civil war (1995)
Haley Elizabeth Garwood, The Forgotten Queen (1997)
Elizabeth Chadwick, Lady of the English (2012)
Amy Mantravadi, The Girl Empress (2017), part of a series of novels telling Matilda's life story
Gemma Lawrence, The Heirs of Anarchy (2020-2022), four book series

References

"Henry I of England". Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
"Review of Henry I of England". 2 November 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
"Matilda The Empress". Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
"Review of Matilda The Empress". Retrieved 3 December 2018.
"Henry II". Retrieved 2 December 2018.
"Review of Henry II". Retrieved 3 December 2018.
"Becket (1964) - IMDb". IMDb.
""The Devil's Crown" if All the World Were Mine (TV Episode 1978)". IMDb.
"A LEGEND OF READING ABBEY, Dutton, 1904. Conflict between Matilda and the usurper Stephen". McGarry, Daniel D. McGarry, White, Sarah Harriman, Historical Fiction Guide: Annotated Chronological, Geographical, and Topical List of Five Thousand Selected Historical Novels. Scarecrow Press, New York, 1963 (pgs. 62)
^ Myron J. Smith, War story guide: an annotated bibliography of military fiction. Scarecrow Press, 1980. ISBN 978-0810812819 (p. 13, 24).
Sydney Morning Herald 30 December 1932 "Novels of the Day:The Empress by Carola Oman" p. 3.
"Peters, Ellis. Dead Man's Ransom. New York: Morrow, 1984. 190p. $13.95. ISBN 0-688-04194-9. YA In 1141, King Stephen and Empress Maud battle at Lincoln for the crown, and their conflict results in a prisoner exchange". Adamson Lynda G., Literature connections to world history, 7-12 : resources to enhance and entice Englewood, Colo. : Libraries Unlimited, 1998. ISBN 9781563085055 (pg. 329)

v t e Cultural depictions of English and British monarchs
Kingdom of the English 886–1066	Alfred the Great Edward the Elder Æthelflæd Ælfweard Athelstan the Glorious Edmund the Magnificent Eadred Eadwig the Fair Edgar the Peaceable Edward the Martyr Æthelred the Unready Sweyn Forkbeard Edmund Ironside Cnut Harold Harefoot Harthacnut Edward the Confessor Harold Godwinson Edgar the Ætheling
Kingdom of England 1066–1649	William I William II Henry I Stephen Matilda Henry II Henry the Young King Richard I John Henry III Edward I Edward II Edward III Richard II Henry IV Henry V Henry VI Edward IV Edward V Richard III Henry VII Henry VIII Edward VI Jane Mary I with Philip Elizabeth I James I Charles I
Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland 1653–1659	Oliver Cromwell Richard Cromwell
Kingdom of England 1660–1707	Charles II James II William III and Mary II Anne
Kingdom of Scotland 843–1707 (traditional)	Kenneth I MacAlpin Donald I Constantine I (II) Áed Giric Eochaid Donald II Constantine II (III) Malcolm I Indulf Dub Cuilén Amlaíb Kenneth II Constantine III (IV) Kenneth III Malcolm II Duncan I Macbeth Lulach Malcolm III Canmore Donald III Duncan II Donald III Edgar Alexander I David I Malcolm IV William I the Lion Alexander II Alexander III Margaret John Robert I David II Robert II Robert III James I James II James III James IV James V Mary I James VI Charles I Charles II James VII Mary II William III Anne
British monarchs after the Acts of Union 1707	Anne George I George II George III George IV William IV Victoria Edward VII George V Edward VIII George VI Elizabeth II Charles III
Overlord of Britain. Also ruler of Ireland. Also ruler of Scotland and Ireland. Lord Protector. Also ruler of England and Ireland. Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics.

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