Page:The Queens of England.djvu/11

THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND. MATILDA OF FLANDERS, WIFE OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. Matilda of Flanders, wife of the Norman Conqueror, was one of those royal consorts who have exercised great influence, not only over the minds of their husbands, but of the nation at large. She was descended from the ancient Kings of France. Her mother was Adelais, daughter of Rob- ert, King of France, and by her father, Baldwin the Fifth, Earl of Flanders, she was directly descended "from the noblest and wisest of the Saxon kings, Alfred the Great, through the marriage of his daughter, Elstrith, with Baldwin the Second of Flanders. Of the more immediate ancestors of Queen Matilda, it may be said that Baldwin the Fourth, her grandfather, was a warlike prince. His son and heir, Baldwin the Fifth, her father, obtained the surname of "the Gentle," on account of his goodness and piety. Henry the First, King of France, not only intrusted to him the education of his, two sons, but appointed him regent of the kingdom, during .the minority of the eldest, so highly did he esteem his prudence and good qualities. Matilda was born in the year 103 1. She was remarkable for her beauty, and her natural endowments, and being carefully educated, became one of the most learned and accomplished princesses of her time. Her skill in needlework and embroidery was very extraordinary, as is proved by her great work, the Bayeux tapestry, which is still in existence. This remarkable performance, which, as a national chronicle, possesses great value, belongs, however, to a later period of Matilda's life.