    empress matilda (c. 7 february 110210 september 1167), also known as the empress maude, was the claimant to the english throne during the civil war known as the anarchy. the daughter of king henry i of england, she moved to germany as a child when she married the future holy roman emperor henry v. she travelled with her husband into italy in 1116, was controversially crowned in st. peter's basilica, and acted as the imperial regent in italy. matilda and henry had no children, and when he died in 1125, the crown was claimed by lothair ii, one of his political enemies. meanwhile, matilda's younger brother, william adelin, died in the white ship disaster of 1120, leaving england facing a potential succession crisis. on henry v's death, matilda was recalled to normandy by her father, who arranged for her to marry geoffrey of anjou to form an alliance to protect his southern borders. henry i had no further children and nominated matilda as his heir, making his court swear an oath of loyalty to her and her successors, but the decision was not popular in the anglo-norman court. henry died in 1135 but matilda and geoffrey faced opposition from the norman barons and were unable to pursue their claims. the throne was instead taken by matilda's cousin stephen of blois, who enjoyed the backing of the [[christianity in englan
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