n.
or Maud
born 1102, London, Eng.
died Sept. 10, 1167, near Rouen, Fr.
Daughter of Henry I of England and claimant to the English throne.
She married Emperor Henry V in 1114; he died in 1125, and she made a second marriage to Geoffrey Plantagenet. Her brother's death in 1120 left her as Henry I's sole legitimate heir, and Henry named her as his successor in 1127. Stephen of Blois, Henry's nephew, seized the throne on the king's death in 1135, and his army defeated Matilda's supporters in 1141. She continued her resistance and retired to Normandy in 1148. Her son became Henry II of England, and she remained his adviser and oversaw his continental possesions.