WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Matilda and her many names

Empress Matilda may be an unfamiliar name to many but this might be because she is sometimes referred to by a different name. In many accounts of Matilda’s life she is called Maude, and even sometimes Adelaide. Often believed to be a way of differentiating her from the many Matildas of the time, it is unclear where her alternative names originate from. In the medieval period the repetitive use of certain names was not uncommon. Within the circle of Matilda’s contemporaries there are several Henrys, Williams and Roberts as well as Matildas. However, Hanley does not agree with those who posit that the variations on Matilda’s name are a way to separate her from others: “People say, as an excuse, that it’s just to differentiate her from everyone else that’s called Matilda at the time, but it’s really noticeable that they only do that to her. I don’t notice anyone rushing to call William the Conqueror ‘Billy’ just because there are so many other people called William.” In fact, Hanley, who only refers to the empress as Matilda, thinks calling her Maude was a way to insult Matilda and stain her memory. “I actually think that calling her Maud is deliberately derogatory. It’s trying to do her down, which is why I just don’t use it,” she says. “She called herself Matilda. There is an argument that Maude is like a shortening of Mathildes in Latin, but again, why only her? Why not any of the men?” It is true that Matilda of Boulogne or William the Conqueror’s wife Matilda of Flanders are never called Maude. It is, therefore, important for Empress Matilda’s legacy for her to be afforded the right to her own name, just like the other Matildas.