An exceptionally powerful woman, she lived c. 1031-1083.
Matilda was the daughter of the duke of Flanders (an area roughly around Bruges, part of modern France and Belgium), and her maternal grandfather was the king of France. She was probably the wealthiest woman in Europe in her lifetime, having inherited a large amount from her father, and being the wife of William [aka the Conqueror] of Normandy. I find her to be one of the most interesting medieval ladies out there.
She was about 20 years old when William approached her father about marriage. Although Normandy was one of the richest dukedoms in Europe, legend has it that Matilda initially refused to marry William because he was illegitimate. His father acknowledged him and wanted him to inherit Normandy even though everyone knew his mother was the daughter of a tanner (someone who made leather - considered a rather dirty and common profession because of how smelly it was). As one of the wealthiest and most highborn heiresses in Europe she didn't want to have anything to do with him.
Legend further says that when William heard this he flew into a rage, found her coming out of church one day, dragged her off her horse by her long braids, and rode off with her. I'm not exactly sure what this was meant to prove, but afterwards she heartily agreed to marry him. I don't think the details of this story are true, but they appear to have settled into a good marriage despite her initial worries. Astonishingly for the time, William appears to have been faithful to her.
He also must have given her some land of her own in Normandy. This along with her own inheritance allowed her to buy some ships with her own money to help his invasion of England in 1066. Despite his success and his coronation as England's king it took her over a year to even bother going there. The Normans were notorious for being rather disdainful of Anglo-Saxons, and Matilda was no exception. She only visited briefly to be crowned, but it's said that the people were very fond of her. She funded a lot of charitable organizations via the church and was reputed to be wise and just. When she was crowned with William the ceremony indicated that she shared actual power with him.
Matilda spent most of her life in Normandy patronizing the church and various artisans, while William went back and forth between England and Normandy. Shortly after she died his previously stable and popular rule became more erratic and tyrannical; it was said this was due to his grief over her death.
She's remembered as being a tiny little woman, said to have been only 4'2". More recent examinations of her bones put her taller than that, but probably under 5 feet.
Anyway, this is a brief account of her life, which was really very remarkable. She was rich and influential in her own right, one of the most powerful women in Europe, had the king's ear, and is remembered as a good and just queen. She also clearly had a very forceful personality and her patronage played a large role in art of the time. In addition to all of that she had at least nine kids!
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