Page "Empress Matilda" Paragraph 9

Geoffrey of Anjou, Matilda's second husband The question of marriage was entirely down to Matilda's father.

Louis VI, King of France, was discontented about Normandy and England united and as such, promoted the claim of William Clito as heir, in order to attempt to cause a rift in the court.

Furthermore, Fulk, Count of Anjou, was likely to support Clito's claim due to the longstanding hostility between Normandy and Anjou.

The animosity between Normandy and Anjou had temporarily been repaired with the marriage of Henry I's son William Adelin to Fulk's daughter Matilda.

However, Adelin's death meant the match was brief.

Fulk then married his younger daughter Sibyl to William Clito, though Henry managed to sever the union by having Pope Calixtus II annul the marriage on the grounds of consanguinity.

However, Louis VI then offered his wife's half-sister Jeanne to Clito for marriage.

Her dowry was the Vexin, an area of land bordering Normandy.

Furthermore, the murder of Charles I, Count of Flanders in 1127 gave Louis the opportunity to install William as the new Count of Flanders, thus setting him up to be a strong rival of Matilda.