Shannon Matilda Wells Lucid ( born January 14, 1943 ) is an American biochemist and a retired NASA astronaut.

When Matilda's father abdicated and retired to a monastery the same year, this was joined with Boulogne and the similarly large English honour Matilda inherited.

But in 1127 a new alliance was made, and on 22 May at Rouen, Henry I betrothed his daughter Matilda, widow of the emperor Henry V, to Geoffrey the Handsome, son of Fulk, the marriage being celebrated at Le Mans on 2 June 1129.

The marriage, however, was a tempestuous relationship, and after little over a year since their wedding, Matilda left Geoffrey, travelling to Normandy, residing at Rouen.

Matilda died at Notre Dame du Pré near Rouen in 1167 and was buried in the Abbey of Bec-Hellouin, Normandy.

Her body was transferred to Rouen Cathedral in 1847 ; her epitaph reads: " Great by Birth, Greater by Marriage, Greatest in her Offspring: Here lies Matilda, the daughter, wife, and mother of Henry.

1167 saw the marriage of Eleanor's third daughter, Matilda, to Henry the Lion of Saxony ; Eleanor remained in England with her daughter for the year prior to Matilda's departure to Normandy in September.

Matilda ’ s father, Henry I, had required the leading barons, ecclesiastics and officials in Normandy and England, to take an oath to accept Matilda as his heir.

Upon Henry ’ s death, the Norman and English barons ignored Matilda ’ s claim to the throne, and thus through a series of decisions, Stephen, Henry ’ s favourite nephew, was welcomed by many in England and Normandy as their new ruler.

Matilda had been married to Henry V, the Holy Roman Emperor, which gave her the title of Empress, but her husband died in 1125 and she was remarried in 1128 to Geoffrey, the Count of Anjou, whose lands bordered the Duchy of Normandy.

Henry attempted to build up a base of political support for Matilda in both England and Normandy, demanding that his court take oaths first in 1127, and then again in 1128 and 1131, to recognise Matilda as his immediate successor and recognise her descendants as the rightful ruler after her.

Matilda and Geoffrey suspected that they lacked genuine support in England, and proposed to Henry in 1135 that the king should hand over the royal castles in Normandy to Matilda whilst he was still alive and insist on the Norman nobility swearing immediate allegiance to her, thereby giving the couple a much more powerful position after Henry's death.

A fresh rebellion broke out in southern Normandy, and Geoffrey and Matilda intervened militarily on behalf of the rebels.

An illegitimate son of Henry I and the half-brother of the Empress Matilda, Robert was one of the most powerful Anglo-Norman barons, controlling estates in Normandy as well as the Earldom of Gloucester.

In 1138, Robert renounced his fealty to Stephen and declared his support for Matilda, triggering a major regional rebellion in Kent and across the south-west of England, although Robert himself remained in Normandy.

The rebels appear to have expected Robert to intervene with support that year, but he remained in Normandy throughout, trying to persuade the Empress Matilda to invade England herself.

In 1147 Robert of Gloucester died peacefully, and the next year the Empress Matilda left south-west England for Normandy, both of which contributed to reducing the tempo of the war.

William only returned to England later in 1075, to deal with the Danish threat, leaving his wife Matilda in charge of Normandy.

From the first Geoffrey Plantagenet tried to profit by his marriage and, after the death of Henry I ( 1 December 1135 ), laid the foundation of the conquest of Normandy by a series of campaigns: about the end of 1135 or the beginning of 1136 he entered that country and rejoined his wife, the countess Matilda, who had received the submission of Argentan, Domfront and Exmes.

Upon the death of her father in 1135, Matilda was usurped to the throne by her rival and cousin Stephen of Blois, who moved quickly and became crowned King of England whilst Matilda was in Normandy, pregnant with her third child.

As a child her relationship with her father was probably not close, considering Henry I ventured to Normandy whilst Matilda was two years old, and the King stayed there for three years.

Henry I summoned Matilda to Normandy following the Holy Roman Emperor's death.

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.

Matilda was sent to Normandy early in 1127, under the care of Robert of Gloucester, her half-brother.

Henry eventually summoned her from Normandy, whereupon Matilda returned to England in August 1131.

After Matilda returned to England, Henry named her as his heir to the English throne and Duchy of Normandy.

Matilda of Tuscany ( Italian: Matilde, Latin: Matilda, Mathilda ) ( 1046 – 24 July 1115 ) was an Italian noblewoman, the principal Italian supporter of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy.

Stephen's wife Matilda played a critical part in keeping the king's cause alive during his captivity.

* November 6 – The Treaty of Walingford, under the direction of Theobald of Bec, reconciles Stephen of England and Matilda, ending " The Anarchy " which had occurred during their fight for the throne of England.

He acts shrewdly to keep Wales's borders secure, and sometimes to expand them, during the civil war between King Stephen and Matilda, and sometimes acts as an ally to Cadfael and his friend, Sheriff Hugh Beringar.

Indeed, some novels go so far as to posit a love-affair between Matilda and Stephen, e. g. the Janna Mysteries by Felicity Pulman, set during the civil war between Stephen and Matilda.

Matilda was crowned queen on May 11, 1068 in Westminster during the feast of Pentecost, in a ceremony presided over by the archbishop of York.

Matilda fell ill during the summer of 1083 and passed away in November 1083.

The construction was disrupted several times during the various exiles of Henry, so he and his consort Matilda, Duchess of Saxony were both buried in an unfinished church.

Stephen almost seized Matilda in 1142 during the siege of Oxford, but the Empress escaped from Oxford Castle across the frozen River Thames to safety.

With William Adelin dead, Henry had only one other legitimate child, Matilda, but female rights of inheritance were unclear during this period.

Stephen drew heavily on his wife, Queen Matilda, during the conflict, both for leading negotiations and maintaining his cause and army while imprisoned in 1141 ; Matilda led the royal household during this period in partnership with Stephen's mercenary leader William of Ypres.

Stephen's wife Matilda played a critical part in keeping the king's cause alive during his captivity.

In the subsequent battle the Empress's forces were defeated and Robert of Gloucester himself was taken prisoner during the retreat, although Matilda herself escaped, exhausted, to her fortress at Devizes.

In 1139, the Empress Matilda was invited to stay at Arundel for some time during her travel to press her claim to the English throne upon Stephen.

Malcolm was not only King of Scots, but also inherited the Earldom of Northumbria, which his father and grandfather had gained during the wars between Stephen and Empress Matilda.

He was the half-brother of the Empress Matilda, and her chief military supporter during the civil war known as The Anarchy, in which she vied with Stephen of Blois for the throne of England.

Although her husband was a staunch supporter of Stephen during the Anglo-Norman civil war, her own personal inclination may have been toward her stepdaughter's cause, the Empress Matilda.

When the German Afrika Korps arrived in North Africa, the 88 mm anti-aircraft gun was again pressed into service against the Matilda, causing heavy losses during Operation Battleaxe, when sixty-four Matildas were lost.

Nevertheless, during Operation Crusader Matilda tanks of 1st and 32nd Army Tank Brigades were instrumental in the breakout from Tobruk and the capture of the Axis fortress of Bardia.