Matilda of Dendermonde

Matilda of Dendermonde (died 14 April 1224)[1] was a Flemish noblewoman.[2][3][4]

Matilda of Dendermonde
Died(1224-04-14)14 April 1224
Noble familyHouse of Dendermonde
Spouse(s)Gerard III of Grimbergen
William II, Lord of Béthune
FatherWalter II of Dendermonde
MotherAdela of Rozoy

Life

Born about 1165, she was the daughter and heiress of Walter II, Lord of Dendermonde, son of Walter I and his wife Adela of Rozoy, Lady of Buysscheure,[4][2] whose parents were Reynold, Lord of Rozoy, and Juliana of Rumigny. Her first marriage, without any surviving children, was to Gerard III, Lord of Grimbergen.[4][2]

Before 1190 she married William II, Lord of Béthune. Her father had died by 1194 and she was his heiress, bringing to her husband her ancestral lands of Dendermonde, Meulebeke, and Lokeren, as well as the hereditary office of advocatus of the Abbey of Saint Bavo at Ghent.[3][4][2]

When her husband died in 1214, the Count of Flanders was at war with the King of France and the town of Béthune was in the hands of French troops. As her eldest son Daniel was still under age, the commander of the French forces put Matilda in charge of the town. She assumed her late husband's titles, calling herself advocatus of Arras until 1216, when Daniel had reached age 21 and become Lord of Béthune. She however remained Lady of Dendermonde and advocatus of Ghent, defending her hereditary rights against challenges. In 1223 she founded the abbey of St Giles at Dendermonde for Cistercian nuns, the charter being witnessed by many of her children and relations who she trusted to maintain the abbey after her death, which occurred in 1224.[4]

Family

She and William had seven known children, the first five born by 1194:[4]

References

  1. Her name in French is Mahaut de Termonde and in Dutch Machteld van Dendermonde.
  2. Warlop, Ernest (1968). De Vlaamse Adel Voor 1300 (in Dutch). Familia et Patria.
  3. Stecher, J. "Bethune, Guillaume de". Biographie nationale de Belgique (in French). Vol. 2.
  4. Du Chesne, André (1639). Histoire Généalogique de la Maison de Béthune (in French). Paris. p. 167.
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