A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Matilda, daughter of Baldwin de Lille

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MATILDA,

Daughter of Baldwin de Lille, Count of Flanders, married her cousin, William of Normandy, afterwards King of England. The pope granted them absolution on their marriage, on condition of their erecting two chapels, which they did. She is distinguished for working the tapestry in wool, portraying the descent upon England, which is still preserved in the cathedral at Bayeux. She was a woman of great kindness and generosity; and her death, in 1083, was a source of unfeigned sorrow to her husband, and deep regret of the people both of England and Normandy.