A letter from Matilda of Tuscany, countess of Tuscany, duchess of Lorraine ()

Translated letter:

I am not a woman of feminine frivolity or fear, but I direct these letters to you for the advantage of my whole kingdom; when you receive them accept me and the whole kingdom of Lombardy. I shall give you so many cities, castles, renowned palaces, and infinite gold and silver; over all these you will have an illustrious name if you make yourself dear to me. Do not consider me bold that I approach you first. It is permitted as much to the virile as to the feminine sex to desire a legitimate spouse. Nor does it matter if a man or a woman make the first move in love as long it involves an indissoluble marriage. Which can not be except by the consent of both. Fare well.

Original letter:

Non ego feminea levitate aut temeritate, sed tocius regni mei pro comoditate dirigo tibi has literas, quas cum acceperis me accipe et tocius regnum Longobardiae. Dabo tibi tot civitates, tot castella, tot palacia inclita, murum et argentum nimis infinitum; super omnia haec habebis nomen praeclarum, te si facies mihi carum. Nec tamen me notes audacitatis elogio, quod nunc agredior te prior alloquio. Licet enim tam virili quam femineo sexui legitimum appetere coniugium. Nec differt utrum vir an femina primam amoris lineam tangat; tantummodo indissolubile contingat conubium. Quod aliter non fit, nisi utrorumque per consensum. Vale.

Historical context:

This letter is spurious, but it appears in a late 11th to early 12th century chronicle. Guelph V of Bavaria, the supposed recipient, was for a brief time in 1089 at age 17 Matilda’s [second] husband, a marriage urged by Urban II for political reasons, but according to the groom never consummated. Cosma, who calls Matilda a virgin, says the wedding feast was lavish but the wedding night an embarrassment to the groom. Cosma may not have known about her first marriage and assumed from her independent rule that she had never married, but Donizo, Matilda’s main biographer, suppresses both her marriages and also treats her essentially as a virgin ruler. It was not unknown for chroniclers to refer to important women as virgins even if they had been married and borne children, cf. Encomium Emmae Reginae, in which the biographer treats Emma as a virgin when she remarries, though her two sons from her first marriage were still alive.

Authenticity:

The letter is spurious.

Printed source:

Cosmae Chronica Boemorum, Bk2, ch32, MGH SS 9 p88; Die Urkunden, 140.