Matilda of Châteaudun
Overview
Biography
A daughter of the viscount Hugh [III] of Châteaudun and Agnes, countess of Fréteval, Matilda was first married to Robert, viscount of Blois, who died early. Then she agreed to marry Geoffrey III, count of Vendôme. Relatives of both husbands raised objections based on consanguinity of the two men and bishop Ivo of Chartres called for a hearing on the subject. There seems to be no record of a hearing if one did occur. The marriage took place somewhere between 1102 and 1105 and the couple had two sons, John I, count of Vendôme, and Geoffrey, who became lord of Lavardin by marriage. Kimberly LoPrete, to whom I am endebted for all the information about Matilda in this biography, notes that the son’s marriage was “a relation closer in degree than his father’s to viscountess Matilda.” In any case, Matilda’s relation to her second husband was affinal, not consanguineous.
Matilda’s dower from Geoffrey included part of the Gâtines forest, that led to a dispute with the monks of La Trinité over hunting and pasturage rights, which was resolved before she died in 1119. After her death her husband gave more land to the monks to endow an anniversary for her.
Letters to Matilda of Châteaudun
A letter from Ivo of ChartresA letter from the abbey of Holy Trinity