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Elizabeth A.Sackler Center for Feminist Art

Matilda

b. circa 1080, Scotland; d. 1118, Westminister, England

Matilda, born Edith, was the daughter of King Malcolm III and Saint Margaret. Educated at a convent in England, she married King Henry I of England in 1100 and received the name Matilda at her coronation. She was known as “Margaret the Good Queen” for her charitable works, including the building of a leper hospital outside London. She traveled widely with King Henry and was also known as a patron of music and literature. After her death in 1118, sainthood was considered but she was never canonized.