Wonder Woman of the Week: Matilda of Tuscany

Matilda of Tuscany was one of the most educated and influential women of Medieval history. Well known for both her education and service as a warrior, land-owner, and chief ally of the Papacy; Matilda acted as a rebellious lord in the southern frontiers of the Holy Roman Empire. During her youth, Matilda's father-a powerful landowner in the Tuscan province of the Holy Roman Empire- educated his daughter well, but died early on. Her mother was forced to remarry and married a rebellious lord in the HRE which infuriated the emperor and landed Matilda and her mother in jail. When a new emperor took power, the new emperor released the two and tensions cooled. Soon after, Matilda's step-uncle Frederick became the new pope and Matilda's family suddenly became the most powerful in Western Europe.

Matilda's stepfather forced her to marry her own step-brother- a violent hunchback from Lorraine whom Matilda detested. The two separated early on and their marital battles became the backdrop to rising tensions between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire. A new pope in Rome refused to allow the HRE Emperor to appoint bishops- leading to the emperor and the pope to engage in a cold war on the eve of the First Crusade. Matilda aligned herself with the Papacy and her husband aligned himself with the Emperor. Matilda's husband died just before the crusade began- giving rise to rumors Matilda had her husband assassinated.

The conflict between the Holy Roman Empire's Emperor and the Pope became violent in 1076 and Matilda's Tuscany was caught in the middle of the war when HRE forces marched into the Italian Peninsula to lay siege to Rome. Matilda became the pope's most powerful military leader- leading troops directly on the battlefield to allow the pope to evacuate Rome before HRE forces could arrive. Even Matilda managed to escape capture and continued to fight HRE forces for the exiled pope after HRE forces occupied the Vatican. Eventually, Matilda managed to re-establish peace through marrying one of the emperor's other landowners, but the peace would not last long. Matilda's husband was only sixteen at the time of marriage, and the young man thought his new wife was a witch. With the First Crusade raging in the Holy Land, a emperor took the HRE seat and saw an opportunity to start a new war with the pope.

Emperor Charles V invaded Italy with the same route as his predecessor, but Matilda had spent the ceasefire cementing loyalty from her lords, increasing forts along strategic roads, and arming farmers for gorilla-style warfare against the HRE forces she knew would eventually return. Matilda herself returned to the battlefields to fight several battles against the emperor and inspired several cities in the HRE-held northern Italian provinces to rebel against the empire. Emperor Charles V eventually surrendered and granted Matilda the title of Vice Empress of Italy in exchange for her to return Italians provinces back to the HRE. Far after her death, Matilda's remains were placed permanently in St. Peter's Basilica as a sign of respect for her dedication to the Papacy and is now one of only six women to have their remains in the Vatican's cathedral.