#Matilda of Canossa

[fictpara]

Naming my blanket after CK3 is so funny cause I'm not. A player. Of CK3. I just watch videos about it. And when I saw the line "I need your clothes to build my cozy little jester nest" it rewired something in my brain and also I ended up with paras from it

[centuriespast]

“Countess Matilda of Canossa,” a bronze sculpture from around 1630-3 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Credit…via Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts

[theroseandthebeast]

Yuletide 2023 Recs, Batch One

the most wonderful time of the year is here again!

16 recs for 11th CE RPF/Crusader Kings 3, The Addams Family, Ancient Egyptian RPF, Aquaman, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Barbie the Movie, The Bear, Beyond Evil, Black Books, and The Black Tapes

Matilda di Canossa Presents: Succession Planning for Dummies, Gen, Matilde di Canossa | Matilda of Tuscany

It’s always, “dear God in heaven, Matilda, how could you have eaten the pope?” and never “how was eating the pope; did the pope taste good?”

So Nice, Gen, Pubert Addams

Pubert was a different kind of Addams. OR What happens when the golden-haired angelic baby never reverted back to his little moustachioed self.

Beloved of Aten, Amenhotep IV | Akhenaten/Nefertiti of Egypt + Meritaten of Egypt/Smenkhkare of Egypt

Meriaten is beloved. By her parents. By the Aten. All is secure and as is it should be. Her father has revealed the truth of the world. The sun disk that can clearly be seen in the sky is no secret. She is beloved. She speaks the truth of Aten.

daughter of Xebel, Gen, Nereus & Mera

Y'Mera Xebella Challa is a daughter of Xebel before she is anything else.

Happiness is a Warm Gun, Lucy Gray Baird/Coriolanus Snow

"I'm looking out for you, too. I'll find a way," he promises. Coriolanus teaches Lucy Gray to shoot a gun.

saint sebastian, filled with arrows, Lucy Gray Baird/Coriolanus Snow

Coriolanus stares at it. Then he stares at her. She can see his imprecision again, the flicker of something untrustworthy beneath all the gold hair and famous lineage. “What should I do with it?” he asks, pliant, one last bid for direction. Lucy Gray kisses him again. “Come back to me,” she orders. “Do whatever you have to do to come back to me, Coriolanus Snow.” - (Coriolanus Snow wins the 10th annual Hunger Games with the help of his mentor, Lucy Gray Baird.)

Like My Head Against A Board, Allan/Ryan Gosling's Ken

Allan lends a helping hand.

to let the next life off the hook, Margot Robbie's Barbie/Gloria

Barbie’s not the only one who has a past life. When Gloria faces hers, everything changes - for both of them.

to recreate us, Luca/Marcus

After he left Copenhagen, Marcus never thought he'd see Luca again.

maillard reaction, Sydney Adamu/Richard "Richie" Jerimovich

There’s no more restaurant to manage, no more food to cook, and Syd doesn’t really know what to do with her body, except fuck Richie, apparently.

in every heart there is a room, Sydney Adamu/Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto

“Chef,” Carmy says softly, “it’s just for a few hours.” “A few hours?! A single minute of catering brunch is going to make me a suicide risk, Chef!” “I’ll be there with you. Chef.” Sydney doesn’t look like she forgives him, exactly, but her dire expression loosens up, just a little bit. In which Cicero calls in a favor, hollandaise is made, and Sydney makes a promise.

acquired taste, Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto/Luca

Before Copenhagen, there was Chicago.

Heaven Ain't Close in a Place Like This, Han Joo Won/Lee Dong Sik

Chained to a radiator in a warehouse, his lips cracking like tissue paper from lack of water, Han Juwon can admit that he might have fucked up.

Steal Your Breath Away, Han Joo Won/Lee Dong Sik

Han Juwon calls in a veritable litany of favors until he gets what he’s after: Lee Dongsik in handcuffs, alone in an interrogation room.

Three Sheets to the Wind, Manny Bianco/Bernard Black/Fran Katzenjammer

A customer mistakes Fran, Manny, and Bernard for a throuple. They start to wonder if it's true.

Unheard, Unsought For, Or Unseen, Alex Reagan/Richard Strand

Richard Strand has been in love before, of course. He’s not sure he’s ever felt like this. Three moments, throughout the course of working with Miss Alex Reagan on The Black Tapes Podcast, when Richard Strand learns that he is utterly wrong about something he thought he knew.

[gacougnol]

Enzo Crispino

In the lands of Matilda in Canossa

[jasmineleeplays]

Queen Matilda's most powerful vassal, Duke Ademar of Calabria has finally graduated to adulthood and gained the trait Astute Intellectual (Level 3 Learning Education). Unfortunately, his skills are nothing to be desired in a Councillor, so we will just butter him up with a Sway scheme for now.

At 69 (Nice!) years of age, Queen Matilda's Worldly Pilgrimage to Santiago ends disappointingly with not much Worldliness achieved. Queen Matilda went on this pilgrimage at the behest of her ghostly friend Alberto Azzo who warned that there would be dire consequences if the spirits are not appeased. Somehow, this pilgrimage has been uneventful and quiet.

Queen Matilda's Adventurer Mafalda comes bearing news that she dragged her boat across land and up a cliff, gaining the nickname Mafalda "the Sisyphean". Not long after, about 4 months later, she comes back from Europe with the Skull of the Wild Aurochs of Velsk.

As Kathir Yakubid the Renowned Physician and Witch has died, Queen Matilda sets about looking for a new Court Physician. This time we come across the Norman, Geraud d'Amiens who is a Physician and Martially inclined.

Count Bernhard of Bern which is situated at the northern tip of Italy, is suddenly available to vassalise under Normal Feudal Obligations.

Finally, on 12 January 1116, we receive the notification that Queen Matilda is close to dying. At this point in time, we are dragged into another pointless defensive Liberty war for Basileus Eusebios which we have no hopes of winning.

As one of her last acts, Queen Matilda holds a Grand Rite to which only her granddaughter Matilda di Canossa attends together with her friend Francesca. Around the bonfire, Queen Matilda begins the ceremony by reading from an ancient grimoire and closes it by asking her granddaughter to instruct her in the art of scheming.

The former Count Bernhard of Bern has been elevated to that of Duke Bernhard of Transjurania and he has come to pay homage to Queen Matilda. Although he mispronounces the vows in the Italian Vulgar leading to humorous double entendre.

Finally, Duke Adam of Alsace, Queen Matilda's fellow vassal in the HRE, has found out that Queen Matilda murdered her former vassal Baron Ettore to obtain the Barony of Iglesias (where the silver mine is). He blackmails her for a Weak Hook which she is inclined to give. Given that Queen Matilda is so close to death, he won't be able to use it in time.

[notsanguineatall]

Yuletide Recs, Pt 4

My last batch of recs before author reveals.

The Cruellest Month (1131 words) Fandom: The Waste Land - T. S. Eliot

A haunting, bewildering, revealing, lyrical look at recent events through the lens of Eliot. I am enchanted.

Things Janet Knows (1208 words) Fandom: The Good Place (TV)

Wonderfully perceptive (and formatted!) look at Janet's evolution over the course of the series.

The Lion in Spring (5510 words) Fandom: 12th Century RPF

Fabulous characterizations, nicely crafted worldbuilding. Honestly, you don't need to know the canon; the author gives you everything you need to know, with humor and elan to boot.

Matilda di Canossa Presents: Succession Planning for Dummies (1968 words) Fandom: Crusader Kings 3 (Video Game), 11th Century CE RPF

Trust me, you don't need to know the canon. You only have to appreciate the sound advice from this Matilda on how to best preserve the security of your realm. (Murder. The answer is murder.)

Lord of Misrule (5748 words) Fandom: Lord Peter Wimsey - Dorothy L. Sayers

Bunter gets into a scrape. Peter Wimsey tries to scrape through the situation with his customary surface frivolity and it doesn't take. The first Wimsey fic I've read in ages where I genuinely felt I understood Peter as Peter rather than a caricature.

027.4 GOU — Gouldsville Libraries: A History and an Investigation (4755 words) Fandom: Our Town's Libraries - Tom Gauld (Cartoon)

The comic on which the story is based. If you have ever worked in a library, used a library, or been in the general vicinity of a library you should read this one.

the sunne in shadow (1278 words) Fandom: The Sunne in Splendour - Sharon Kay Penman

In the shield of darkness, Edward and Richard talk of the dead. A beautifully crafted portrait of brothers in the midst of civil war.

[fotograrte]

1077: The pilgrimage from Spira (Germany) to the Castle of Canossa (Italy), with the Alps in between, of Emperor Henry IV of the Holy Roman-Germanic Empire, called the Humiliation of Canossa or Road to Canossa.

The Road to Canossa or Humiliation of Canossa (Italian: L'umiliazione di Canossa), or, sometimes, the Walk to Canossa (German: Gang nach Canossa/Kanossa)[1] was the journey of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV to Canossa Castle in 1077, and his subsequent ritual submission there to Pope Gregory VII. It took place during the Investiture controversy and involved the Emperor seeking absolution and the revocation of his excommunication by the Pope who had been staying at the castle as the guest of Margravine Matilda of Tuscany. According to contemporary sources, he was forced to supplicate on his knees, waiting for three days and nights before the castle gate while a blizzard raged, "one of the most dramatic moments of the Middle Ages". The episode has spurred much debate among medieval chroniclers as well as modern historians, who dispute whether the walk was a humiliating defeat for the emperor or a "brilliant masterstroke".

[aegor-bamfsteel]

Joan of Arc

Matilda of Canossa

Isabella of Castile

Caterina Sforza

Lagertha

Dihya Al-Kahina

Sichelgaita of Salerno

Jeanne “Hachette” Laisne

Isabel of Conches

Joanna of Flanders

There are many more women who could be included on this list, including ones who defended castles or commanded forces. Some accounts, such as Eleanor of Aquitaine leading a troop of women during the Second Crusade, have been shown to be untrue or gross exaggerations made by medieval writers. Other tales, such as the story of Onorata Rodiani, who is said to have disguised herself as a man and joined up with a mercenary company in the 15th century, are also hard to verify. There are also many accounts of unnamed women who took part in battles or sieges, such as the woman of Toulouse, who operated a siege machine that killed Simon de Montfort as he led crusaders in an attack on the city during the Albigensian Crusade. Finally, there is the story of Big Margot, a lady who was the standard bearer for a Flemish army at the Battle of Roosebeke in 1382 and would die in battle.

[sca-nerd]

Matilda

Can we talk about Matilda of Canossa? She’s also known as Matilda of Tuscany, and she is one of my FAVORITE examples of how women kicked ass in the Middle Ages. So I’m going to talk about her for a second. The Iron Shield of the Papacy.

In her life, Matilda...

Inherited the House of Canossa and all of its land, money, and influence when her older brother and sister died.

Checked out of a marriage with her stepbrother and took herself off to another city ENTIRELY because she didn’t like the dude, and no one was going to make her stay.

When her husband tried to claim stuff that she had inherited, she went to the estate that her husband had, and managed to get them to declare it in HER name instead.

Hubby ended up being assassinated. It wasn’t her doing, but she also didn’t cry into any pillows over it. 

King Henry IV was her second cousin. She supported Pope Gregory VII and the reform that he wanted to do. This was a problem.

Henry IV and Pope Greg did NOT get along, and Pope Greg even excommunicated Hank and a bunch of Bishops for dragging Greg during a synod at Worms (yes, Worms).

Hank made a pilgrimage to Canossa where Greg was hanging with Matilda so that he could apologize, and Matilda made him wait outside in the snow for three days before he could see the Pope. Greg forgave Hank and welcomed him back to the Church.

Then excommunicated him again.

Hank and the Bishops tried to assassinate Greg, and Matilda’s armies were like NOPE.

Hank tried to claim some of her land was HIS to overlord, but she had been through this already and knew what to do. She gave it all to the Pope.

Hank was kind of mad about this and kept picking fights. She had a whole lot of victories, but not enough.

Matilda captured a Bishop during a battle. A whole ass Bishop. Like in chess.

Hank got overconfident and tried to siege Canossa, but failed and people began to question his manhood. Which is fair, because Matilda took the man’s eldest son AND his wife.

Hank’s oldest son, Conrad, and a bunch of German princes decided they liked Matilda better, and she helped him escape when his Dad imprisoned him and got him declared King of Italy and even arranged his marriage with the daughter of the King of Sicily.

Hank’s wife, that he had imprisoned in a Monastery, was able to escape with Matilda’s help and she even had her testify to the Council of Piacenza about what a jerk Hank was.

In her 40’s, Matilda entered a political marriage with a dude 25 years her junior (he was between 15 and 17), and they ended up separating because what could they possibly have in common?

With the help of the First Crusades, she was able to finally restore Pope Urban II to Rome.

People burned down a castle when they thought she had died, and then learned that she was still alive.

She is one of only six women buried in the Basilica of St. Peter in Vatican City.

[thetudorslovers]

Matilda of Canossa, Countess of Tuscany, was born in 1046 to a noble family in northern Italy. She could have ended like so many other noble women during her time, as a simple tool with which to form marriage alliances between leading houses. However, with the support and mentorship of her mother,Matilda became a ruler in her own right. Matilda was not only in full control of her own estate, she also commanded her own army and kept additional territory in Italy. In addition, she had close ties to the pope himself, Gregory VII. Matilda managed her monetary, military, and political assets in such a cunning way that she rose to be one of the most influential women of her time. The two most important rulers of the time, the Holy Roman Emperor and the pope, fully recognised Matilda’s value as an asset, and found themselves with either a powerful ally or a powerful enemy in her.

"After providing the countess with salutary advice and divine commands, [Gregory VII] said farewell and set off for Rome [in 1077]. The people of Rome went out to meet him with great exultation and welcomed him as their shepherd. Gregory then absolved all those who opposed the emperor of infidelity and perjury [in 1080]. When the emperor learned of this, he entered Italy with a great army and went here and there, crushing castles and towns; only Countess Matilda resisted him. Burning with rage, the emperor fought many battles against her, terrorized [her lands], and threatened sieges."

(Translated from Historia Comitissae Mathildis, De Gestis videlicet progenitorem ipsius et eiusdem comitissae Mathildis, ed. Luigi Simeoni, in RIS 2 (Bologna: Zanichelli, 1930), 120–21.)

In the year of the Lord 1082, Countess Matilda and Bishop Anselm, who in those days was also vicar of Pope Gregory VII in Lombardy, asked for the church of Canossa’s treasure from Abbot Gerard, who was ruling the church at that time. It was to be sent to the pope for the defense of the Roman Church, which was then suffering great persecution from the heresiarch Guibert. And so, because the aforementioned abbot and congregation of brothers had a faithful affection and love for the blessed Peter and the Roman Church, they offered their treasure to its vicar [in response] to the petition of the countess. [The treasure] was twenty-four crowns, one of them gold with a small gold crucifix on it, two altar tables of silver, the silver cover of the altar tomb of Saint Apollonius, and a large silver thurible. All this was melted down at Canossa into seven hundred pounds of silver and nine of gold.In the end, the treasure was sent to Rome with the assent and by the will of the pope, who had received from the countess [Matilda] a donation charter regarding all of her lands. Then, when the countess asked for the restoration of a small amount of the treasure that had been removed, the vicar Anselm, who was then ruling this bishopric [Reggio] as well at the pope’s command, placed two chapels, one in Filina and one in Casula, under [the authority] of the church of Canossa. Later, Bishop Heribert [ca. 1086– 91] because he loved the Roman Church catholically, praised Bishop Anselm’s action and in praising it, also confirmed it and consecrated the church of Canossa. And whatever the church rightly had in its dowry, he acknowledged; furthermore, when the Countess requested it, he placed another two chapels, one in the village of Placiola and the other in Fano, under [the authority] of this same church. Through the wish and with the support of this bishop, the church of Canossa also acquired at this time a chapel located in Gorgo from the church’s patrons. In 1090, in the time of bishop [Heribert], we cleansed that church of Gorgo of thorns and snakes inside and out. Later, when Bishop Heribert wished to travel to Sicily for the profit and honor of the Queen Church, because he loved the church of Canossa with pure friendship, he received from her on loan a precious purple chasuble the color of blood with gold needlework along with an appropriate linen habit. Together [the chasuble] and the habit, he said, were worth thirty pounds. In return, he again truly confirmed everything which the church of Canossa held by right with pontifical words and promised with true faith that if he returned from Sicily alive, he would place some of the best chapels in his diocese under the authority of Canossa; if he did not happen to come back or if he lost the chasuble and habit, he would decide from which of the goods of the Queen Church the church of Canossa would have its restoration for the habit that was lent to him.

Source: - 66. MATILDA OF CANOSSA, PAPAL PATRON TWO TEXTS (eleventh century) Translated from Latin by William North

[thelaithlyworm]

[ID: "Against a black background, an old portrait of Matilda di Canossa, facing to the right. The shape of her head-dress – orange cloth and starched, pleated linen – is reminiscent of a helmet with the visor raised." End ID]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Crusader Kings 3 (Video Game), 11th Century CE RPF Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Matilde di Canossa | Matilda of Tuscany Additional Tags: Metafiction, In-Universe Documents, how-to guides, Canon-Typical Cannibalism, Canon-Typical Murder, Humor, Podfic, Podfic Length: 10-20 Minutes

[0hcicero]

Hey history side of tumblr! I’ve recently started to learn about Matilda of Canossa, and I am deeply obsessed and very much want to write a novel about her life - if y’all could point me to good sources or tell me about her, I would be very much obliged! Please, get at me!

[medievalart]

14th century illumination depicting Welf II (1072-1120), Duke of Bavaria,  and his wife Matilda of Canossa.This marriage didn’t last though and they were separated in the middle of 1090s.

Source: Giovanni Villani [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

[segretecose]

did matilda of tuscany effectively utilize girl power when she forced henry iv, holy roman emperor, to wait outside her castle for three days and three nights kneeling down and with his head covered in ashes before he could talk to her? because i do think so, actually

[jasmineleeplays]

Queen Matilda arranges a couple of betrothals for her grandchildren:

Her Beautiful grandson Count Goffredo III of Bouillon with the daughter of her stepson Count Raynaud of Tortoli, Drichglur verch Raynaud de Penthievre who is Intelligent and studying Stewardship.

Her Genius granddaughter Matilda di Canossa with dynasty member and son of Count Oberto II of Parma, Oberto di Parma who is also Intelligent but studying Martial.

Our little betrothal game has paid off, as we discover that Queen Matilda's match between her eldest granddaughter Anna di Canossa and Prince Eusebios the son and heir of Basileus Michael VII "the Bully" of the Byzantine Empire, has now evolved into a strong alliance between Italy and the Byzantine Empire itself since Basileus Michael died and now Basileus Eusebios of the Byzantine Empire has taken over.

To replace the old hostage who has grown up and to keep her Wet Nurse employed, Queen Matilda turns to Dauphin Centolh of Provence and demands that he sends his daughter Matilda Bosonid as hostage to her.

Queen Matilda's armorer and beneficiary Henri de Neauphle who previously tried to seduce her, finally completed his shield inspiration - crafting a Famed Magnificent Shield which can be put up in Queen Matilda's royal court as a small wall ornament.

In the meantime, Count Abbas ibn Shabtun of Manurqa appears to be of the same House as Count Ali II "the Honest" of Yabisa - House Amirid. House Amirid's Unity is Friendly which compels Count Abbas to want to pay the ransom of 50 gold for Count Ali. Queen Matilda politely declines the ransom offer of course, she is after something far more valuable than 50 gold.