Cultural depictions of Empress Matilda

The 12th-century ruler Empress Matilda has been depicted in various cultural media.

Historical fiction

Novels dealing with the civil war between Matilda and Stephen include:

Graham Shelby, The Villains of the Piece (1972) (published in the US as The Oath and the Sword)
The Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters, and the TV series made from them starring Sir Derek Jacobi
Sharon Penman, When Christ and His Saints Slept tells the story of the events before, during and after the civil war (1995)
Ken Follett, The Pillars of the Earth (1989)
E. L. Konigsburg, A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver (1973)
Cecelia Holland, The Earl (1971)
Elizabeth Chadwick, Lady of the English (2012)
Jean Plaidy, The Passionate Enemies, the third book of her Norman Trilogy (1976)
Ellen Jones, The Fatal Crown (1991)
Haley Elizabeth Garwood, The Forgotten Queen (1997)

Alison Pill portrayed Matilda in the 2010 TV miniseries The Pillars of the Earth, an adaptation of Follett's novel.

Matilda is a character in Jean Anouilh's play Becket. In the 1964 film adaptation she was portrayed by Martita Hunt.^[1]

She was also portrayed by Brenda Bruce in the 1978 BBC TV series The Devil's Crown, which dramatised the reigns of her son and grandsons.^[2]

v t e Cultural depictions of English and British monarchs
Kingdom of the English 886–1066	Alfred the Great Edward the Elder Æthelflæd Ælfweard Athelstan the Glorious¹ Edmund the Magnificent¹ Eadred¹ Eadwig the Fair¹ Edgar the Peaceable¹ Edward the Martyr Æthelred the Unready Sweyn Forkbeard Edmund Ironside Cnut¹ Harold Harefoot Harthacnut Edward the Confessor Harold Godwinson Edgar the Ætheling
Kingdom of England 1066–1649	William I William II Henry I Stephen Matilda Henry II² Henry the Young King Richard I John² Henry III² Edward I² Edward II² Edward III² Richard II² Henry IV² Henry V² Henry VI² Edward IV² Edward V² Richard III² Henry VII² Henry VIII² Edward VI² Jane² Mary I² with Philip² Elizabeth I ² James I³ Charles I³
Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland 1653–1659	Oliver Cromwell⁴ Richard Cromwell⁴
Kingdom of England 1660–1707	Charles II³ James II³ William III and Mary II³ Anne³
Kingdom of Scotland 843–1707 (traditional)	Kenneth I MacAlpin Donald I Constantine I (II) Áed Giric Eochaid Donald II Constantine II (III) Malcolm I Indulf Dub Cuilén Amlaíb Kenneth II Constantine III (IV) Kenneth III Malcolm II Duncan I Macbeth Lulach Malcolm III Canmore Donald III Duncan II Donald III Edgar Alexander I David I Malcolm IV William I the Lion Alexander II Alexander III Margaret John Robert I David II Robert II Robert III James I James II James III James IV James V Mary I James VI ⁵ Charles I⁵ Charles II⁵ James VII⁵ Mary II⁵ William III⁵ Anne⁵
British monarchs after the Acts of Union 1707	Anne George I George II George III George IV William IV Victoria Edward VII George V Edward VIII George VI Elizabeth II Charles III
¹Overlord of Britain. ²Also ruler of Ireland. ³Also ruler of Scotland and Ireland. ⁴Lord Protector. ⁵Also ruler of England and Ireland. Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics.

Historical fiction

References