Medieval History – Page 2 – History… the interesting bits!

Anna of Kyiv, Queen of France

06/09/202530/09/2025Sharon Bennett Connolly5 Comments

History ... the Interesting Bits — *Anna of Kyiv*

Few women in the medieval era were able to take the reins of government. Their role was primarily confined to the domestic sphere, with men taking on the job of governance – whether of lands, as a count or duke, or of a country, as king – because that was seen as their domain. Some women, however, did manage to rule, and to rule efficiently, although not without opposition. Most examples of women who took the reins of power follow the early deaths of their husbands, when they were called upon to rule as regents until their sons were old enough to rule alone.

One such woman was Anna of Kyiv, sometimes called Agnes. Born some time between 1024 and 1036, Anna was the daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, Grand-Duke of Kyiv, and Ingegerd of Sweden. Yaroslav and Ingegerd had nine children, several of whom had made royal marriages. Of their daughters, Anastasia had married Andrew I of Hungary, and Elizabeth (Elisiv) was the wife of Harold (Hardrada) of Norway. One son, Isiaslav, was married to the sister of the king of Poland, while another son, Vsevolod, married a daughter of the Byzantine emperor.

In 1051, Anna was to make the most prestigious marriage of all, when she became the second wife of Henry I, King of France. Following the death of his first wife, Matilda of Frisia, during childbirth, and in an attempt to find a wife who was not related to him within the Church’s prohibited degrees of kinship, Henry had sent an ambassador to Kyiv, laden with gifts, in search of a bride. Anna is said to have been renowned throughout Europe for her ‘exquisite beauty, literacy and wisdom’.¹ Anna and Henry were married at the Cathedral of Reims on 19 May 1051; Anna was probably around twenty years old, while Henry was around forty-three.

As a demonstration of her superior level of education, Anna signed the marriage contract in her own hand, using her full name, whereas Henry could only manage a cross. At her coronation at Reims, Anna used a Slavic gospel to say her vows, which she had brought with her from Kyiv, rather than the traditional Latin Bible. Anne brought no land with her marriage dowry, but she did bring connections and wealth. The jewels she brought with her probably included a jacinth, which Abbot Suger later mounted in a reliquary of St Denis.²

Although it lasted only nine years, Anna and Henry’s marriage appears to have been a great success. The couple had three sons, of whom the oldest, Philip, born in 1052, succeeded his father as Philip I. He was known as Philip ‘the Amorous’ and reigned for forty-eight years, marrying twice; firstly to Bertha of Holland and secondly to Bertrade de Montfort, having three children – two sons and a daughter – with each wife. Anne and Henry’s second son, Robert, born in 1054/5, died young and the youngest, Hugh, born in 1057, became Count of Vermandois on his marriage to Adelaide, Countess of Vermandois. Hugh was vilified for failing to fulfil his Crusader vows by returning home early from the First Crusade, he died, in 1101, of wounds received in battle with the Turks after returning to the Holy Land. One of Hugh’s nine children, his daughter, Isabel de Vermandois, was married to Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, before her father departed on crusade, even though she was only aged 10 or 11 at the time. Isabel would marry, as her second husband, William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Warenne and Surrey.

Anna appears to have thought of France as provincial compared to her homeland of Kyiv; she is said to have written to her father in 1050 saying, ‘What a barbarous country you sent me to – the dwellings are sombre, the churches horrendous and the morals – terrible’.³ Anna, however, appears to have made an effort to settle into her adopted country, she learned the language and participated, to some extent, in government; she and Henry worked in partnership as king and queen. Several decrees include the phrase ‘With the consent of my wife Anna’ or ‘In the presence of Queen Anna’.⁴

Towards the end of Henry’s reign, Anna was counter-signatory to at least four charters, including a 1058 charter of concession to the monastery of St Maur-les-Fosses, signed ‘including my wife Anna and sons Philip, Robert and Hugh’ and a donation to the monastery at Hasnon, which was signed by King Henry, Prince Philip and Queen Anna.⁵

The situation changed in 1060 when King Henry died. With Anna’s son Philip then only seven years old, a regency was set up with Baldwin V of Flanders as regent. He was the husband of King Henry’s sister Adele, and father of Matilda of Flanders, Queen of England. However, at the time, the Bishop of Chartres described Philip and his mother Anna as his sovereigns; moreover, Philip himself declared that, as a child, he ruled the kingdom jointly with his mother. The young king valued his mother’s advice and Anna signed numerous royal acts during her son’s reign; her signature was always either the first signature on the document or the second after that of King Philip. The acts included donations to monasteries, the renunciation of customs grants of exemptions and a charter to the Abbot of Marmoutier to build a church. In all, there are at least twenty-three acts that mentioned Anna, or carried her signature, between 1060 and 1075.⁶

Anna was held in high regard by many. Among her admirers was Pope Nicholas II himself, who wrote to her with high praise;

Nicholas, Bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the glorious queen, greeting and apostolic benediction. We give proper thanks to almighty God, the author of good will, because we have heard that the virile strength of virtues lives in a womanly breast. Indeed it has come to our ears, most distinguished daughter, that your serenity overflows with the munificence of pious generosity for the poor, sweats forth with the zeal of most devoted prayer, administers the force of punishment on behalf of those who are violently oppressed, and fulfills with other good works, insofar as it belongs to you, the office of royal dignity…⁷

In 1061 Anna was involved in a scandal in France when she married Raoul, Count of Crepy and Valois, in what appears to have been a love-match. Raoul was an ally of the young king, but was already married to Eleanor. Eleanor’s family name is identified as “Haquenez” in two primary sources, but her origins are obscure. The count had repudiated Eleanor, on the grounds of adultery, in order to marry Queen Anna. However, Eleanor appealed to the pope, Alexander II, who ordered the Archbishop of Reims to investigate the matter.

Raoul was ordered to take Eleanor back, and was excommunicated when he refused; he and Anna left court as a result of the furore. However, Raoul and Anna were both important allies of the king, and continued advising Philip and acting as signatories to his royal acts, despite being exiled from the court. The king eventually forgave his mother and she was welcomed back to court following Raoul’s death in 1074. Her return to her family was probably short-lived, however, as it seems likely that Anna died in 1075, although the exact date of her death, and her final resting place, are lost to the thousand years that have passed since then.

Anna of Kyiv left a mark on history in the remarkably high regard in which both her husband, Henry I, and her son Philip held her. She was a well-educated, pious woman whose advice and opinions were respected, not only within her family, but by such exalted persons as the pope and French bishops.

She proved that a woman could act wisely, at least in politics, if not in her second marriage, at a time when women were not expected, or allowed, to rule. The nature of her rule appears to have been a gentle hand on the shoulder of her son, whereas other women were more forceful as rulers – such as Adela of Normandy, Countess of Blois, the daughter of William the Conqueror, King of England, and Matilda of Flanders.

Images:

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Notes:

1. Prominent Russians: Anna Yaroslavna (article), russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/the-ryurikovich-dynasty/anna-yaroslavna; 2. epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu, Anne of Kiev (Anna Yaroslavna) (article). Quoted from Bauthier, 550; Hallu, 168, citing Comptes de Suger; 3. Prominent Russians: Anna Yaroslavna; 4. Moniek Bloks, Anne of Kiev, the First Female Regent of France; 5. epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu, Anne of Kiev (Anna Yaroslavna) (article). The St Maur-les-Fosses charter reads ‘annuente mea conjuge Anna et prole Philippo, Roberto ac Hugone’; 6. epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu, Anne of Kiev (Anna Yaroslavna) (article); 7. Letter from Pope Nicholas II to Anne of Kiev, October 1059, epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/letter/1190, translated by Ashleigh Imus.

Sources:

Prominent Russians: Anna Yaroslavna (article), russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/the-ryurikovich-dynasty/anna-yaroslavna; epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu, Anne of Kiev (Anna Yaroslavna) (article); Moniek Bloks, Anne of Kiev, the First Female Regent of France; Heroines of the Medieval World by Sharon Bennett Connolly; Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest by Sharon Bennett Connolly; Matilda by Tracy Borman; The Norman Conquest by Marc Morris; Elisabeth M.C. Van Houts and Rosalind C. Love (eds and trans), The Warenne (Hyde) Chronicle; W.S. Davis, A History of France from the Earliest Times to the Treaty of Versailles; Emily Joan Ward, Anne of Kiev (c.1024–c.1075) and a reassessment of maternal power in the minority kingship of Philip I of France (article); Charlotte M. Yonge, History of France; Pierre Goubert, The Course of French History

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Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.

‘Scotland’s Medieval Queens gives a thorough grounding in the history of the women who ruled Scotland at the side of its kings, often in the shadows, but just as interesting in their lives beyond the spotlight. It’s not a subject that has been widely covered, and Sharon is a pioneer in bringing that information into accessible history.’ Elizabeth Chadwick (New York Times bestselling author)

Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org. Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword, Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon, Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

Podcast:

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Wordly Women: Elizabeth Chadwick

30/08/202530/07/2025Sharon Bennett Connolly2 Comments

Throughout my writing career, I have been very lucky to have enjoyed the friendship of Elizabeth Chadwick. A truly generous person, Elizabeth and I shared a stage at the Newark Book Festival in July 2018. I had only published my first book, Heroines of the Medieval World the previous September, and I was a nervous wreck. Elizabeth was the star of the show, I was the newcomer, and she could have easily dominated the conversation – no one would have blamed her. Everyone was there to see her, not me. But Elizabeth was calm, encouraging and made sure I had my say. I will never forget that.

So, it is an honour and a pleasure to welcome Elizabeth to History … the Interesting Bits as part of my Wordly Women series, to discuss her writing career and her love of history – and William Marshal, of course!

Sharon: Hi, Elizabeth. So, what got you into writing?

Elizabeth: I came into the world as a storyteller. I can remember very clearly telling myself stories with beginnings, middles and ends at the age of three. Throughout my childhood I made up stories, inspired from illustrations I liked in books. I’d invent whole tales around pieces of artwork, say from the wonderful pages of Ladybird books. Even at a young age I was asking myself ‘What if this happened?’ Who, where, what why? I learned the art of story telling just by having fun – and reading a lot obviously. I didn’t write anything down until my mid-teens by which time I decided that I wanted to bring some posterity to my verbal stories and so began writing them down. I was fifteen when I wrote my first historical novel, purely for fun, and enjoyed the experience so much that I decided that I wanted to do this for my career. Eight unpublished novels later I finally got there.

Sharon: Tell us about your books.

Elizabeth: I write historical fiction set in the Middle Ages, mostly covering England and France with a bit of the Middle East thrown in. I began writing my stories with imaginary protagonists but then moved on to biographical fiction. They are character-driven stories of the life and times of the people, focussing on their family lives interwoven with political and emotional drama. I research the period meticulously and blend fact and fiction with an emphasis on telling an engrossing story without depriving the facts of their integrity. I have award winning novels and New York Times bestsellers among my published novels to date.

Sharon: What attracts you to the medieval period?

Elizabeth: It was actually chance that brought me to the Middle Ages. As I’ve mentioned above, I told myself stories throughout my childhood. I enjoyed historical TV dramas and became quite hooked on The Six Wives of Henry VIII starring Keith Michell. That led me to write down my first ever story over the summer holidays when I was fourteen. I enjoyed the exercise, but ran out of steam, however, I’d laid the groundwork. I became very enamoured of a knight in a children’s TV program put out by the BBC and dubbed from the French. It was called Desert Crusader, In French it was Thibaud ou les Croisades. My weekly doses of Desert Crusader led me to take up my pen again, and this time I didn’t run out of steam. This time I wrote a whole novel. It started out as a piece of fan fiction I guess, but within two chapters had taken on a life of its own – rather like me making up brand new stories to the Ladybird books of my childhood. Once I had the basic visual inspiration I was off. Since I knew nothing about the Holy Land and very little about the Middle Ages I had to begin researching because I wanted my story to have veracity and feel real. However if I hadn’t fallen for actor Andre Lawrence as Thibaud, ‘Le Chevalier Blanc’ I might never have taken to the Medieval period the way I did. Such are moments of chance in our lives.

Sharon: Who is your favourite medieval character and why?

Elizabeth: It would have to be the great William Marshal. You don’t get many of his kind to the pound. He had an amazing life and great integrity. He rose from the ranks of the ordinary jobbing nobility and a life in the military, and by using his charisma, intelligence, physical abilities and sheer personality, came to the attention of the Angevin royal family. Having saved the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, he was taken into royal service. He was a champion of the tourneys, a far-travelled pilgrim, a counsellor of kings. He had his ups and downs and he wasn’t perfect by any manner of means, but the Angevins trusted him enough to give him a fantastic marriage to a great heiress (and they appear to have been very compatible despite a more than 20 year age gap). He became earl of Pembroke under King John and involved in the development of Magna Carta. When King John died, William took over the rule of England on behalf of John’s 9 year old son Henry III. He dealt with the volatile political situation in a way that showed he had a firm grasp of the politics and a practical knowledge of what to do. And at the battle of Lincoln in 1217, aged approx. 71, he saw off the French and got the country back on an even keel.

Sharon: Who is your least favourite medieval character and why?

Elizabeth: I don’t have a least favourite. Even the villains are interesting. I have some very least favourite modern politicians, but that’s because they’re in my face and I am having to deal with emotions engendered as consequences of their actions rather than being more objective. I do find it fascinating how people almost come to blows over Richard III and Henry VII and hold such passionate loyalties over a pair of men who are now bones. The War of the Roses is fought over and over and over again all day online! Having said that, I do admit I have a huge fondness for William Marshal which is certainly not dispassionate. I don’t however, get in a lather about King John!

Sharon: How do you approach researching your topic?

Elizabeth: I’ve been studying the Middle Ages since I was fifteen years old and I am a few decades older now, so I have a good grounding in the general research of the period. I don’t have to start from scratch. I research using academic and specialist books of which I have a wide-ranging library – in several rooms of my house! I research online these days – when I began my career that wasn’t an option, but now it is, and it’s more a case of limiting the information and knowing which are the bona fide sites. While there’s a great deal of marvellous research resources out there, it has to be said that sadly copious amounts of rubbish exist too and one has to become an expert at sifting. I might do bits of experimental living history. I used to re-enact before I ran out of time and I still have all the kit and friends in the business toward whom I can direct questions. I also have friends in the academic community who are very helpful.

Sharon: Tell us your ‘favourite’ medieval story you have come across in your research.

Elizabeth: I think that would have to be the great William Marshal who attended a tournament with his lord the Young King, eldest son of Henry II. During the tournament they captured another knight for ransom and brought him back to their own camp sitting on his horse with a lead rein. However, on the way there they had to pass some buildings and the captured knight lifted himself off his horse and shimmied up a gutter pipe and clambered onto a house gallery (upstairs veranda sort of thing). Meanwhile, William Marshal was riding along, holding the reins of a riderless horse and not realising his captive had absconded until the Young King, doubled up with laughter, let him know – he’d been in on the joke for a while!

Sharon: Tell us your least ‘favourite’ medieval story you have come across in your research.

Elizabeth: There are quite a few, but here’s a typical one. It would be in a work I was reading on criminal cases in Medieval Coventry. Someone stole a horse and was put in the stocks for it by the bailiff. But it was a very, very cold night and the criminal got frost bite which resulted in his lower legs perishing and then dropping off! He died, and the bailiff was arrested for murder – pretty gruesome!

Sharon: Are there any other eras you would like to write about?

Elizabeth: Arthurian might be interesting, although I’d need to do a lot of reading up because history has changed a lot since I became a fan of that era via various novels. When I first began writing as a teen, I almost wrote a Regency novel, but Medieval pipped Regency at the post. It might still be interesting to do, but again, I’d need to get stuck into the research so probably not.

Sharon: What are you working on now?

Elizabeth: I’ve just completed The Uncrowned Queen, the second part of Joan of Kent’s amazing story and I am now working on an untitled novel about Katherine Swynford and her two husbands – Hugh Swynford and John of Gaunt. I am finding it fascinating, especially the way research has moved on and changed datelines, nuances and our understanding of the period and the protagonists. It goes to show that so much of the time what we think we know is actually what we don’t know. Actually, if we are prepared to swallow long-cherished beliefs and re-learn, it’s immensely exciting and rewarding!

Sharon: And finally, what is the best thing about being a writer?

Elizabeth: Being your own boss to an extent. As long as I put in the word count, I can get up as I please and go to bed as I please. Equal with that are the many good friends I have made over my career, both the readers and the historians – and I’ve learned a lot of cool things too!

About the Author:

Elizabeth Chadwick is a UK million selling historical novelist whose works are based in the medieval period. She won a Betty Trask award for her first published novel The Wild Hunt and the RNA prize for Historical fiction in 2011 with To Defy A King. Her novel The Greatest Knight is a New York Times bestseller and has been optioned for film and TV together with several others in the same series. Specialising in the Middle Ages, with a particular interest in the life and times of William Marshal and the Angevin court, she occasionally lectures on the academic circuit and gives talks on historical tours. Elizabeth is also a member of The Royal Historical Society. When not writing, Elizabeth enjoys chatting to readers on all sorts of subjects but with a strong emphasis on reading and medieval history.

My books

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

Podcast:

Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Elizabeth Chadwick and Bernard Cornwell and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.

Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

Don’t forget! Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.

For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.

You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

Sybilla of Normandy, Queen of Scots

23/08/202523/08/2025Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

Alexander I was the second-to-youngest son of Malcolm III Canmore and his sainted wife Margaret of Wessex. Born around 1077 or 1078, he was thirty-or-so when he ascended the throne in 1107, ‘as the King Henry granted him.’¹Like his brother Edgar before him, Alexander succeeded to the throne as a vassal of the English crown. He had probably spent the years between his father’s death and Edgar’s accession in exile in England, with Edgar and their younger brother, David. John of Fordun provides a largely flattering assessment of Alexander I as king:

‘Now the king was a lettered and godly man ; very humble and amiable towards the clerics and regulars, but terrible beyond measure to the rest of his subjects; a man of large heart, exerting himself in all things beyond his strength. He was most zealous in building churches, in searching for relics of saints, in providing and arranging priestly vestments and sacred books; most open-handed, even beyond his means, to all newcomers; and so devoted to the poor, that he seemed to delight in nothing so much as in supporting them, washing, nourishing, and clothing them.’²

One of the primary duties of a king is to marry and produce heirs; at least one son, preferably two – the heir and the spare. This guarantees the succession and offers stability to a country. Even daughters were useful to a king, their marriages cementing alliances with friends and enemies alike. Alexander I was married shortly after his accession to the throne. His bride was offered to him by his brother-in-law, King Henry I of England. She was Sybilla, also known as Sybilla of Normandy, one of the King of England’s many illegitimate offspring.

King Henry had more than twenty illegitimate children and as many as five were by the same mother, his mistress, or concubine, Sybilla Corbet. Orderic Vitalis refers to Sybilla of Normandy as ‘the daughter of King Henry by a concubine’.³ It is highly likely that Sybilla Corbet was Sybilla’s mother, one indication being their shared Christian name. She was the daughter of a Shropshire landowner named Robert Corbet. Her children with the king included Reginald, Earl of Cornwall, and a young man named William, who was described as the queen’s brother when he accompanied the younger Sybilla to Scotland. Sybilla Corbet is also reputed to have been the mother of Robert, Earl of Gloucester, Henry I’s oldest son and the stalwart supporter of his legitimate sister, Empress Matilda, during the Anarchy. After the end of her relationship with the king, Sybilla Corbet would go on to marry Herbert FitzHerbert, who held lands in Yorkshire and Gloucestershire, and have a further five children.

The date of Alexander’s marriage to Sybilla is unknown, though it is thought to have been shortly after his accession to the throne, possibly in 1107 or 1108, and before his involvement in the English campaign in Wales in 1114. It was in a charter dated to 1114 or 1115 that Alexander and Sybilla jointly refounded Scone Abbey, whereby they are referred to as ‘Alexander … King of Scots, son of King Malcolm and Queen Margaret and … Sybilla, Queen of Scots, daughter of King Henry of England.’⁴

Another unknown is Sybilla’s age at the time of her marriage as her birth was unrecorded. Alexander was in his 30s, while most historians agree that it is likely that Sybilla was born in the mid-to-late 1090s and probably in her mid-teens. Although born out of wedlock, as the acknowledged daughter of King Henry I of England, Sybilla was considered a suitable wife for King Alexander. Henry I’s illegitimate daughters played an important role in his foreign and domestic policies; no fewer than ten of them were married into the upper classes of the Norman-French nobility to cement political alliances. Sybilla’s illegitimate status was of less significance than the fact her father was the King of England.

The marriage was intended to bind Alexander even closer to England and to King Henry personally, who was already his brother-in-law, having married Alexander’s sister, Matilda of Scotland, shortly after becoming king. The union was also aimed at securing peace along the Anglo-Scottish border. In his chronicle, William of Malmesbury recorded the marriage, though did not name Sybilla and added ‘there was … some defect about the lady either in correctness of manners or elegance of person.’⁵ Malmesbury stated that Alexander ‘did not sigh much when she died before him, for the woman lacked, as is said, what was desired, either in modest manners, or in elegant body’.⁶ Unfortunately, William of Malmesbury does not elaborate further on this defect, nor on the reasons behind such an unflattering description of the Scottish queen. No other chronicler mentions any flaws in the queen. It is possible that Malmesbury was playing down the queen’s attributes, and the impact of her death on the king, in order to find favour with her brother-in-law David, Alexander I’s younger brother and heir.

Some historians have interpreted the childless marriage as also being loveless, perhaps drawing on Malmesbury’s depiction of Sybilla, most actually agree that, although there were no children, it was a happy and loving marriage. With this distance of time, it would be difficult to be certain either way. However, despite the lack of an heir, Alexander did not repudiate his wife, though that could always be as a result of who her father was. Rosalind Marshal suggests that Alexander loved Sybilla, and mourned her deeply when she died, founding a church in her memory.

Alexander and Sybilla’s court is said to have been one of splendour, with reference to Arab stallions and Turkish men-at-arms. They issued a number of charters together, including the one founding Scone Abbey, mentioned above. Scone was the ancient site for the installation and crowning of Scotland’s kings, it was the centre of royal power in Scotland. Sybilla’s inclusion in the foundation of the Augustinian priory there demonstrates how she had become an integral part of the Scottish ruling dynasty. She and Alexander also made a joint offering to the cathedral church of St Andrews.

Sybilla also made grants, as an ecclesiastical patron, in her own right. She granted the manor of Beath in Fife to Dunfermline Abbey, the monastery founded by her husband’s parents, Malcolm III and Queen Margaret, their final resting place. Sybilla attested one of the four surviving charters from Alexander I’s reign, demonstrating her presence at court and involvement in the affairs of state. Significantly, it may have been Sybilla who acted as peacemaker between the king and Eadmer, when he became Bishop of St Andrews. Due to the investiture controversy that was causing issues throughout Europe, with kings and bishops in disagreement over the validity of lay investiture, Eadmer accepted the ring of office from King Alexander, but not the staff. The staff had been placed on the altar at the cathedral of St Andrews and it seems likely that Sybilla was the one who broached the compromise whereby Eadmer would take the episcopal ring from the king, but the pastoral staff from the altar. When Eadmer arrived at the cathedral church of St Andrews to take up the pastoral staff, Queen Sybilla was there to greet him.

Queen Sybilla died suddenly on the Island of the Women at ‘Loch Tay, the cell of the canons of Scone’ on 12 or 13 July 1122 and was buried at Dunfermline Abbey. Afterwards, the king granted the island on Loch Tay, and its surrounding lands, to the canons at Scone, to pray for the soul of Queen Sybilla, and himself. Alexander did not remarry after Sybilla’s death, leaving the crown to his brother, David, on his own death in 1124.

Queen Sybilla has left little imprint on history, beyond her name as a witness on a surviving charter and the founding of Scone Abbey. That she did not bear children, and therefore an heir for Alexander I, means that she did not have living descendants to keep her memory alive and memorialise her life and deeds, as Queen Margaret had. Her significance is, perhaps, not in her impact on Scotland but rather the physical link that she represented between the kingdoms and dynasties of England and Scotland, and thus demonstrating Scottish acceptance of Norman rule in England.

***

Notes:

1. Manuscript E, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, edited and translated by Michael Swanton, p. 241; 2. John of Fordun’s Chronicle of the Scottish nation, pp. 217-218; 3. ‘filiam Henrici regis Anglorun ex concubine’ Orderic Vitalis cited in Danna Messer, Medieval Monarchs, Female Illegitimacy and Modern Genealogical Matters: Part 1: Sybilla, Queen of Scotland, c. 1090-1122, fmg.ac; 4. ‘Alexander…rex Scottorum filius regis Malcolmi et regine Margerete et…Sibilla regina Scottorum filia Henrici regis Anglie’ Scone, 1, p. 1. Quoted in fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SCOTLAND; 5. William of Malmesbury, 400, p. 349, quoted in fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SCOTLAND; 6. William of Malmesbury, quoted in Messer, Medieval Monarchs, Female Illegitimacy and Modern Genealogical Matters: Part 1: Sybilla, Queen of Scotland, c. 1090-1122