Matilda, or Maud, was an illegitimate daughter of King
Henry I of England by a mistress identified only as Edith. Nothing is known of her mother's family. Her father was the youngest son of
William the Conqueror and his wife
Matilda of Flanders. During the High Middle Ages, illegitimate children were not always acknowledged by their fathers (and so many remained unknown) but Henry I recognised at least 20 of his 'natural' children, including Maud. She was identified as his daughter by
Orderic Vitalis, who added that the king built up her husband's power by greatly augmenting his estates and wealth in England. Her father gave her lands in Wiltshire as her dowry. In 1103, Matilda married
Rotrou III, Count of Perche, as his second wife. She married at the same time as her half-sister
Juliane de Fontevrault. Rotrou was a direct vassal of King Henry in England, where he held fiefs
jure uxoris, in right of his wife. He also was given the de Bellelme fief in Normandy at the forfeiture of
Robert de Belleme. ==
White Ship==