This study takes as its theme the relationship of the English and French kings and the religious orders, c.1130-1270, Patronage in general is a field relatively neglected in the rich literature on the monastic life, and royal patronage has never before been traced over a broad period for both France and England. The chief concern here is with royal favour shown towards the various orders of monks and friars, in the foundations and donations made by the kings. This is put in the context of monastic patronage set in a wider field, and of the charters and pensions which are part of its formal expression. The monastic foundations and the general pattern of royal donations to different orders are discussed in some detail in the core of the work; the material is divided roughly according to the reigns of the kings. Evidence from chronicles and the physical remains of buildings is drawn upon as well as collections of charters and royal financial documents. The personalities and attitudes of the monarchs towards the religious hierarchy, the way in which monastic patronage reflects their political interests, and the contrasts between English and French patterns of patronage are all analysed, and the development of the royal monastic mausoleum in Western Europe is discussed as a special case of monastic patronage. A comparison is attempted of royal and non-royal foundations based on a statistical analysis. The siting and architectural style of royal monasteries, the political implications of monastic patronage, and the extent to which royal patronage affected religious orders are also examined; finally there is a brief treatment of royal patronage after c.1270. Transcripts of imprinted charters and photographs of royal monasteries are included as pièces justificatives.

This thesis attempts to produce a biographical study of King Stephen's wife, similar in scope and type to Marjorie Chibnall's 1991 work The Empress Matilda. The introduction will examine the primary sources for Matilda of Boulogne's career - chronicles written during and after her lifetime and charters she issued or attested - and point out their problems; examine her career as discussed in secondary sources; and examine her early life, including an attempt to put her children in birth order. A lack of primary source material prevents any longer examination of her career before Stephen's 1135 accession. The first chapter is a narrative of the queen's career, collating documentary and chronicle sources to provide the background for later, in-depth discussion. Where possible and appropriate, this chapter also attempts to date charters more precisely. The second chapter discusses Matilda's religious life, and has three parts. The first and longest is an in-depth analysis of her charters to religious houses, to determine her patterns of patronage and personal preferences. The second compares her religious charters to Stephen's and examines the connections between them using the queen's attestations; this determines whether the queen's grants were self-directed or motivated by her husband. The final section examines Matilda of Boulogne's relationships with various religious figures, and in particular tries to date her various interactions with Bernard of Clairvaux. The third chapter analyses the witness-lists of Matilda's charters in order to determine with whom she was in closest contact - the make-up of her curia, in other words - and provides some discussion of her most frequent attestors. There is also a comparison between Stephen and Matilda's most frequent attestors, which determines that Matilda, rather than being an alternative nexus of prestige or having a parallel curia, was a member of Stephen's inner circle who had a small personal household. The fourth chapter is an examination of Matilda of Boulogne's authority - its sources, types, and uses. In general, Matilda's authority was highly nuanced, came from multiple sources, including her roles as wife, mother, countess, and queen, and allowed her to take highly effective, flexible action whenever Stephen's interests or hers were threatened. The final chapter places the queen's career in context by examining the careers of four of her relatives, and comparing them to Matilda's; it becomes apparent from this analysis that Matilda actively modelled herself on her predecessors, particularly those who were queens.