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Matilda of Flanders, as she is commonly known, was the wife of William II, count/duke of Normandy and, from 1066, king of the English. This thesis is a study of her, and specifically of her power and authority, with a focus on her activity in Normandy rather than in England. It is thus neither a biography nor a contribution to the study of queenship, though it does aim to contribute to the studv of countesses, if not 'countess-ship'. The existing historiography of early medieval elite women has mostly neglected both countesses and women in the eleventh century. This is especially so for Normandy, where little study has been done on Matilda and her predecessors. However, the potential for this type of study has been shown by previous work on Matilda, as well as on queens and queenship. This work builds on the existing historiography to examine Matilda in Normandy as a countess, and in comparison as a queen after 1066. The focus throughout is on contemporary sources, especially the writings of Dudo of Saint Quentin, William of Jurnieges, William of Poitiers and the more than five hundred surviving Norman and Anglo- Norman charters from the period 996-1086. The issue of legitimate marriage, which made a woman a wife and gave her access to power and authority through her family role, was critical, and Matilda's marriage can be established as legitimate and secure. The bulk of this thesis considers the activity of the comital/ducal women recorded within the Norman charters, focusing on the actions which reveal power, and the descriptions which suggest the way in which they, and their authority, were perceived. Throughout, Matilda is compared with her predecessors, but also with contemporary men, especially the male members ofthe family. Close study of the source material reveals a Norman court in the tenth and eleventh century where family women, especially the legitimate wives of the count/dukes, were important actors. Matilda, however, was distinct from her predecessors: her power and authority greater than theirs. During her lifetime, there are hints at the development of an office of countess, and she appears to have acted as both a regent and a deputy in Normandy after the Conquest of England. Her activity as a queen, and the comparison with her as a countess, sheds light on both roles, suggesting that countesses could exercise a quasi- queenly power, but also that coronation and inauguration set queens apart. However, even after Matilda's coronation, the role of 'wife' was still important, as was family power. This work thus increases our understanding of tenth- and eleventh-century Normandy, as well as contributing to the wider study of the ducal family, eleventh-century countesses and the development of the role of the queen in the Anglo-Norman realm.

"Le roi en son duché" : en faisant référence, par analogie, à la célèbre formule du XIIIe siècle selon laquelle "le roi de France est empereur de son royaume", cette étude veut clairement identifier les éléments de la "présence" royale en Bretagne durant ce que l'historiographie appelle "l'âge d'or capétien". Elle vise également à apprécier l'intégration dela principauté bretonne et de son aristocratie dans le royaume de France, avant d'en proposer une traduction territoriale par le biais de l'approche cartographique. Le cas de la Bretagne est d'autant plus intéressant qu'elle subit de profonds bouleversements dynastiques au début du XIIIe siècle : elle passe de la domination plantagenêt à celle des Capétiens, avec l'arrivée de Pierre de Dreux sur le trône ducal en 1213. De manière plus générale, la réflexion menée vise à comprendre comment une principauté telle que la Bretagne s'insère dans le processus de construction de l'État royal patiemment mis en oeuvre par les souverains capétiens de Philippe Auguste à Charles IV. Celui-ci s'observe dans de nombreux domaines : judiciaire et juridictionnel, fiscal et monétaire, et enfin, militaire. Cette démarche passe par l'analyse du jeu des acteurs : les nobles et les ecclésiastiques bretons et non-bretons, le duc de Bretagne, le roi de France et ses officiers dont l'activité sur le territoire ducal est remarquable. Sur le plan territorial, la pesée de cette intégration permet d'établir une tripartition du duché entre un nord dont la proximité avec le pouvoir royal est importante ; une partie orientale quiprofite de sa proximité avec d'autres principautés du royaume pour nouer des liens solides, en particulier avec d'importants lignages angevins et poitevins ; enfin, un sud plus éloigné du pouvoir royal. / "The King in his Duchy": by referring, by analogy, to the famous 13th century formula according to which "the King of France is emperor of his kingdom", this study clearly seeks to identify the elements of the royal "presence" in Brittany during what historiography calls "the Capetian golden age". It also aims to assess the integration of the Brittany principality and its aristocracy into the Kingdom of France, before proposing a territorial translation using the cartographic approach. The case of Brittany is all the more interesting in that it underwent profound dynastic upheavals at the beginning of the 13th century: it went from plantagenet domination to that of the Capetians, with the arrival of Pierre de Dreux on the ducal throne in 1213. More generally, the reflection aims to understand how a principality such as Brittany fits into the process of building the Royal State patiently implemented by the Capetian sovereigns from Philippe Auguste to Charles IV. It can be observed in many areas : judicial and jurisdictional, fiscal and monetary, and finally, military. This approach is based on the analysis of the actors' game: the nobles and the breton and non-breton clergymen, the Duke of Brittany, the King of France and his officers whose activity on the ducal territory is remarkable. On the territorial level, the weight of this integration makes itpossible to establish a tripartition of the duchy between a north whose proximity to the royal power is important; an eastern part which takes advantage of its proximity with other principalities of the kingdom to forge solid links, in particular with important angevins and poitevins lineages ; finally, a south more distant from the royal power.

L’Aquitaine du haut Moyen Âge est un espace qui a longtemps pâti d’une mauvaise réputation historiographique. Pourtant, de nombreux travaux récents continuent à supposer l’existence d’une forte identité dans les territoires du sud de la Loire, sans chercher à explorer le paradoxe résultant de ces deux conclusions. Analyser ce paradoxe, et tenter de le résoudre, constitue un des objectifs de cette étude. Prenant comme référence géographique initiale l’ancien royaume carolingien d’Aquitaine, ce travail restreindra éventuellement cette zone d’étude sur la base de critères ayant essentiellement trait à l’histoire des mentalités. Nous postulons que l’Aquitaine se trouve là où l’on se sent aquitain au haut Moyen Âge. La période considérée (VIIIe-XIIe siècles) s’étend du début des temps carolingiens à la fin de la relative autonomie de l’Aquitaine à l’égard des souverains capétiens puis plantagenêts. À cette époque, les moines sont les principaux écrivains de l’histoire, et nos investigations porteront sur leurs œuvres historiographiques. Ce travail consiste donc essentiellement en l’étude des Chroniques, Annales et Histoires monastiques écrites dans le royaume carolingien d’Aquitaine et le duché qui lui a succédé. L’objectif de la recherche est de déterminer comment l’information circule entre les établissements monastiques, quelles sont les méthodes et les sources des moines férus d’histoire, aussi bien pour relater des faits anciens que des événements plus récents. « Composer avec le passé » est toutefois le propre de l’historien, c’est pourquoi une plus grande attention sera prêtée aux œuvres dépassant le cadre de « l’histoire immédiate » pour s’attacher à relater une « geste des origines ». L’étude est structurée en trois grandes sections chronologiques : le temps du royaume carolingien d’Aquitaine, où l’activité historiographique est très polarisée autour du monastère d’Aniane, centre de la réforme ; le temps de l’apparition puis de l’essor d’une nouvelle Aquitaine « indépendante », jusqu’à la mort du duc Guillaume V, dit « le Grand » († 1030), où les centres historiographiques renaissants se situent plus au nord (Angoulême, Limoges) ; et enfin l’époque d’apogée de la principauté, jusqu’au premier mariage d’Aliénor d’Aquitaine (1137), dont la plus belle réalisation historiographique, la Chronique de Saint-Maixent, prend naissance dans un monastère situé à seulement une cinquantaine de kilomètres de la capitale ducale de Poitiers. / The Aquitaine of the Early Middle Ages has long suffered from a bad historiographical reputation. However, numerous recent works have pointed out the existence of a strong sense of identity in the territories situated south of the Loire, without trying to explore the paradox implied by those conflicting viewpoints. Analyzing this paradox and trying to solve it is one of the main goals of this research. Taking as our initial geographical reference the ancient Carolingian kingdom of Aquitaine, this work will occasionally narrow this area of study according to criteria related to the history of mentalities. We assume that Aquitaine is where one felt one was an Aquitanian during the Early Middle Ages. The period studied (eighth – twelfth centuries) spans the field from the beginning of Carolingian times to the end of the relative autonomy of Aquitaine from the Capetian then the Plantagenet rulers. In those times, monks were the main writers of history, and our investigation will be restricted to their historical works. Our dissertation mainly deals with monastic Chronicles, Annals and Histories written within the Carolingian kingdom of Aquitaine and the duchy that succeeded it. The purpose of this research is to determine how the information travelled between the monasteries, and to find out the sources and methods used by monastic historians in order to report ancient facts as well as more recent ones. “Dealing with the past” is nonetheless proper to the historian ; this is why a more accurate attention will be paid to works that fall outside the scope of “immediate history” and are mainly concerned with the “quest for origins”. This study is divided into three chronological parts : the times of the Carolingian kingdom of Aquitaine, during which historiographical activity was very much focused around the monastery of Aniane, centre of the reform ; the times of the rise and then of the development of a new “independent” Aquitaine, until the death of Duke William V, called “the Great” († 1030), when the reviving historiographical centres were located further north (Angoulême, Limoges) ; and finally the zenith of the principality (up to Eleanor of Aquitaine’s first wedding in 1137) whose greatest historiographical achievement, the Chronicle of Saint-Maixent, was born in a monastery situated only thirty miles away from the ducal capital of Poitiers.