Matilda of Flanders, the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, was born in about 1030. William the Conqueror sought to marry Matilda in 1049. At first Pope Leo IX refused permission claiming that the couple were too closely related. Permission was finally granted in 1051. In return, Matilda had to agree to pay for the building of the Holy Trinity for nuns at Caen.
Matilda gave birth to nine children. Seven of these survived: Robert Curthose, Richard (killed in a hunting accident in 1075), Cecily, William Rufus, Agatha, Henry Beauclerk and Adela.
In 1066 William the Conqueror invaded England. Matilda, with the help of Roger de Beaumont, ruled Normandy in his absence. In December, 1067, her son Robert became the regent of Normandy. Matilda was crowned queen of England on 11th May 1068 but spent most of her life in France.
In 1077 Matilda's eldest son, Robert Curthose, suggested that he should become the ruler of Normandy and Maine. When William the Conqueror refused, Robert rebelled and attempted to seize Rouen. The rebellion failed and Robert was forced to flee and established himself at Gerberoi. William besieged him there in 1080 but Matilda managed to persuade the two men to end their feud.
After a long illness Matilda of Flanders died in Normandy on 3rd November 1083. She was buried in her church in Caen. Her tomb was richly adorned and is in the middle of the choir.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/NORmatilda.htm
Floris I of Holland (1017 in Vlaardingen, Zuid Holland, Netherlands - June 28, 1061 in Gelderland, Netherlands) was Count of Holland (which was called Frisia at that time) from 1049 to 1061. He was a son of Dirk III and Othelindis of Nordmark.
He succeeded his brother Dirk IV who was murdered in 1049. He was involved in a war of a few Lotharingian vasals against the imperial authority.
He was murdered.
Father, Dirk III: Dirk III was Count of Holland from 993 to 1039.
The county of Holland had a different name prior to 1101 and was known as West Friesland. The actual title of count Dirk III was count in Friesland. West Friesland was very different from the area (North and South Holland) of today. Most of the territory was swamp, where nearly nobody lived. The main habitation was in the dunes at the coast and in the river valleys.
Dirk III was a member of the Gerulfingian dynasty (house of Holland), an important family within Germany at that time. His mother was regent in West Friesland from 993-1005 and was the sister in law of Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor.
Prior to 1018, Count Dirk III was a powerless vasal of Henry II but his fiefdom was in a strategically important location. Utrecht, situated in the Rhine delta, was the largest trading town of the German kings and traders had to sail through the territories of Dirk III, via the Rhine and Vecht rivers, in order to reach the North Sea. The German kings and emperors were frequently resident in Utrecht and the estate of Nijmegen. Some of them died there.
Dirk III built his stronghold in Vlaardingen. He was not permitted to hinder trade in any way but eventually he defied imperial rule by levying toll. Merchants from the town of Tiel sent alarmed messages to the kings about acts of violence against them by Dirk III's men. The German emperor decided to end Dirk III's reign and awarded his lands to the bishop of Utrecht. A large imperial army then headed for Vlaardingen. The imperial army failed and the Battle of Vlaardingen was a tremendous victory for Dirk III. Following his victory, Dirk III was permitted to keep his realm and he continued to levy toll.
After Dirk III's death in 1039, the imperial army returned on a few occasions seeking to reclaim the lands held by the Frisian counts. The powerful Robert I of Flanders helped Dirk V, great-grandson of Dirk III and his own stepson, to restore Frisia to the counts. It is thought that Dirk III went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floris_I%2C_Count_of_Holland