ABSTRACT

The present article demonstrates that material culture offers medievalists an often untapped primary source, in this case the seals of Matilda of Flanders (d. 1218). Born Teresa of Portugal, she was the daughter of King Afonso Henriques of Portugal and Queen Mafalda of Savoy; as wife, then widow of Count Philip of Flanders, Matilda issued two double-sided seal types. By foregrounding the material traces connected with the countess, an unexpected picture unfolds of a self-conscious royal heiress and staunch promotor of her natal family. Here it is shown that Matilda's seals share signifying elements with those of her royal siblings Sancho and Urraca, arguing that her seal was part of an explicit statement of familial connections. This visual declaration reveals a previously unrecognized chapter of the countess’ history, in which she asserted her place within the Portuguese dynasty from her new lands in the County of Flanders.

摘要

本文证明了物质文化为中世纪的人们提供了一个经常未被开发的主要资源，在这种情况下，是法兰德斯·马蒂尔达的印章（卒于1218年）。她出生于葡萄牙的特雷莎（Teresa），是葡萄牙国王阿方索·亨里克（Afonso Henriques）和萨伏伊（Savoy）皇后玛法尔达（Mafalda）的女儿。作为妻子，法兰德斯伯爵菲利普伯爵的遗ow，马蒂尔达发行了两种双面印章。通过看到与伯爵夫人有关的物质痕迹，一个意想不到的画面展现了一个自觉的皇家女继承人和她出生的家庭的坚定推动者。此处显示，马蒂达（Matilda）的印章与她的皇家兄弟姐妹桑乔（Sancho）和乌拉卡（Urraca）共享标志性元素，认为她的印章是家族关系明确声明的一部分。这种视觉上的揭示揭示了伯爵夫人历史上一个以前无法识别的章节，