Matilda escapes across the ice
1142 · Event
Besieged in Oxford castle with the garrison starving, the empress is lowered from the walls by night and crosses the frozen Thames on foot — cloaked in white against the snow, by the chroniclers' delighted account — walking six miles through the lines to safety at Abingdon. It is her last great escape; the crown itself has slipped away, but her son's claim survives with her.
On these timelines: The Anarchy, England, Women in history, Master, United Kingdom (combined)
More from The Anarchy
- Anarchy in England (1135)
- Battle of Lincoln (1141)
- Reign of Empress Matilda (1141)
- The Rout of Winchester (1141)
- White Ship disaster (1120)
- Death of Eustace clears the way (1153)
- Anarchy in England begins (1135)
- The barons swear to Matilda (1127)
Around 1142
- First Crusade (1096)
- Angkor Wat built (1113)
- Kamakura shogunate established (1192)
- Genghis Khan (1162)
- Crusades (1095)
- Norman invasion of Ireland (1169)
- Saladin retakes Jerusalem (1187)
- Capture of Jerusalem by First Crusade (1099)
- Reign of Henry II (1154)
- Kamakura shogunate (1185)