Royal kin and queens · Flanders and Hainaut · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Dowager Matilda

The widow of Count Philip of Alsace holds for life extensive dower lands in southern and coastal Flanders.

By the usual account these are the castellanies of Lille, Douai and Orchies in the south and a coastal block around Cassel, Bailleul and Veurne (Furnes). She governs them with her own officers and is a power in her own right, rich, childless and well connected in Portugal and Burgundy. She keeps clear of the war, and her lands are a large hole in the count's revenues.

Who he is

Name
Matilda (Mahaut), born Teresa of Portugal
Title
Dowager countess of Flanders, styled queen (regina) as a king's daughter
Since
Widow of Philip of Alsace since 1 June 1191; dower settled in 1191
Born
About 1157, so about 42
Family
Daughter of Afonso I of Portugal and sister of King Sancho I. Married Philip of Alsace (1184); married Odo III of Burgundy in 1193 and was repudiated by him, childless, about 1195, then returned to Flanders.
Confidence
medium

English Wikipedia (Teresa, Countess of Flanders); the list of dower places from the general accounts, not checked against the 1191 settlement.

Overlord

The count of Flanders; for Lille and Douai the king of France above.

What it holds

  • Lille and its castellany (Melantois, Carembault, Pevele, Ferrain, Weppes), with the fair of Lille
  • Douai and Orchies
  • Cassel and Bailleul with the forest of Nieppe
  • Veurne (Furnes) and its castellany
  • Other places named in some accounts (Bergues, Bourbourg, the maritime villages): not pinned

How it was acquired

Dower settled on Philip of Alsace's death, confirmed in the settlement of 1191 between Baldwin V, the widow and the king.

Allies and rivals

Her brother Sancho I of Portugal; the king of France, whose favour protects her dower; in quiet tension with Baldwin, who wants the lands back.

How things stand that morning

She holds and governs her dower; the castellans of Lille (John I) and Douai serve under her. The lands are at peace on 1 January 1200.

Wealth

The fair and cloth of Lille, the cloth and grain trade of Douai, the polders and dunes of the coast.

Military

The castles of Lille, Douai and Cassel; her castellans' knights.

Threats

  • The count's wish to recover the dower
  • The king's interest in Lille and Douai

Places of note

  • Lille: Chief town of the dower
  • Veurne: Coastal dower town

Where the sources disagree

  • The full list of dower places in 1191 is not pinned here; the campaign may wish to rule that Lille, Douai and the coast are hers and leave the rest to the count.

Evidence: Her dower is well attested as large and in southern and coastal Flanders; the exact list of places for 1 January 1200 is not pinned here.

On the map: Drawn from the usual account of the dower; the exact limits are approximate.

Primary sources for Flanders

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

  • Chronicle of Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Alberic of Trois-Fontaines (about 1227 to 1241, at the Cistercian abbey of Trois-Fontaines in Champagne). The widest net of any Latin chronicle for 1200, compiled from dozens of sources, many now lost. Read online
  • Chronicle of Andres, William of Andres (about 1220 to 1234). The chronicle and cartulary of a small abbey between Guines and Ardres, near the border of Flanders and Boulogne. Read online
  • Chronicle of Hainaut, Gislebert of Mons (about 1195 to 1196). Ends in 1195, so it has no 1200 entries, but it is the indispensable background for Flanders and Hainaut: the career of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut (VIII of Flanders), his union of the two counties, the settlement with Philip over Artois, the rights, castles, fiefs and vassals of Hainaut listed by a man who ran its chancery, and the youth of Baldwin IX, who held both counties in 1200. Read online
  • Chronicle of Robert of Auxerre, Robert of Auxerre (Robert of Saint-Marien) (about 1190 to 1211; continued at Saint-Marien to 1227). A universal chronicle whose last twenty years are contemporary and well informed from Burgundy and the Auxerrois. Read online
  • Universal Chronicle of the Anonymous of Laon, Anonymous (an English-born canon of Laon) (about 1219). A Picard chronicle whose author had lived in England and keeps an eye on both kingdoms. Read online
  • Annals of Egmond (12th century to about 1205). The house annals of Egmond, the counts of Holland's abbey, and the main native source for Holland around 1200. Read online
  • Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
  • Deeds of Philip Augustus, Rigord (about 1186 to 1206, in stages). The French court's own chronicle for the year, from the monk of Saint-Denis who called himself the king's chronographer. Read online

8 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.

Sources and studies

  1. Teresa, Countess of Flanders (English Wikipedia)
  2. Chatellenie de Lille (French Wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.