iod when Matilda was growing into womanhood, the real seat of
the papal power was not in Rome, but in Florence, and Godfrey's palace
became an acknowledged centre of ecclesiastical activity.

Matilda was a girl of a mystic temperament, credulous, it is true, and
somewhat superstitious like all the other people of her time, and yet
filled with a deep yearning for a greater knowledge of the secrets of
the universe. Her ideal of authority was formed by intercourse with the
various members of her own circle, who were all devoted heart and soul
to the cause of the Holy See, and it was but natural that, when she
became old enough to think and act for herself, all her inclinations
should lead her to embrace the cause of the pope. While it is beyond the
province of the present volume to describe in detail the exact political
and religious situation in Italy at this time, it should be said that
the pope was anxious to reassert the temporal power of his office, which
had for a long time been subservient to the will of the emperors. He
desired the supremacy of the papacy within the Church, and the supremacy
of the Church over the state. Early filled with a holy zeal for this
cause, Matilda tried to inform herself regarding the real state of
affairs, so that she might be able to act intelligently when the time
for action came. Through skilful diplomacy, it came to pass that
Matilda's uncle--Frederick--became Pope Stephen X.; and then, of course,
the house of Lorraine came to look upon the papal interests as its own,
and the daughter of the house strengthened the deep attachment for the
Church which was to die only when she died. Nor must it be thought that
the priestly advisers of the house were blind to the fact that in
Matilda they had one who might become a pillar of support for the
fortunes of the papacy. The monk Hildebrand, for a long time the power
behind the pope until he himself became pope in 1073, was a constant
visitor at Matilda's home, and he it was who finally took her education
in hand and gave it its fullest development. She had many teachers, of
course, and under Hildebrand's guiding genius, the work was not stopped
until the young countess could speak French, German, and Latin with the
same ease as she did her mother tongue.

Finally, in 1076, when she was thirty years of age, her
mother--Beatrice--died, and also her husband, Godfrey le Bossu. The
great countess, acting for the first time entirely upon her own
r