Matilda
About 1050 AD, William the Conqueror married Matilda of Flanders. Because they were both Normans, and there weren't that many Normans yet at this time, they were distantly related to each other. The Pope had said that people who were related shouldn't get married, even if they were only second cousins or even third or fourth cousins. So the Pope didn't like this marriage, and he said God was against it. To get God on their side again, William and Matilda promised to build two big abbeys in Caen. William built an abbey for men, and Matilda built another one for women.
William the Conqueror
William's castle at Caen
The men's abbey in Caen
The women's abbey in Caen
Tower of London
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