Her husband, Henry the Fowler, was the first king from the Ottonian dynasty,[2] and their eldest son, Otto the Great, restored the Holy Roman Empire in 962.

Matilda's two hagiographical biographies and The Deeds of the Saxons serve as authoritative sources about her life and work.

He was count of the Duchy of Saxony in the Kingdom of Germany, formed fifty years earlier after the Treaty of Verdun.

[1] Matilda was to have a niece called Fridarun, whose marriage to Count Wichmann the Elder meant there was an alliance between the House of Billung and the Ottonian family.

[7] Matilda bore the king five children: Henry died in 936 in Memleben and was buried in Quedlinburg.

Thus, Quedlinburg Abbey became not only the most important centre of prayer in the kingdom, but also a place to commemorate its famous dead.

[14] The above feud remains controversial to this day: to protect her legacy in the lead up to her death early in 968, Matilda acquired for all monasteries in eastern Saxony papal privileges.

[18] Throughout her life, Matilda had been dedicated to charity and her ecclesiastical foundations – as attested repeatedly in two hagiographies.

[19][page needed] A commemorative plaque can be found in the Walhalla memorial near Regensburg, Germany.