Which prince or duke pulled his future spouse off her horse by the hair?

Factual Questions
1

I remember reading about a lady of royalty who acted like a brat when meeting him. And afterwards would not marry anyone else?

2

Wait, who was the brat, the future wife, or the guy who dragged her around by the hair?

3

The girl was being a brat. She might have insulted him too, hence the rough treatment.

4

The way I heard it was that William the Conqueror dragged Matilda of Flanders off her horse by the hair. Dunno whether this is true or apocryphal. Am too lazy to Google it right now.

5

“According to legend, when Duke William II of Normandy (later known as William the Conqueror) sent his representative to ask for Matilda’s hand in marriage, she told the representative that she was far too high-born to consider marrying a bastard. After hearing this response, William rode from Normandy to Bruges, found Matilda on her way to church, dragged her off her horse by her long braids, threw her down in the street in front of her flabbergasted attendants and rode off.”

6

(Emphasis added.)

Damn, that’s a long way to go. Over four hours drive now, presumably a whole lot slower then. :dubious:

7

Based on the numbers on this page, it sounds like 40 miles per day might be a reasonable estimate for how speedily he might have traveled.

Apparently, it’s 273 miles from Normandy to Bruges, so that would have taken him about a week to make the trip (one direction).

But, then again, it’s not like there was a lot else to do back then.

8

Ah… that’s it.

Thanks!