Cecilia of Normandy

Cecilia of Normandy was born around 1056 as the eldest daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. She was educated in the arts, Latin, rhetoric, and logic by Arnulf of Chocques. Cecilia was entered into the Abbey of the Holy Trinity of Caen at a young age by her parents, where she lived a more liberated lifestyle than most unmarried noblewomen of her time.

In 1100, her brother Robert Curthose visited her after returning from the First Crusade, presenting her with a captured Saracen banner. Cecilia had a successful career at the convent, introducing improvements and serving as coadjutor to the abbess Matilda. She succeeded Matilda as Abbess of Sainte-Trinité in Caen in 1112, and was praised by Baldric of Dol and Hildebert of Le Mans for her virtues.

Cecilia died on 30 July 1126 in Caen, France, and was buried within the abbey walls. She was succeeded as abbess by another member of her religious community.