Mathilde of Tuscany, also known as Mathilde of Canossa, was one of the most powerful nobles in Italy during her lifetime (1046 to 1115) in the second half of the 11th century. As a margravine, she ruled over large parts of Tuscany and Lombardy. Her personality was not without contradictions, characterized by a strong sense of princely self-identity and the ideals of church reform. She was pious in the sense of her time, self-assured, and politically engaged. She successfully navigated the tensions between King and Emperor Henry IV and later his son Henry V, as well as the popes Gregory VII, Urban II, and Paschal II. She maintained romantic relationships with the three popes. Her life was marked by power struggles and intrigues, disappointments, and successes. As she remained childless throughout her life, the lineage of the House of Canossa ended with the death of Mathilde of Tuscany in 1115. In this book, Karla Weigand explores Mathilde's life from various perspectives, illustrating how a woman in a male-dominated world was able to assert her influence.