Matthew II or Mathieu II (died 24 November 1230), called the Great or the Great Constable, was lord of Montmorency from 1189 and Constable of France from 1218 to 1230.
Matthew was the son of Bouchard V de Montmorency and Lauretta de Hainaut, daughter of Baldwin IV of Hainault. His paternal grandparents were Matthieu I of Montmorency, Constable of France and Alice FitzRoy, illegitimate daughter of King Henry I of England. His father died at the siege of Acre in either 1189 or 1190[1]
Matthew replaced the fallen Albéric Clément as Marshal of France at the siege of Acre during the Third Crusade. After his safe return from the Holy Land, he participated in the French conquest of Normandy by Philip Augustus, where he distinguished himself during the siege of Château Gaillard in 1204. He played a vital role in the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, where he captured twelve enemy banners (in memory of this feat, the shield of Montmorency includes an additional twelve eagles or sixteen altogether instead of four previously[2]).
In 1215, Matthew joined the Albigensian Crusade, as Constable of France. In the service of King Louis VIII of France, he conquered La Rochelle and several other cities from the English in 1224. When the Louis VIII died in 1226, he protected the interests of the infant prince and the Queen-Regent Blanche of Castile.
Matthew died in 1230, returning from a campaign against Anjou.
Matthieu II married in 1193 with Gertrude of Soissons, daughter of Ralph, Count of Soissons. They had:
After this marriage was annulled, Matthieu II remarried with Emma of Laval (1200–1264), daughter and heiress of late Guy V de Laval. They had: