Eleanor received an education as befitted a noblewoman of her time at the court of aquitaine, one of the finest courts of the twelfth century, which saw the birth of courtly love and the influence of occitan language at the various residences of the dukes of aquitaine. She later became queen of france, divorced her husband, and then became queen of england a short few months later. Evans, lecturer in medieval history at central michigan university. She has also written biographies of woody allen, buster keaton, eleanor of aquitaine, victoria woodhull, and madame blavatsky, as. This effigy is one of the only confirmed image of eleanor of aquitaine in existence. Queen and legend is the book for readers who want their eleanor, beauty, warts and all, but shorn of celebrity fluff. Katherine hepburn was one of my ultimate favorite actresses, from hollywoods golden years. Eleanor of aquitaine 11221204 has been long noted for her political and cultural achievements that profoundly shaped twelfthcentury europe. Henry was the duke of normandy through his mother, empress matilda, and count of anjou through his father. Her tomb effigy shows her reading a bible and is decorated with magnificent jewelry. The wimple and veil eleanor is wearing in the effigy was common in the middle ages. Read duchess of aquitaine a novel of eleanor by margaret ball available from.
Living the history eleanor of aquitaines appearance or. From its early years it was favoured by the counts of anjou. William x held one of the largest domains in franceeven larger than that held by the king of france himself. Eleanor of aquitaine 6 works search for books with subject eleanor of aquitaine. Queen eleanor of aquitaine inherited the duchy of aquitaine from her father in 17.
A renowned beauty, with a headstrong, spirited personality, she has been compared to cleopatra, the celebrated egyptian queen, elizabeth i of england and many others. Best historicalfiction about eleanor of aquitaine 24 books. A closeup of the tomb of queen eleanor of aquitaine, reading for all. Church of fontevraud abbey eleanor of aquitaine effigy. Upon williams death in 17 she inherited the duchy of aquitaine and in july 17 married the heir to the french throne, who succeeded his father, louis vi, the following month. Eleanor learned latin, music, and literature, and also riding, hawking, and. Culturally, beyond her role as wife of kings louis vii of france and henry ii of england and mother of kings richard and john, she inspired the huge diffusion of the arthurian cycle and the celtic myths. The author of six previous books about english history, alison weir tackles familiar territory with eleanor of aquitaine. Her tomb effigy is decorated with magnificent jewelery she is depicted reading a book. It is saturated with episodes demonstrating the byzantine nature of dynastic politics and the intensely complex. Eleanor, exceptionally beautiful at fifteen, had matured into a saucy, hotblooded damsel, and perhaps he her father feared that, unproperly chaperoned, she might grant excessive courtesies to some ardent knight. Henry ii and his queen eleanor of aquitaine were both benefactors. She was the longestlived british queen consort until the death of queen mary, wife of king george v, 749. Recent research indicates that it was made for eleanor of aquitaine, the most powerful woman in twelfthcentury europe.
Born in 1122, eleanor refused to be confined by the traditional gender roles of her time. Eleanor of aquitaine, queen consort of both louis vii of france 1752 and henry ii of england 11521204 and mother of richard i the lionheart and john of england. Eleanor of aquitaine, duchess of aquitaine in her own right, queen of france the first wife of king louis vii of france, marriage annulled after 15 years and queen of england wife of king henry ii of england survived her first husband, her second husband, and eight of her ten children. Eleanor of aquitaine was the wife of two kings, louis vii of france and henry ii plantagenet of england, and the mother of two others, richard the lionhearted and john lackland. Eleanor of aquitaine ebook by 9781477300244 rakuten kobo. While henry battles their enemies and lays his plans, eleanor is an adept acting ruler and mother to their growing brood of children. Oct, 2017 henry 1155 1183 the young king married margaret of france betrothed november 2, 1160, married august 27, 1172. Eleanor of aquitaine 1122 1 april 1204 was queen consort of france 17 1152 and. Eleanor of castille tomb effigy at westminster eleanor of aquitaine, english. Illustration for the historical scrap book cassel, c 1880. Eleanor of aquitaine 1122 1 april 1204 was queen consort of france 171152 and. Burial place of raymond vii of toulouse, henry ii king.
Tomb effigies of eleanor and henry ii at fontevraud abbey. She has also written biographies of woody allen, buster keaton, eleanor of aquitaine, victoria woodhull, and madame blavatsky, as well as two novels about medieval france. Her father was louis vii of france, eleanor of aquitaines first husband, and her mother was louis second wife, constance of castile. With astonishing historic detail, mesmerizing pageantry, and irresistible accounts of royal scandal and intrigue, she recreates not only a remarkable. She brought the province of aquitaine to england when she married henry ii of england. Her portrail of eleanor of aquitaine, in the movie version of. Marriage may have gotten her into positions of power, but what eleanor did with that power was her own special gift. Two of their children john and jeanne joan were raised partly here, and women in the family often became nuns here. Eleanor of aquitaine married louis, son of king louis vi.
Jean plaidys novel the courts of love, fifth in the queens of england series. Eleanor of aquitaine, duchess of aquitaine, wife of henry ii, queen of england and sometime queen of france. In 17, the duke of aquitaine passed away when he was on a holy journey, thus leaving the tag of duchess of aquitaine in his daughters name eleanor along with the extensive lands making her the most eligible single woman in europe. Eleanor of aquitaine 1122 1 april 1204 was queen consort of france 171152 and england 11541189 and duchess of aquitaine in her own right 171204. Perhaps in the effigy eleanor is holding our psalter, as a symbol of her passing from. As wife of louis vii, she ruled france, only to divorce her husband and marry henry of anjou, who would later make her queen of england. Eleanor and her court were also responsible for the development of courtly love, ideals and etiquette governing the courtship of knights and ladies, which became the accepted mode of behavior for the. During this time she produced another seven children, acted as regent when henry was away from england and played an active part in political negotiations. Marie and alix of france by first marriage william ix count of poitiers died young, henry the young king, matilda duchess of saxony, richard i of england, geoffrey ii duke of brittany, eleanor of. As well as being duchess of aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of france 171152 and of england 11541189. Eleanor of aquitaine lived a long life of many contrasts, of splendor and desolation, power and peril, and in this stunning narrative, weir captures the woman and the queenin all her glory.
Enameled stone effigy of eleanor of aquitane from her tomb. She was perhaps the most powerful woman in 12thcentury europe. Apr 27, 2009 we use your linkedin profile and activity data to personalize ads and to show you more relevant ads. Best historicalfiction about eleanor of aquitaine score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
Eleanor was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western europe during the high middle ages and ruled as queen consort of france and england. A closeup of the tomb of queen eleanor of aquitaine. Oct 23, 2016 everything you know about eleanor of aquitaine is wrong. In her own right she was duchess of aquitaine and countess of poitiers, ruling over a large chunk of what is now france. In her eventful, often stormy life, she not only influenced the course of events in the twelfth century but also encouraged remarkable advances in the literary and fine. Enameled stone effigy of eleanor of aquitane from her. One of the oldest manuscripts in the kb is a beautifully illustrated prayer book from the twelfth century. Eleanor of aquitaine is represented by a fleurdelis, repeated on the front and back of her runner, as well as in the illuminated letter e at the beginning of her name.
She was patron of literary figures such as wace, benoit. He was also the heir to the throne of england as settlement of the conflicting claims of his mother empress matilda empress maud, daughter of henry i of england, and her cousin, stephen, who had seized the throne of england at. Learn more about eleanor of aquitaine in this article. Is kellys eleanor of aquataine and the four kings a reissue of the 1950 book, or did she rewrite it.
As the heir of the house of poitiers, rulers in southwestern france, she was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western europe during the high middle ages. Eleanor of aquitaine served as queen of both france and england in the twelfth century, making her one of the most powerful women of the time. Eleanors story has been retold and remade many times. Eleanor,of aquitaine, queen, consort of henry ii, king of england,1122. Eleanor of aquitaine biography childhood, life achievements. Laying next to the tomb effigy of king henry ii in frances fontevraud abbey is a curious. Effigy of eleanor of aquitaine, fontevraud abbey, france. Though the exact year and place of birth is unknown, it is speculated that she was born on either 1122 or 1124 in poitiers, bordeaux, or nieulsurlautise. The effigy is for none other than duchess eleanor of aquitaine. She became well educated, gaining political and governing knowhow from her father, william x, duke of aquitaine, and armed herself with the skills necessary to become an influential queenfirst of france, and later, england. Fontevraud is a large spectacular abbey in the loire. An enamelled stone effigy of eleanor of aquitaine from her. Eleanor of aquitaine outlived all but 2 of her children with the deaths of richard i and his sister joanna in 1199, only eleanor in castile and her baby brother john, now king of england, remained of the once large brood of 4 boys and 3 girls who had survived infancy. She ostensibly chronicles the life of eleanor, though the book also provides a tableau of 12thcentury europe.
Twelfth century folk did not jot down every passing thought. Eleanor of aquitaine, wife of two kings and mother of two more, was born in 1122, the daughter of william x of aquitaine, a large important duchy in southwestern france. Duchess and heiress of aquitaine and gascogne, countess of poitou. At fifteen eleanor married a relative soon to be king louis vii r. So she has used a lot of imagination but as the story of a truly remarkable woman, it works. In that sense it complements bonnie wheelers and john parsons eleanor of aquitaine. Eleanor was the daughter and heiress of william x, duke of aquitaine and count of poitiers, who possessed one of the largest domains in francelarger, in fact, than those held by the french king.
Eleanor of aquitaine simple english wikipedia, the free. Eleanor of aquitaine 11221204 was the greatest lady of medieval europe. Louis and eleanor were married in july 17, but had little time to get to know one another before louis father the king fell ill and died. Eleanor of aquitaine is one of the most intriguing and beguiling women that history has yielded. See more ideas about eleanor of aquitaine, aquitaine and history. The medieval and postmedieval image of eleanor of aquitaine, he works to destroy the myths that surround the life of eleanor. This effigy is stylistically unusual, as two contemporary effigies also located in. Enameled stone effigy of eleanor of aquitane from her tomb in the. By marriage she was also queen of france, at least for the 15 years of her union with louis vii. The next 15 years of eleanors life were split between england, normandy and her beloved aquitaine. The fleurdelis is a symbol of france and was commonly found in the art of the middle ages.
She had a younger sister called petronilla of aquitaine. Eleanor of aquitaine would become one of the wealthiest and most powerful women of the high middle ages. In may 1152, eleanor of aquitaine married henry fitzempress. An enamelled stone effigy of eleanor of aquitaine from her tomb in the abbey of fontevrand, france. She had such a fascinating life and was involved in so many major events that she appears in a vast number of tales in both movies and books. Recent research indicates that it was made for eleanor of aquitaine, the most powerful woman in.
Eleanor of aquitaine reads like a really upmarket historical novel and that is a compliment. Enameled stone effigy of eleanor of aquitane from her tomb in the abbey of fontevrand, france created published c1901 or c1902. Her pedigree as a lady is indisputable at the age of 15, when she inherited the extensive duchy of aquitaine, she became the most eligible bride in the western world. Renowned in her time for being the most beautiful woman in europe, the wife of two kings and mother of three, eleanor of aquitaine was one of the great heroines of the middle ages. As a member of the ramnulfids house of poitiers rulers in southwestern france, she was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western europe during the high middle ages. A novel of eleanor of aquitaine, pamela kaufman 2002. Eleanor of aquitaine 11241204 is the most famous queen in all the middle ages and one of the most infamous women in history. One of marion meades problems, as she freely admits, was lack of sources. E leanor of aquitaine was a rare individual indeed.
Today a stone effigy of the queen lies in the nave of the abbey church at fontevraud. Eleanor, duchess of aquitaine, queen of england unofficial. At a time when women were regarded as little more than chattel, eleanor managed to defy convention as she exercised power in the political sphere and crucial influence over her husbands and sons. Her tomb is topped with an effigy of the queen wearing a wimple and veil beneath her crown and reading a book that many historians believe is a bible. Deconstructing the story of eleanor of aquitaine the. When it was all said and done, she held the titles of duchess of normandy, duchess of aquitaine, countess of anjou, countess of poitou. Always interested in reading of extraordinary individuals i. Henry and margaret shared two older halfsisters, marie and alix. Remarkably, her thcentury effigy tomb survives, depicting eleanor reclining on a bed, a crown upon her head and a devotional book in her. By student laura bright a first look eleanor was a french duchess.
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