A Whirlwind Tour through the Life of Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine is one of my heroes. She ended up Queen of both France and England, went on Crusade (and led to the next call for Crusade specifically saying ‘No Women Allowed’ by having opinions and stuff), helped her sons rebel against her second husband, ended up locked in a tower for a few years, and then traveled around chunks of Europe ensuring her sons had brides and ransoms paid and all sorts of fun stuff. Not a bad life at all.
Eleanor ended up married to the heir to the throne of France almost immediately after inheriting the Duchy of Aquitaine. Her father had petitioned for the King to protect Eleanor because it was a time when unmarried heiresses were often kidnapped, raped, and forced into marriage. The King politely waited until the men mourning Eleanor’s father had left the room before expressing absolute delight that this thorn in his side was gone and plotting what the wedding would look like. {I love how randomly cruel people could be at this time period. Ask me some day about the party that was held by Anne Boleyn’s family when Catherine of Aragon died. History really *is* fun!}
At first everything looked good between Eleanor and her newly-crowned husband, Louis. Then the Crusades started, and Eleanor brought about 300 women with her and insisted that they were going to accompany the men on their way to liberate Jerusalem. This didn’t go over very well (since, you know, women were bad in the eyes of the Church). Adding to the tension Eleanor ran into her Uncle Raymond while on Crusade and seemed much more interested in him than her husband. When Raymond made a suggestion on strategy that Louis disagreed with but Eleanor supported, Louis insisted that Eleanor take his side. Her response: “Screw that – I support Raymond.” This, also, didn’t go over well, and Louis took Eleanor away from there by force.
This was basically the end of their marriage, although it struggled along for a few more years. They had a couple of daughters, but the marriage ended up annulled in 1152, leaving Eleanor once again a major land holder at the age of 30. (Hmm… sexual peak, anyone?)
Eleanor’s first decision shocked Europe even more than the annulment did – she married a man 10 years younger than her who was leading a rebellion against the King of England in support of his mother’s (and ultimately his own) claim to the throne. With Eleanor’s land and troop support, Henry Plantagenet would ultimately fight King Stephen to a standstill, and become King of England himself in 1154.
For probably the same reasons that any marriage between two strong-minded people with opinions and stuff can fall apart (aided in no small part by Henry’s constant affairs), the marriage became a battleground fought through their sons. Eleanor encouraged them to rebel against their father in order to claim land and power from Henry before he died and to reclaim for herself her land of Aquitaine. Henry put the rebellion down and locked Eleanor in a tower for the next fifteen years. {Okay, the tower had a castle attached to it – and there was more than one place she was locked up – but isn’t it more interesting to think of her sitting at the window, watching the days go by, wishing for someone to climb up her hair and rescue her?)
Eventually, Henry died, and Eleanor was freed by Richard the Lion-heart to return to being an important force in English and European politics. She helped raised the infamous ransom that would free Richard when he was being held captive by the French, helped fetch home Richard’s bride, and helped support John when he inherited Richard’s throne. (I’m over-simplifying here – John and Eleanor had an incredibly bad relationship, but she was determined that one of her sons would rule England and John was all she had left after Richard died.)
We’re talking about a woman who, at the age of 70, took a dangerous trip over the Pyrenees Mountains. Eleanor died in her 80s, still respected for her political power and acumen throughout Europe.
If I’m going to live to be 83, I want to do it with that much vim and vigor. Her influence was instrumental (heh) in setting up the Age of Troubadours and the Courts of Love. During her rebellion against Henry, she was 50. She never gave up, she never surrendered, and she completely rocks my socks off.
[If you find Eleanor interesting, you may want to read “While Christ and His Saints Slept” and “Time and Chance” by Sharon Kay Penman.]
- Bibliography –
Almost all of this information was from memory, but dates were checked and details confirmed at various websites.
I also read “Eleanor of Aquitaine – By the Wrath of God, Queen of England” by Alison Weir.
Eleanor and the Troubadours both are included in “Uppity Women of Medieval Times” by Vicki Leon, which you should read because it’s great and treats history like it’s actually fun.