History Is Present

Eleanor of Aquitaine

"The eagle of the broken bond shall find joy in the third nesting."

Politican. Lover. Mother. Woman of Her Own Making.

Eleanor was born in 1121/2 to William of Aquitaine and Aenor de Châtellarault at Poitiers, Bordeaux, or Nieul-sur-l'Autise. Aquitanie was a large area of Western France that was admired by other lands. Eleanor's family had ruled this land for nearly 500 years.

William's father, Eleanor grandfather, was Duke William IX of Aquitaine who had taken Aquitaine out of the dark age and into a world of culture and beauty, the very place that attracted artists, poets, musicians, singers and poets.  He annulled his marriage to his first wife Ermengarde of Anjou, who he had married as a teenager, in order to marry Philippa Maude of Toulouse, who was Eleanor's grandmother.

William was a very sexual man and soon after his marriage to Phillipa he took on a mistress, which was a common thing for men in power to do. Dangereuse de Châtellarault was the name of his new women, but the problem was she was already married to Viscount Aimery I of Châtellerault and already had 5 children. So William abducted her and brought her to live him where she gave him 3 children: Henri, Adelaide and Sybille

Dangereuse's eldest child and daughter was Aenor de Châtellarault. William decided to marry his son to Aenor to create a political unity between the two families. The marriage took place around 1120 and was followed by the birth of Eleanor. In 1125, Aelith or Petronilla was born followed by the birth of a son and heir in 1126 named William Aigret.

In 1127, Duke William IX died leaving his son as Duke of Aquitaine. He ruled from the castle at Poitiers and occasionally at sea castles such as Talmont and the lush valleys of Bordeaux. Aenor died in March 1130 at Talmont, with son following her soon after. They probably died from Tuberculosis.

Even though she was a girl, Eleanor was named as William's sole heir to the duchy of Aquitaine. She and her sister were very close and weregiven a good education. The girls loved to be part of the court and its festivities. Eleanor developed a love of the arts and was a excellent poet and writer. She travelled the duchy with her father who she developed a close relationship with.

In 1137, William decided to go on a piligrimage to Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain) in a attempt to bring the church back to Aquitaine. When William rode away no one would of guessed he would never come home again.


William had died of food poisoning and had left Eleanor, age 15, as Duchess of Aquitaine. King Louis VI of France had been proclaimed Eleanor's protector on William's death. Louis planned for the young duchess to marry his son Louis Capet Dauphin of France in order to keep the Aquitaine lands in his family and France's procession.

The young couple were married in the summer of 1137 in Bordeaux by Geoffrey du Loroux and afterwards the couple escaped to a castle in Taillebourg after hearing a planned attack of the castle to kidnap Eleanor. On August 1st 1137, Louis VI died leaving his son and Eleanor as King Louis VII and Queen Eleanor of France. They were crowned on Christmas Day, 1137 in Bourges.

For Eleanor, Paris was horrible compared to  Aquitaine: it was bleak, grey and in horrible state, probably with rats running around the streets. She found the main royal castle on the Ile de la cite (island of the city) as bad as the city. It was clear to hear that she had a lot of work to do.

Eleanor and Louis couldn't be more different: he was quiet and very saintly while she high spirited and took her role as Queen seriously, transforming Paris to a city of art and beauty, bringing her Aquitaine heritage to the city of Paris.

Thierry of Galeran had the King's ear and detested Eleanor calling her a whore for her un-saintly behaviour and "heresy" work that she did for the city. Thierry  convinced Louis that his wife had other lovers that she slipped into her bedchamber at night and would influence the Parisians to heretic ways of life.

It seemed that Eleanor had no friends in Paris, but that is not true. Abbot Suger was a  great support for the Queen and urged her to produce an heir to the throne of France. Bernad de Clairvaux also urged her for a heir, convincing her that she had miscarried a child because of her offences to God. She knew her only hope was to change her lifestyle, but Thierry still warned Louis of his wife's "witchcraft" and heretic ways. By 1145, Eleanor was with child and gave birth to healthy girl named Marie. However, this was not the heir Louis or France needed.

Eleanor's sister, Petronilla, visited Paris around that time with her lover who was 30 years her senior, Ralph de Vermandois. Petronilla had given birth to a son called Raoul, which caused upset especially with Ralph's wife. War broke out in Vitry where Louis sent troops who set fire to the village. The villagers sought refugee in the village church but the fire burnt it down, killing the villagers.

Louis was distressed about what he had done. He had killed innocent people. Was his soul damned? He prayed in church all day and all night, seeking for God's forgiveness. Eleanor tried to reconcile Louis, but he only saw her as a threat and a "witch". He decided the only way to redeem himself was to return the city of Edessa in the Holy Lands from the Muslims and back to Christianity. This was known as the Second Crusade.

Eleanor persuaded Louis to let her go with him, offering her troops loyalty. In 1147, they finally reached "the land of our Lord's birth". The journey was stressful with constant arguments between Eleanor and Louis.

In Antioch, they met Raymond of Poitiers, Prince of Antioch who was Eleanor's paternal uncle. It was rumoured that Eleanor and Raymond were lovers and had a child. There is no firm evidence for this. Raymond did plead with his niece to help defend Antioch against the Muslims.

Eleanor brought the matter to Louis, who decided to leave for his and Eleanor's sake. He loved her dearly. She resisted leaving with him and but swas forced to. Raymond was killed in 1149.

On the return home to France, the King and Queen travelled by separate ships. In the hope of reconciliation they stop in Rome to visit Pope Eugenius III, who persuaded them to sleep together once more. After returning home, Eleanor gave birth to Alix in 1150.

Eleanor wanted more than the life she had and in 1152 she was demanded for the marriage to be annulled. This hurt Louis who deeply loved her and their daughters. But Eleanor wanted real love.

Two months after the annulment, Eleanor married Henry Plantagenet, Count of Anjou and Maine and Duke of Normandy and heir to the throne of England. It is rumoured they were lovers when Eleanor was still married. This union shocked the French as their was a 11 year age gap and that she was suspected as being the lover of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Henry's father. No matter what anyone said, Eleanor loved Henry more than she did Louis.

In 1153 a son named William was born but he died in 1156. In 1154, another son was born called Henry. That same year Louis remarried to Canstance of Castile. Also King Stephen of England died and Henry was left as sole heir to the throne.

Eleanor found England as horrible as Paris when she first arrived. The country at been at war for 18 years. Eleanor set out to change her new found kingdom. The changes that Henry made did not please the church and in order to keep them happy he made Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury. Clergies were forced to take oaths that if they committed secular crimes, they would be judged by secular courts.

Beckett and Henry fell out in 1164 and Thomas left for Europe taking Henry's eldest son with him. Thomas turned Henry against his parents by crowning him King at 15. Henry was offended by Thomas' actions and said "Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" Four of his knights took this seriously thinking it was a order from the king, they travelled to Canterbury and killed Beckett at the alter on 29th December 1170.

Eleanor changed England to a illustrative and fashionable land, introducing fashion, art, makeup, poetry and French legends. She brought Aquitaine music to her new land and educated people in the scandalous sexual ways of her homeland.

Eleanor and Henry had 8 children together: William IX, Count of Poitiers (1153 - 1156), Henry the young King (1155 – 1183), Matilda of England (1156 –1189), Richard I (1157 -1199),Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond (1158 - 1186), Eleanor of England (1162 - 1214), Joan of England (1165 - 1199) and John I (1166 - 1216). 

Even though they loved each other, both Henry and Eleanor had lovers. Rosamond Clifford is Henry's most famous mistress, a country girl, who was publicly flaunted by Henry. Eleanor's jealously of Rosamond was clearly visible to everyone at court. When Rosamond accounted a tragic end in 1177, Eleanor was blamed for pushing her down the stairs. Eleanor's own love affairs weren't public or known, but a man named Bernart of Ventadorn is said to be her lover through the evidence of their scandalous behaviour at court. 

Along with her sons, Henry, Richard and Geoffrey, Eleanor rebelled against her husband, but was captured and locked away for 16 years by Henry. In 1189, Henry died leaving Richard as King and Eleanor was finally released from her prison.

During the reign of her son, she became regent on the absence of King while he was on a Crusade in the East. For the first time, her word was law. When he was captured by the Holy Roman Empire she gathered a ransom to free him.

In 1199, Richard died without issue leaving John as King. John consulted his wise mother on matters of state, asking for her opinions. He respected her and she, in return, supported him against all of his enemies.

Eleanor, even as a woman of 77, travelled Europe arranging the marriages of her grandchildren. She had 30 all together.

But in 1202, she was captured by King Phillip II of France, Louis and Adèle of Champagne son, and placed in a prison cell in a French castle. Her son aided her and set her free. On April 1st 1204, Eleanor died in Poiters and is buried at the Abbey of Fontevraultm in Anjou next to Henry and Richard.

Before her birth, there was a prophesy that "the eagle of the broken bond shall find joy in the third nesting", Eleanor is eagle, her annulment is the broken bond and Richard is the third nesting.

She is the most fascinating and inspiring women from the past.  By the age of 15 she was Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right and Queen of France only to become Queen of England. She made huge changes which can still be seen today. She brought culture and beauty to places still in "the dark ages". Eleanor's descendants included Henry VII, Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria and Elizabeth I. She defiantly deserves a lot of credit for her work that she did that makes her one of the most beloved Queens ever. 

Source: 
http://royalwomen.tripod.com/id22.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine