The title notwithstanding, much of the book revolves around the men in eleanors life. 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, queen of france and england, wife of louis vii of france. Richardson wrote several books on medieval history, particularly the. 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. When it was all said and done, she held the titles of duchess of normandy, duchess of aquitaine, countess of anjou, countess of poitou. The daughters of henry ii and eleanor of aquitaine brepols online.
By student laura bright a first look eleanor was a french duchess. See more ideas about eleanor of aquitaine, aquitaine, eleanor. Tomb of matilda, daughter of henry ii, and henry the lion, duke of saxony. Combining the pace and descriptive quality of a novel with the authority of a textbook, alison weirs study of the revered and reviled eleanor of aquitaine should be valuable to anyone with an interest in medieval european history. Everything you know about eleanor of aquitaine is wrong. Living the history eleanor of aquitaines appearance or. Best historicalfiction about eleanor of aquitaine score a book s 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. Symbolic geography in the tomb and seal of berengaria of. Unfortunately, not many reliable contemporary sources that record the protagonist life are available to us, and in.
For all that she is the most famous woman of the medieval period, eleanor of aquitaine remains an historically elusive figure. 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, was still enjoying the benefits of the estates in england. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. The life and legacy of medieval europes most famous queen english edition ebook. Marion meade has told the story of eleanor, wild, devious, from a thoroughly historical but different point of view. Church of fontevraud abbey eleanor of aquitaine effigy. The lanercost chronicle states edward handed the goldencased heart of his mother, which he described as a treasure most dear to him, to the franciscan minister general. Although no one suggests that eleanor or her court actually started the court of love, since ample evidence exists that proves it was flourishing before her lifetime, but it is likely that eleanors court and her patronage greatly influenced the popularity of courtly. Although they claimed descent from charlemagne and retained his effigy on the coinage of. Jean plaidys novel the courts of love, fifth in the queens of england series, is a. Her portrail of eleanor of aquitaine, in the movie version of.
Eleanor of aquitaines tomb effigy in european historybritish. Eleanors aquitaine court gave rise to the court of love, which had a tremendous influence on literature of the time. The medieval and postmedieval image of eleanor of aquitaine, he works to destroy the myths that surround the life of eleanor. Tomb effigy of eleanor of aquitaine, fontevraud abbey, france eleanor of aquitaine is iconic. Her tomb is topped with an effigy of the queen wearing a wimple. Recent research indicates that it was made for eleanor of aquitaine, the most powerful woman in twelfthcentury europe. Eleanor of aquitaine 11241204 is the most famous queen in all the middle ages and one of the most infamous women in history.
Both marriages were arranged in large part because of eleanors claim to the vast, wealthy duchy of aquitaine in france, and weir carefully shows how the unions deteriorated. 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 provence was buried 45 days after her death on 8 september 1291 at amesbury. Kiblers edited volume eleanor of aquitaine, patron and politician. Queen eleanor of aquitaine inherited the duchy of aquitaine from her father in 17. Eleanors marriage to louis vii, the fontevraud effigies realize the conju gal space. A closeup of the tomb of queen eleanor of aquitaine. 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. May 6, 2017 eleanor and the people and places in her remarkable life. Engaged capital, thought to portray henry ii and eleanor of aquitaine.
Eleanor, queen to king henry ii of england, spent her last years at fontevrault abbey and was buried there next to her husband in 1204. If eleanor of aquitaine was a dish, this would be her recipe. 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. Much earlier scholarly literature was preoccupied with her personal life, casting her as the unfaithful wife of her first husband, louis vii of france, or the jealous and scheming wife of her second, henry ii of england. 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. Eleanor of aquitaine 11221204 was the greatest lady of medieval europe. A young lady, exceptional education and wealth, and a bit of honey badger. The wimple and veil eleanor is wearing in the effigy was common in the middle ages. The duke then set out for the shrine of saint james of compostela in the company. Eleanors grandfather, william ix, was the duke of aquitaine and is. Katherine hepburn was one of my ultimate favorite actresses, from hollywoods golden years. Learn more about eleanor of aquitaine in this article.
The next 15 years of eleanors life were split between england, normandy and her beloved aquitaine. Probably the most famous woman of the middle ages, she is the only woman to have ever worn the crowns of both england and france. 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. She lost her little brother and her mother very early in life. Tomb effigies of eleanor and henry ii at fontevraud abbey. If she conformed to 12th century europes ideal standards of feminine beautyshe must have been blond with grey or. 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. Henry was the duke of normandy through his mother, empress matilda, and count of anjou through his father. Eleanor of aquitaine 1122 1 april 1204 was queen consort of france 17 1152 and. Eleanor was born in 1122, daughter of the future duke william x and aenor, who was the daughter of william ixs mistress. By marriage she was also queen of france, at least for the 15 years of her union with louis vii. Laying next to the tomb effigy of king henry ii in frances fontevraud abbey is a. Crown jewel of aquitaine is a wonderful fictionalized diary. Due to her fathers enormous wealth, eleanor was raised in one of europes most cultured courts and given an excellent education, the bbc reports.
Dive deep into desmond sewards biography of eleanor of aquitaine with a summary, extended analysis, commentary, and discussion. 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. She was perhaps the most powerful woman in 12thcentury europe. Eleanor of aquitaine, queen consort of france and england. 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 of aquitaines tomb effigy in fontevrault abbey, france. In may 1152, eleanor of aquitaine married henry fitzempress. As you read, learn how her upbringing leads to her becoming one of the most. With astonishing historic detail, mesmerizing pageantry, and irresistible accounts of royal scandal and intrigue, she recreates not only a remarkable. Her effigy is one of a number of those of kings and queens from the plantagenet dynasty at the abbey. Media in category tomb of eleanor of aquitaine the following 33 files are in this category, out of 33 total. Deconstructing the story of eleanor of aquitaine the. In her own right she was duchess of aquitaine and countess of poitiers, ruling over a large chunk of what is now france. Tomb effigies of queen eleanor of aquitaine and king henry.
Eleanor of aquitaine alison weir this book is dedicated with heartfelt thanks to my agent, julian alexander and to jill black who has edited so many of my books. As in many other history books, william the marshal is throughout referred to as. 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. We use your linkedin profile and activity data to personalize ads and to show you more relevant ads. Edward i attended with his brother edmund and a large gathering of magnates and prelates.
She brought the province of aquitaine to england when she married henry ii of england. One of the most powerful women of the middle ages, by the time of her death in 1204 she had been queen consort of both france and england. I would recommend that parents read aloud this book to younger children, because there are illegitimate children mentioned. William x held one of the largest domains in franceeven larger than that held by the king of france himself. 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. She was with him on the ninth crusade, when he was wounded at acre, but the popular story of her. Fontevraud abbey, tombs of henry ii and eleanor of aquitaine. 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. Apr 1, 2014 tomb effigies of queen eleanor of aquitaine and king henry ii of england at fontevrault abbey, france. This society is open to all who are interested in history and french history, regional and national.
By the wrath of god, queen of england by alison weir in chm, epub, txt download e book. A novel of eleanor of aquitaine by pamela kaufman in doc, rtf, txt download e book. Eleanor of castile 1241 28 november 1290 was an english queen consort, the first wife of edward i, whom she married as part of a political deal to affirm english sovereignty over gascony the marriage was known to be particularly close, and eleanor travelled extensively with her husband. Eleanor, crown jewel of aquitaine, is about a young woman born to william x, duke of aquitaine, who travels on a long, emotional journey to ultimately reach the throne of france. Evans, lecturer in medieval history at central michigan university. While not being depressing, the book shows how sad eleanors childhood was. She later became queen of france, divorced her husband, and then became queen of england a short few months later. She was patron of literary figures such as wace, benoit.
This effigy is one of the only confirmed image of eleanor of aquitaine in existence. Eleanor of aquitaine simple english wikipedia, the free. Around the stone book, in the area surrounding the tomb effigies, the. 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. Best historicalfiction about eleanor of aquitaine 24 books. I selected this book as a biography of eleanor of aquitaine, it is almost 500 pages, so i expected to learn a lot about the fascinating life of this famous queen. Duchess and heiress of aquitaine and gascogne, countess of poitou.
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