Order of Medieval Women
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PictureHenry II & his children, Royal 14 B VI, Membrane 6 © British Library, London.
​Eleanor of Aquitaine, 1124-1204
Ancestral Roots Line 110:26


Daughter to William X, Duke of Aquitaine, consort to Louis VII of France, secondly Henry II, king of England.  Eleanor was one of the most powerful, influential figures with a far-reaching impact on western Europe during the High Middle Ages.  In 1137, her father William joined a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela dying unexpectedly on the trip.  On his deathbed, concerned about Eleanor’s safety, he expressed his wish to see king Louis VI of France as protector of his fifteen-year-old daughter and to find her a suitable husband realizing with her inheritance of his vast estate she would be the most sought-after bride of her generation.  Louis VI naturally accepted this guardianship and within three months the heiress of Aquitaine was married to his own son, Louis VII.

Christmas Day 1145, Louis VII announced his intention of going on a crusade; Eleanor soon decided to also participate with her royal ladies-in-waiting and as the feudal leader of some 300 non-noble Aquitainian vassals from her duchy.  Even before the Crusade, Eleanor and Louis were becoming estranged, their differences were only exacerbated while they were abroad. After a brief attempt at reconciliation claiming he was ‘more monk than man’ Eleanor and Louis’ marriage was annulled in 1152 with assurances her lands would be restored to her. ​
Picture
Effigy of Eleanor of Aquitaine, church of Fontevraud Abbey
© Adam Bishop CC BY-SA 3.0.
Within eight weeks after the annulment Eleanor and Henry were married and two years later Henry became king of England.  Throughout their marriage Eleanor continued to administer her own lands of Aquitaine.  In 1173, she gave full support to her sons as they rebelled against Henry and although the revolt was quickly suppressed and Eleanor was imprisoned for sixteen years.  In 1189, upon his father’s death one of Richard’s first acts as king was to release his mother from her prison.  That same year Richard joined the Third Crusade and Eleanor acted as queen regent during his absence.  In 1193, returning from the Crusades Richard was captured and held hostage by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor who demanded the astronomical ransom of 150,000 marks for his release.  Eleanor raised the ransom and in 1194 Richard was released.  In 1200, to solidify relations between England and France 80 year old Eleanor arranged a marriage between her granddaughter, Blanche of Castile and Dauphine of France.  Eleanor died in 1204 and was entombed in Fontevraud Abbey next to her husband Henry and son Richard. Her tomb shows her reading a bible  decorated with magnificent jewelry. By the time of her death she had outlived all of her children except for king John of England and queen Eleanor of Castile. Eleanor  is credited with establishing and preserving many of the courtly rituals of chivalry.  ​
Map of England and France 1152-1327
Picture
​Read her letters:  https://epistolae.ctl.columbia.edu/woman/24.htm
​

​References and Further Reading
  • Crouch, Martha Carlin and David Crouch.  Lost Letters of Medieval Life English Society 1200-1250.  University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013.
  • “Eleanor of Aquitaine.”  Foundations for Medieval Genealogy.  ENGLAND, KINGS 1066-1603. Chapter 3.  KINGS OF ENGLAND 1154-1399, A. KINGS OF ENGLAND 1154-1399. HENRY  d’Anjou.  Web. 08 October 2016. //fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20Kings%201066-1603.htm#Stephendied1154B.
  • Fines, John.  Who’s Who in the Middle Ages.  Barnes & Noble Books, 1995.
  • Holmes, Urban T. Jr.  Daily Living in the Twelfth Century, Based on Observations of Alexander Neckham in London and Paris.  Wisconsin Press.  1952.
  • Jackson-Laufer, Guida M.  Women Who Ruled: A Biographical Encyclopedia.  Barnes & Noble Books, 1998.
  • Labarge, Margaret Wade. A Small Sound of the Trumpet, Women in Medieval Life.  Beacon Press, 1986.
  • Meade, Marion.  Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography.  Penguin Books, 1977.
  • Medieval Women’s Latin Letters.  https://epistolae.ctl.columbia.edu/women
  • Mitchell, Linda E.  Portraits of Medieval Women: Family, Marriage and Politics in England 1225-1350.  Palgrave McMillan, 2003.
  • Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. vol.  1 pp 24.4, pp 129.i; vol. 3 pp 21.6.  2013.
  • Weir, Alison.  Eleanor of Aquitaine: a Life.  Ballentine Books, 2008.

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  • Home
  • About
    • Mission
    • Membership >
      • Genealogical Sources
  • Women of Consequence
    • Early Middle Ages (500-1000) >
      • St. Adelaide of Burgundy
      • St. Bathilde
      • St. Bertha of Kent
      • St. Clothilde
      • St. Olga of Kiev
      • St. Theophana
    • High Middle Ages (1000-1300) >
      • Adelaide of Turin and Susa
      • St. Adela of Normandy & England
      • Anne of Kiev
      • Berengaria of Castile
      • Blanche of Castile
      • Ela, Countess of Salisbury
      • Eleanor of Aquitaine
      • Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd
      • Margaret de Quincy
      • Matilda, the Empress
      • Matilda (Eadgyth) of Scotland
      • Nicholaa de la Haye
      • Sikelgaita, heiress of Salerno
    • Late Middle Ages (1300-1500) >
      • Caterina Sforza
      • Dorothea of Brandenburg
      • Elizabeth de Clare, 11th Lady of Clare
      • Isabella d’Este
      • Isabella I of Castile
      • Isabella of France
      • Jeanne de Belleville
      • Joanna of Flanders
      • Lucrezia Tornabuoni
      • Margaret Beaufort
      • Philippa of Hainault
  • Roll of Honor
    • Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians
    • Anna Comnena, Princess of Byzantium
    • Beatriz Gallindo, La Latina
    • Christine de Pizan
    • Emma of Normandy
    • St. Hildegard von Bingen
    • Hrotsvit von Gandersheim
    • Jacqueline Felice de Almania
    • St. Joan of Arc
    • Matilda of Tuscany
    • St. Rodegunda (Radegund)
    • St. Theodora, Byzantine Empress
    • Trota of Salerno
  • Connections
  • Genealogical Charts
    • House of Sforza
    • Welsh Ancestry of English Royalty
    • Descendants of Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd
    • Houses of della Rovere and Gonzaga
    • House of Este
    • House of Trastamara
    • Lords of Clisson
    • Descendants of Jeanne la Flamme
    • House of Medici
    • Genealogy of Nicholaa de la Haye
    • Welsh Kings
  • Maps
    • Early Middle Ages >
      • Kingdom of Burgundy
      • Merovingian Kingdoms
      • Kent England
      • Principality of Kiev, Drevlyans
      • Thuringi & Franci, 6th century Europe
      • Quedlinburg, Germany, circa 962 AD
    • High Middle Ages >
      • Turin & Susa, Italy circa 1050 AD
      • Europe circa 1000 AD
      • Spanish Kingdoms 1210 AD
      • France & Burgundy circa 1032 AD
      • England & France 1152-1327 AD
      • Salisbury, England
      • England & France in the Reign of Henry I
      • Wales
      • Lincoln, England
      • Norman Lands in Italy & Sicily
    • Late Middle Ages >
      • Forli, Italy
      • Sweden circa 1658
      • Usk, Wales and Cambridge, England
      • Ferrera & Mantuga, Italy
      • Iberian Peninsula 1257-1492
      • England & France 1152-1327
      • Clisson, Anjou, France
      • Brittany, France
      • Florence, Italy
      • England & Wales circa 1399
      • Hainault
    • Roll of Honor >
      • Kingdom of Mercia and Surrounding Kingdoms
      • Byzantine Empire 1000-1100
      • Iberian Peninsula 1257-1492
      • Paris, France
      • Dominions of Cnut
      • Bingen, Germany circa 962 AD
      • Gandersheim, Germany circa 962 AD
      • Military Campaign of Joan of Arc
      • Canossa & Tuscany, Italy
      • Eastern Roman Empire circa 565 AD
      • Duchy of Salerno
  • Members Only
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