Eleanor of Aquitaine - An Overview
Note: The majority of the information here was sourced from "Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life - Alison Weir. It's an excellent overview that goes more in-depth than I do here, highly recommended if you want to explore Eleanor and her life a bit more.
Eleanor of Aquitaine is one of the most interesting and important people of the Middle Ages. In a time when women were often seen as lesser than men, at least in terms of leadership and statecraft roles, she rose above her gender to influence dukes and kings. Married to two different kings, and the mother of several more, her influence could be felt for hundreds of years after her death.
This article will be a brief overview of her life and aim to hit the important events and details. I'll certainly be glossing over some of the finer points, but by the end you should have a good, if high-level, picture of who Eleanor was, and how she left her mark on history. If you want to explore more, check out the book mentioned above and in the sources section down at the bottom.
From Not So Humble Beginnings
Eleanor gets her name from her birthplace, the Aquitaine region of France. Aquitaine at the time was only under the control of the French crown in name, but generally governed itself. The dukes of Aquitaine were fiercely independent and despised having outsiders meddle in their affairs, and this would be a recurring theme throughout Eleanor’s life.
Eleanor became the duchess of Aquitaine following her father’s death in 1137. This left her with substantial land holdings in southwest France, making her one of the most wealthy nobles of the time, as well as an attractive marriage option.
Her first marriage was to who would become Louis VII of France. He was interested in the massive land that she brought with her in the marriage. This, of course, included Aquitaine, but also her holdings of Gascony and Poitou, along with several other minor holdings. 1This represented a large increase to the domains under control of the French king.
This control, as mentioned above, was more so De Jure than any real influence exerted over the peoples by Louis. In practice, Eleanor held much more sway over the local lords than Louis did, and they often resisted and rebelled against Louis' attempts to force his will onto them.
Troubadours and Courtly Love
Eleanor was a large patron of troubadours and chivalric culture. Her court was well known for its high culture, and many of our romantic ideas of noble courts and the lovers' quarrels that took place there likely stem from Eleanor’s court (with some artistic embellishments, of course). While she didn’t coin the term “Courtly Love”, it does seem an apt way to describe her court in Poitiers.
From King to King
Her first marriage, however, would not last. While Eleanor would accompany Louis to the Middle East on the second crusade, they became estranged after. The exact reasons are not entirely known, but rumors abounded that she had an affair with her uncle Raymond of Poitiers (Raymond of Antioch), although most modern historians think this is probably false2. More likely, her desire to aid Raymond during the crusade inspired the later stories of infidelity.
She and Louis also clashed tactically on crusade. Eleanor came not just as the wife of the king, but as overlord of Aquitaine. This meant she brought her own soldiers and vassals, and was in essence a commander. Her main objective was to aid her uncle in Antioch, while Louis had his eyes set on Jerusalem. This led to much argument about strategy, and many chroniclers blame much of the crusade’s failure on Eleanor.
To compound these problems, she was also unable to produce a male heir; her relationship with Louis only resulted in two daughters. Male heirs were of critical importance to most monarchs in the Middle Ages as having one meant the line of succession was secured. This was not only important to the king, but also his advisors and nobles as dying without a clear heir often meant civil war.
Whatever the reason, the couple ultimately split. In 1152 Louis was able to secure an annulment on grounds of consanguinity. Interestingly, this claim of consanguinity should have prevented the marriage in the first place, but it was often overlooked until it was politically convenient to do so. The couple separated, with Eleanor's lands reverting to her control.
That same year, Eleanor would marry Henry, Duke of Normandy, who would shortly become Henry II of England. Scandalously, the marriage took place only 8 weeks after the annulment; basically the next day in medieval terms. In 1154, Henry ascended to the throne, making Eleanor the Queen of England.
Queen of England
The early years appear to have been happy for the couple, and they bore 8 children: 5 boys and 3 daughters.
Of note, some of her children are:
Henry “The Young King”: Known for a variety of rebellions along with his brothers against their father. He was originally set to inherit England before his early death.
Richard I: Known as the Lionheart, one of the most prolific and romanticized warrior kings and crusaders. He is often cited as Eleanor's favorite, and was originally slated to be her heir.
King John: Future king of England, most well known for being the subject of the Magna Carta.
Eleanor of England: Became queen of Castile, creating a strong link between Spain and England.
Matilda of England: Ancestor of many important figures, including the Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV
The long list of descendants connecting back to Eleanor is impressive, and shows how wide reaching her influence was.
During this time, Eleanor fulfilled the role as an active partner in running her husbands government. She managed lands, awarded charters, and acted as regent when Henry was away. She also setup a distinct court in Pointers which, as noted above, was well-known for its cultural and chivalric influence.
The Rebellions
Eleanor’s and Henry’s marriage seems to have cooled in the later years, particularly around the years 1173. Henry’s role in the murder of Thomas Beckett didn’t help things, but Eleanor’s preference for her children is likely to have been a larger factor.
It was during this time that the Revolt of 1173-1174 occurred, which saw Poitou and Aquitaine revolt against Henry II. Both areas had had minor uprisings in the past, but this was the largest to date and had the backing of Henry’s sons Henry “The Young King” and Richard. As under Louis, the lords of these lands disliked foreign interference, and Henry's efforts to bring them under greater control were met with disdain.
It was also likely that Eleanor played a large role in pushing for the rebellion, as she had far more influence over the local lords than anyone else at the time. Of course, Louis was also likely involved, seeing it as a way to get back at his English rival and weaken his continental holdings. Louis in particular cozied up to the king's sons, hoping to goad them into war with their father.
The rebellion ultimately failed, and while Henry reconciled with his sons, he ultimately imprisoned Eleanor for her role. She still lived a luxurious life across a variety of manors, but was closely watched by Henry’s trusted advisors and was unable to have much political input for several years. She would remain under watch for the rest of Henry's life.
After Captivity
After the death of Henry II in 1189, Eleanor was promptly released by her son, the new king Richard I. Richard gave her broad powers to rule England (Angevin Empire) during his absences from the kingdom, and she began styling herself as “Eleanor, by the grace of God, Queen of England”
During this period she worked to improve the kingdom, granting charters and giving to religious institutions, and was lauded as a fair ruler. It is from this period that a lot of the positive modern conceptions of Eleanor come.
It was also during this time that Richard I went on crusade leaving the kingdom in Eleanor’s hands. This saw a return to her role at the forefront of medieval politics, and she had her hands full dealing with John who was trying to make inroads on his brother’s crown. She was also heavily involved in raising the ransom required to secure Richard’s release after he was captured in Austria returning from the Middle East.
Retirement and Death
Eleanor would eventually retire to the nunnery of Fontevrault, although she would still be active in the ongoing struggle between King John, her grandson Arthur of Brittany, and Philip II, king of France. At one point she would even be besieged in a castle, only to be rescued by John.
After Richard I's death, she helped her remaining son John secure his rule of the kingdom. At the time, Philip II had tried to create a succession crisis by declaring Arthur of Brittany (Eleanor's Grandson) as the true king of England. Eleanor toured her lands to rally support for John, and he was eventually crowned king.
In 1200 she also made a dangerous trip across the Pyrenees mountains at the border of France and Spain. The journey's goal was to retrieve Blanche of Castile to marry the French heir to the throne in an attempt to create better diplomatic relations. It was a dangerous trip for a woman in the waning years of her life (she was 80 at the time), and it shows the type of woman Eleanor was and the resolve she had even well past her prime.
She would ultimately become a nun in 1202, and die in 1204.
Her legacy would endure though through the illustrious list of children she left. The wife of two kings and mother of another two, her mark would be left on history, and her descendants would directly rule England until 1485. Other descendants became Holy Roman Emperors, queens of Spain, and other important positions throughout the middle ages.
It would likely have been bittersweet in a way. She achieved much, but outlived all but two of her children. A somewhat somber end to one of the greatest women of the Middle Ages.
Footnotes
Footnotes
About Us
We are a site dedicated to learning about history. Check out our articles and take the various quizzes in our history quiz mobile app.
