1. Eleanor of Aquitaine
Who was Eleanor of Aquitaine?
Eleanor of Aquitaine was born to William X, Duke of
Aquitaine, and Aenor de Chatellerault in the year 1122. She was raised doing
the activities that were normal for girls her age such as weaving, spinning,
and domestic work, but was also educated, physically active in sports like
hunting and hawking, and even traveled with her father on business. Eleanor was
put in a very bad situation where the majority of her family was dead, and with
her father’s death only growing nearer, she was set to marry to protect all that
she was the heiress to, all of her father’s wealth and land.
First Marriage
After being married off to King Louis VI’s second son, Louis VII, his eldest son, Philip, died, which left Eleanor’s husband the heir. Louis VII, however, was incompetent and submissive to the point where his troops respected and listened to Eleanor more during his leading of the Second Crusade to the Holy Land. Joshua Marks sheds light on this in his article “Eleanor of Aquitaine” which expresses how during the march Eleanor did more for their troops by presenting herself to and discussing with Raymond of Poitiers, as doing this lead to the conquering of Aleppo. During many appearances of Eleanor and Louis VII in history, he was always behind her as more subservient and less of an equal. They eventually were granted an annulment on the grounds of consanguinity, which basically meant they were third cousins and when it didn’t work out they used that as an excuse to end the marriage so that she could remarry if she pleased. Which she did.
Second Marriage
2. Eleanor's Seal
After her estrangement from Louis VII, which sadly did
separate her from her daughters, Marie de Champagne and Alix of France, since
laws and rulings were completed male oriented, their daughters were technically
his property, Eleanor remarried Henry II of England. Within two years he was
crowned the king of England and Eleanor his Queen. Henry II was much less
submissive than Louis VII and she was unable to control him as easily as she could
her former husband. Alison Weir discusses the reality of marriage for women like
Eleanor in this time in her biography Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life, which
expresses that marriage was a political strategy and that the girls were often raised
in convents, married off at 13 or 14 (sometimes earlier) and were almost always
given rare say in how they or their wealth were to be disposed of in marriage. (Weir
6) Eleanor was not one of these girls. Even at only 15 she was wiser, calmer,
and better prepared to rule than most men could ever wish to be. Henry II’s
mother, Empress Matilda, was similar to Eleanor in her yearning for independent
power, which Eleanor is deliberate in demonstrating as after she was married
she continued to rule her father lands, ran farms and businesses, and even exercised
political power. Alongside Empress Matilda, Eleanor was among the very few notable
exceptions to society’s norms of male power and control.
Henry II
At this time, it was very common for older men to
marry younger women, in the case of Henry II and Eleanor it was opposite. Katherine
Bailey discusses much of Eleanor’s struggles with her second marriage in her
article “A History of Eleanor of Aquitaine” as seen as she discusses the age
difference as Eleanor was 30 years old to her husband’s 18 at their wedding.
This was not normal as she was much older than him and with that age her ability
to become pregnant with an heir is doubted and her loyalty to her husband is
doubted as some believe she was bedded by his father Geoffrey of Anjou. However,
the couple did go on to have 8 children. During the years she was having
children, Eleanor contributed to the management of her own domains, Aquitaine and
Poitou. Given that her husband was much younger, and that Eleanor could be hard
to handle, Henry II was known to have affairs as he wished and this negatively affected
Eleanor greatly. (Bailey) While they both had affairs, Henry II’s were much
more obvious as one resulted in his bastard Geoffrey, who went on to live with
them. (Weir 173) The extent of her role in Henry’s rule is unknown as Henry II
was less malleable then Louis VII, which lead to their inevitable separation and
general clash in later years of their marriage.
3. Young Eleanor painting
The Revolt
Eleanor and Henry II’s sons held a revolt against her husband.
Some sources say it was their children who planned it, while others claim it to
Eleanor. Her inherent thirst for power was obvious in her ability to adapt to different
courts and kingdoms, as well as find her own way to survive in both unhappy
marriages she was in merely for political gain. After the revolt was ended,
Henry II had Eleanor imprisoned for 16 years until his death. (sad story I know,
but it turns around :) )
Eleanor’s Passions
Eleanor was a very productive queen. She was active politically,
socially, and economically. She represents what women could not be in the medieval
time. She encompassed drive and desire to learn and grow and to bring her
people with her. Rachelle Suissa said it best in her paper Eleanor of
Aquitaine: A Remarkable Influence in Medieval History when she said, “Her enormous
influence derived not only from her wealth but from her immense desire to pursue
knowledge and culture at every junction.” Eleanor was passionate about poetry,
literature, music, and even sex. Eleanor is often considered one of the most
sexually liberated women of her time. She was said to have surrounded herself
with poets and artists that she would partake in affairs with quite obviously,
yet still much more remote than Henry II’s. It is said that during the period
after Eleanor separated from Henry II, that she filled her own home with music
and art and literature and that her actions of this time were what led to her “influence
on the development of the concept of courtly love and chivalric poetry” (Mark)
The poets that were surrounding Eleanor were honing in to the genres of courtly
love poetry and chivalric poetry and developing with encouragement of Eleanor
herself.
HER Power
Another aspect of her life that took a lot of her
attention was the work she did for her lands and the people she ruled over. The
historical evidence of Eleanor’s true ruling was clear in her appointments,
letters, purchases, and personal records that were well documented and unambiguous.
During the years of Eleanor’s marriage to Henry II, she was heavily involved
with the lands of her father that she ruled over since the age of 15. Elanor
did all she could for her land by reaching out to barons that had been exiled,
restoring lands, and restarting the fairs and events that brought joy to the people.
(Weir 173) After Louis II’s death, Richard I became king and with this Eleanor
knew she could manipulate him easier and enact her own policies through Richard.
Evidentially Richard ended up leaving England for the Third Crusade and left Eleanor
to rule his kingdom entirely. Eleanor won.
______________________________________________________________________
1.
Bailey, Katherine. “A History of Eleanor of Aquitaine.”
British Heritage, Irish Studio, 23 Apr. 2020,
britishheritage.com/history/history-eleanor-aquitaine.
2.
Mark, Joshua J. “Eleanor of Aquitaine.” Ancient
History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 29 Mar. 2019, www.ancient.eu/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine/.
3.
Suissa, Rachelle. “Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Remarkable
Influence in Medieval ...” Research Gate, Dec. 2006,
www.researchgate.net/publication/307593730_Eleanor_of_Aquitaine_A_Remarkable_Influence_in_Medieval_History.
4.
Weir, Alison. Eleanor of Aquitaine. Ballantine,
1999.
5.
(4) HistoryTeachers. “Eleanor of Aquitaine (“Happy Ever
After” by Julia Fordham).” https://youtu.be/ysU_ezDYt8A Youtube. 24 April 2010.
6.
(1) Mary Evans Picture Library
7.
(3) Anthony Frederick Sandys. “Queen Eleanor” 1858. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine#/media/File:Anthony_Frederick_Sandys_-_Queen_Eleanor.JPG
8.
(2) Eleanor,
by the Grace of God, Queen of the English, Duchess of the Normans.
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