Martin Aurell, professor of medieval history University of Poitiers, signs “Alienor of Aquitaine” to the Presses Universitaires de France, a portrait that does justice to this woman of character who always made sure to govern the Duchy of Aquitaine herself, inherited from his father.
Queen of France
Aliénor d’Aquitaine is the daughter of Guillaume X and Aliénor de Châtellerault. She inherited her father’s kingdom at the age of 13: the Duchy of Aquitaine. It is a vast territory under the supervision of the King of France.
Her marriage to Louis VII took place in Bordeaux in 1137. On the way back to Paris, Louis VI died. His son Louis VII becomes King of France. She then becomes Queen of France.
Eleanor of Aquitaine has two daughters with Louis VII, Marie and Alix, but no heir. His marriage was annulled in 1152 by the Pope.
Queen of England
In 1152, Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henri, Count of Anjou and Duke of Normandy. She is 10 years older than him and more experience in power.
In 1154, Henry II became King of England. His kingdom, the Plantagenet Empire is made up of the Kingdom of England, South Wales, part of Ireland, the Duchy of Normandy, the Counties of Anjou and Maine. Eleanor holds Aquitaine, then Armorican Brittany. But the King of England owes homage to the King of France.
A powerful woman
Eleanor of Aquitaine has experience in the exercise of power. She never let any of her husbands take care of Aquitaine. She traveled extensively in her kingdom and governed Aquitaine with her son Richard the Lionheart, future King of England. She had a real bond with him.
In 1173, she plotted with her two sons Richard Coeur de Lion and Jean sans Terre against her husband, Henri II. She is taken prisoner and is held captive for 15 years.
In 1189, Louis II died, his son Richard Coeur de Lion acceded to the throne of England. He decides to go on a crusade and leaves his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine to govern the Plantagenet Empire. When he died in 1196, his brother Jean Sans Terre succeeded him.
Eleanor’s Legacy
On the night of March 31 to April 1, 1204, Eleanor of Aquitaine died in Poitiers. His disappearance marks the end of the Plantagenet empire. Fontevraud has three polychrome recumbent figures: Henri II, Richard Coeur de Lion and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Many historians have portrayed Eleanor of Aquitaine as an intriguer, a seductress. This powerful woman who lived for more than 80 years was exceptional in many respects: a great traveler, a fine scholar, she had learned Latin, a patron of the arts, her grandfather Guillaume IX of Aquitaine was the first troubadour whose has traces in the history of literature.