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| Depiction by Frederick Sandys (1858) |
Birth name: Alienòr Ramnulfides d'Aquitània
Born: c. 1124, Bordeaux, Duchy of Aquitaine, Kingdom of France
Father: William X, Duke of Aquitaine 'The Saint'
Mother: Lady Aénor of Châtellerault
House: Ramnulfids
Nationality: Aquitaine
Religion: Catholicism
Consort of: Henry II
Reign: 19 December 1154 - 06 July 1189 (34 years)
Coronation: 19 December 1154
Predecessor: Matilda of Boulogne
Successor: Berengaria of Navarre
Died: 01 April 1204 (aged 80), Fontevraud, County of Anjou, Kingdom of France
Cause: Unknown illness
Burial: Fontevraud Abbey
Motto: N/A
Spouse(s):
- King Louis VII of France (m. 1137 - 1152)
- King Henry II of England 'Curtmantle' (m. 1152 - 1189)
Children:
- With King Louis VII of France
- Princess Marie, Countess of Champagne (1145 - 1198)
- Princess Alix, Countess of Blois (1150 - 1198)
- With King Henry II of England
- William IX, Count of Poitiers (1153 - 1156)
- Henry, Junior King of England 'The Young King' (1155 - 1183)
- Matilda, Duchess of Saxony and Bavaria (1156 - 1189)
- King Richard I of England 'The Lionheart' (1157 - 1199)
- Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (1158 - 1186)
- Eleanor, Queen of Castile (c. 1161 - 1214)
- Joan, Queen of Sicily (1165 - 1199)
- King John of England 'Lackland' (1166 - 1216)
Eleanor was said to have been very beautiful, even in old age. She may have been quite tall, with tanned skin, but this is not known for certain. She was also described as having 'lovely eyes'.
Character:
She was very skilled at politics, able to competently rule as regent, as well as rule her own lands in the Duchy of Aquitaine.
Eleanor was very headstrong and sure of herself, to the point of stubbornness. She was also strong in character due to the many issues she faced throughout her life, including kidnapping, imprisonment, marriage annulments, as well as the deaths of her children.
She was loyal to her children and always fought for their interests.
At the time, she was also viewed as a seductress, though these accounts may have been exaggerated.
She was one of the most powerful women in Europe, and she wasn't afraid to use that power. However, she was also quite just and fair.
Biography:
Eleanor was born some time around 1124 in Bordeaux, Duchy of Aquitaine, which was one of the most rich and powerful autonomous regions of France at the time. She was the first of three children born to William X, Duke of Aquitaine, and his wife, Lady Aénor of Châtellerault.
Not much is known about her early life, but she likely received an education that was typical for a woman of her rank. Both her mother and brother died when she was only around 6 years old, and she became her father's heir to the Duchy of Aquitaine. In 1137, her father also passed away, and Eleanor became the Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, aged just 13 years old.
After her father's death, she was placed in the care of King Louis VI of France, due to the fact that Eleanor was at a high risk of being kidnapped; she was now one of the richest and most powerful women in all of Europe, and any man who married her would gain her wealth and titles. However, Louis VI would also take advantage of Eleanor, viewing it as an opportunity to expand France's power over the region.
Thus, he married her to his eldest surviving son, Prince Louis, who would become King Louis VII of France not long afterwards. Eleanor was now also the Queen Consort of France, and she agreed that Aquitaine would only become a full domain of France once any sons they had together came to power; in the meantime, Aquitaine would retain its more independent status.
As the Queen of France, Eleanor would not be popular, and would frequently argue for her claim as the rightful Countess of Toulouse, resulting in an unsuccessful siege of the area. Rumours spread that she practised dark magic, and that she was having an affair with the contested consort of England, Count Geoffrey V of Anjou.
Eleanor would join her husband on the Second Crusade, and she travelled across Europe to reach Jerusalem. Once they reached the Middle-East, they were ambushed by the Turks, and just barely managed to escape. Eleanor was often blamed for this defeat, due to their soldiers having to carry a large amount of her baggage, but in reality, Louis VII lacked military skill and was a weak leader. Both Eleanor and her husband would clash and argue over strategy, causing huge tensions in their relationship. Once again, it was rumoured that Eleanor had begun having an affair, this time being an incestuous one with her uncle, and she was further loathed for her perceived interference in politics.
Overall, the Second Crusade was a disaster, and upon their return to France, Eleanor even briefly went missing when her ship was blown off course. She would eventually be found and taken in by the King of Sicily.
Despite initial fears that she may be infertile, Eleanor and Louis VII eventually had two daughters together. However, the lack of a male heir was a cause of great concern within the Kingdom of France, and this was further perceived as evidence that Eleanor was not in God's favour. By 1150, the two of them had been married for thirteen years, with no sign of a son. Members of the French court began advising Louis VII to annul their marriage.
Meanwhile, Prince Henry of England, also arrived at the French court to pay homage to Louis VII, and despite being eleven years younger than Eleanor, it was rumoured that a romantic or sexual encounter happened between the two of them, which further caused relations between Eleanor and Louis to break down.
However, an annulment could risk the loss of Aquitaine as a French possession.
Eventually, in 1152, Louis VII was granted an annulment to his marriage on the grounds that both he and Eleanor were too closely related, being third cousins once removed. However, their daughters would remain of legitimate status, and Louis VII was granted full custody of them. Eleanor was able to maintain control over her lands and titles in Aquitaine, and there is little evidence that she was displeased with the annulment.
But her now eligible status once again placed her at great risk of being kidnapped and forced into another marriage. These kidnapping attempts quickly began, but luckily, Eleanor was able to narrowly avoid them each time. Rather than be captured, Eleanor instead proposed to Prince Henry of England, whom she had met previously. A marriage between them would also help protect her lands, as at the time, Henry was the Duke of Normandy and the Count of Anjou, both of which surrounded her land.
Henry agreed to the arrangement, and he travelled to Poitiers where they married in a quiet ceremony; Eleanor was 28 years old, while her new husband was 17. The marriage was kept a secret for a while in fear of angering Louis VII of France, who was growing fearful and resentful of the growing Angevin Empire that was gaining many French territories. Through their marriage, Aquitaine now fell under English control.
Louis VII did eventually find out, and war broke out between both England and France. Louis VII refused to relinquish his title of Duke of Aquitaine to Prince Henry, and invaded Normandy, which Henry was easily able to fend off. As a result, Henry would be able to focus on his claim to the throne of England, and in 1153, he travelled back there to challenge the current King Stephen for the crown. King Stephen had technically usurped his mother, Empress Matilda, who had been the eldest surviving legitimate child of King Henry I of England.
In the meantime, Eleanor gave birth to their first child together, a son, Prince William.
Eleanor's husband was finally able to reach a truce with King Stephen later that same year. It was decided that Henry would be recognised as the heir to the throne of England, and would be able to claim the title upon his death.
Further good news arrived when Louis VII was able to also reconcile with Henry, and finally relinquished the title of Duke of Aquitaine.
Just a year later in 1154, King Stephen died, and her husband became King Henry II of England. Once again, Eleanor was a Queen Consort. They both left Normandy for England, and her husband celebrated his official coronation. Their ascension to the throne marked the beginning of a new dynasty in England: the Plantagenets.
The Angevin Empire also reached its height, and English territory now stretched from the border with Scotland, all the way down to the borders of the Kingdoms of Navarre and Aragon. As a result, her husband was frequently away travelling these lands, and Eleanor was left as the regent ruler of England when not travelling her own lands.
Whenever Eleanor was able to meet up with her husband again, she would quickly become pregnant, with Henry, Matilda, and Richard being born in quick succession. Unfortunately, the couple's eldest child, William, would die while still young.
Meanwhile, Eleanor's ex-husband was still not having much luck with producing a male heir, and her new husband viewed this as an opportunity to seize the throne of France entirely. As a result, their son, Prince Henry, was betrothed to Princess Margaret of France, the eldest surviving daughter of Louis VII and his new wife. The care and custody of Princess Margaret was then relinquished to Henry II.
Overall, Eleanor and Henry would produce a total of eight children together, with seven of them surviving into adulthood. Their eldest surviving son, Prince Henry, was married to Princess Margaret of France when the two of them were still just children, and powerful marriage alliances were also beginning to be arranged for their other children.
However, Eleanor and Henry would spend more and more time apart while dealing with their respective territories, and rumours of Henry's many affairs began to spread across Europe. This created further tension within their marriage. Henry had a few illegitimate children, with Eleanor even agreeing to help raise one of them, suggesting she had largely become apathetic towards his affairs. Louis VII of France was also finally able to produce a son with his third wife, and thus, the idea of France falling fully into English control came to an end.
After the birth of their final child, Prince John, in 1166, Eleanor and her husband were now barely spending any time together. It is possible that Eleanor was not even present for the crowning of her eldest surviving son, Prince Henry, when he became known as the Young King of England. She largely ruled her own domains without his help.
During this time, her eldest sons were becoming restless to assume their own positions of power that would be left to them by their father when he died. Their rebellions against Henry II would be further encouraged by King Louis VII of France. Henry the Young King even ran away from his father's care and officially began a revolt against him. It is not known to what extent Eleanor was involved in her sons' rebellions, but upon her travel through France to meet with her eldest sons, she was ambushed and arrested by her husband in 1173. This was largely kept a secret from the public, and from this point, Eleanor disappears for a while, likely remaining under house arrest by order of her husband.
All of their sons, apart from Prince John, began openly rebelling against their father. With an invasion of England appearing likely, Eleanor appears briefly once again, where Henry II moves her, himself, their son, John, their daughter, Joan, to Southampton. Eleanor then disappears again, and was likely kept prisoner by her own husband for the next few years to come.
There's also evidence that Henry II was possibly considering annulling their marriage in 1175 - 1176, and even attempted to persuade her to become a nun, but she refused.
Eleanor was briefly allowed out of confinement for the deaths of three of her children, though communication between her and their eldest sons would remain forbidden. She was often suspected of plotting against her husband, especially alongside her son, Prince Richard, who was her favourite child.
In 1183, their eldest son and heir, Henry the Young King, died after contracting dysentery, which would devastate Eleanor. She even claimed to have foreseen his death in a dream, and his dying wish was apparently for his mother to be set free by his father. Henry II was forced to summon Eleanor from confinement after their son's death, due to the new King Philip II of France declaring his sister, Princess Margaret's properties in Normandy to be his own. Henry, meanwhile, argued that they had belonged to Eleanor, therefore, evidence of her still being alive and well was needed to substantiate these claims.
After this, both Eleanor and her husband would attempt to reconcile with their sons, and create a more peaceful dynamic. Their son, Prince Geoffrey, would also die during this period, leaving Henry II with only two surviving male heirs: Prince Richard and Prince John. Their two sons would continue to argue over matters of inheritance, not helped by the fact that Richard was Eleanor's favourite, while John was Henry's.
The stress of their sons' rebellions took their toll on Henry II, and he became frequently ill by 1189. He would die that same year, and their eldest surviving son became King Richard I of England. Eleanor was also now no longer imprisoned and became the Dowager Queen of England.
Richard I made his mother the regent of England while he remained in his lands in France. She reversed many of her husband's acts before going on to attend her son's coronation upon his arrival in England. Eleanor would once again be appointed as regent as Richard left to join the Third Crusade.
The question also grew as to who Richard would marry, especially since he now needed to produce a legitimate heir. He had originally been betrothed to Princess Alys of France, but his father had previously taken her as a mistress, meaning that any marriage between them would be viewed as invalid.
To secure her son a marriage, Eleanor left Prince John in charge of England while she travelled to the Kingdom of Navarre to negotiate with King Sancho VI of Navarre. His daughter, Princess Berengaria, was selected to be Richard I's bride, and Eleanor would go on to escort her to the Kingdom of Sicily, where Berengaria would stay with her daughter, the Dowager Queen of Sicily, Joan, before going on to travel to Richard I's location in the Holy Land.
Meanwhile, Eleanor had to quickly return to England, as Prince John was causing a great deal of conflict within the kingdom. Her popularity grew, as she proved herself to be a capable regent, especially compared to her son, Prince John. John also began to claim that he was the true King of England, which Eleanor refused to support, much to his annoyance. However, she was eventually able to calm down John's ambitions.
For the most part, the Third Crusade was a failure, and during Richard I's return from the Holy Land, he disappeared. While Prince John attempted to claim he was dead, Eleanor was eventually able to learn he had been captured by the Duke of Austria, whom Richard had previously offended on one occasion. John attempted to claim the throne of England again, but Eleanor intervened to stop him once more. A ransom was demanded for Richard I's release, and Eleanor began frantically raising the money, and even begged the Pope for help, but he refused to get involved.
Luckily, she was able to secure the money for his release, and she embarked on a journey into the Holy Roman Empire to meet with his captors. However, upon her arrival, she learned that King Philip II of France, alongside Prince John, had outbid her, and they ordered for the Holy Roman Emperor to keep him in captivity. Eleanor offered more money and tributes, and was successfully able to negotiate the release of her son. The two of them arrived back in England, and were welcomed back by the people of London as heroes.
In 1194, both Eleanor and Richard I were able to reconcile with John, and Richard left England again to campaign in France and defend his territories there.
Meanwhile, Eleanor officially retired at the age of 72, and moved to Fontevrault Abbey, and lived a relatively quiet life there. However, she would return to her son, Richard I's side in 1199 in his dying moments after he was shot by a crossbow. He would then die in her arms.
Immediately afterwards, she encouraged her youngest son, Prince John, to quickly seize control of England and establish himself as the King of England. Her grandson, Arthur, Duke of Brittany, was technically the next in line for the throne, and his claim was supported by the King of France. However, Richard I had declared that John was his heir.
Eleanor came out of retirement in order to support her son's claims. Support for Arthur quickly faded, and John was officially crowned King John of England, as well as inheriting all the lands of the Angevin Empire. Eleanor agreed that he would also inherit the Duchy of Aquitaine upon her death. Eleanor's final surviving daughter, Joan, also died around this time, meaning that Eleanor had outlived a large majority of her children.
John then gave Eleanor the task of travelling to Castile to find a suitable wife for Prince Louis of France as part of England's truce agreement with the kingdom. Eleanor set off on her journey there, but would be captured by Hugh IX, Count of Lusignan, who demanded from her the return of the County of La Marche, which had been sold to her late husband, Henry II. Eleanor quickly agreed so that she could be on her way to Castile again.
While in Castile, Eleanor selected Princess Blanche as a new bride for Prince Louis, and she escorted her to meet with King John where she would then be handed over to the French royal family.
After this, Eleanor retired again to Fontevrault Abbey.
But by 1204, she was frequently ill, and upon hearing this, King John would travel to the Abbey to visit her. She provided her son with some parting wisdom on how to rule and secure his territories before she would then die of an unknown illness, likely related to her old age.
Rule:
Despite being largely unpopular for most of her time as the royal consort of both France and England, Eleanor was actually quite a successful queen. She brought more land and territory under the control of both countries, and was able to play the political battleground of Europe to reach her ambitions.
Later in life, even those who criticised her admitted that she was a great ruler and was viewed as benevolent.
Though she was the queen of England for most of her life, she never bothered to learn English which would not have been popular with the people of England.
She helped expand the growing English empire and increase its influence within Europe, even very nearly joining the kingdoms of France and England together with the marriage of her son Henry to the French Princess, Margaret.
She acted as regent on many occasions, both for her husband and her son, Richard I.
Trivia:
- Even though her first marriage to the King of France was annulled on the grounds of them being too closely related, Eleanor was actually more closely related to her second husband.
Quotes:
N/A
Sources & Further Reading:
Eleanor of Aquitaine | Epistolae. (n.d.). Epistolae - Columbia University Libraries. https://epistolae.ctl.columbia.edu/woman/24.html
Eleanor of Aquitaine. (2019). English Heritage. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/women-in-history/eleanor-aquitaine/
Eleanor of Aquitaine, the extraordinary queen of France and England - Fontevraud. (2024). Fontevraud. https://www.fontevraud.fr/en/eleanor-of-aquitaine-fontevraud/
Mark, J. (2019). Eleanor of Aquitaine. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine/
Pernoud, R. (2018). Eleanor of Aquitaine | Queen consort of France and England. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eleanor-of-Aquitaine
Queen Eleanor (Frederick Sandys, 1858).jpg - Wikimedia Commons. (2021). Wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Queen_Eleanor_(Frederick_Sandys,_1858).jpg
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