Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor Of

The Life and Times of and Times The Life The Life and Times of ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE ELEANOR OF Acclaimed as the most beautiful woman of her time, ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE Eleanor of Aquitaine (c.1122–1204) uniquely shaped AQUITAINE 12th-century Europe. As the wife of two kings and the mother of three others, her beauty, grace, style, and intellect captivated a continent. At a time when men regarded women as little more than personal property to be owned and exploited, Eleanor threw off the shackles of male dominance and scribed an indelible mark on the history of France and England. As France’s queen, Eleanor accompanied Louis VII on the Second Crusade to the Holy Land and championed a burgeoning feminist movement. After divorcing Louis, she married Henry II of England. Her marriage to Henry upset the balance of power in Europe and led to 300 years of warfare before its restoration. Perhaps best remembered as a symbol of courtly love, Eleanor of Aquitaine also continues to personify the proud image of emancipated womanhood. Mitchell Lane ISBN 9781584157434 90000 Earle Rice Jr. 9 781584 157434 Eleanor Cover.indd 1 10/5/09 9:32:46 AM Copyright © 2010 by Mitchell Lane Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Printing 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rice, Earle. The life and times of Eleanor of Aquitaine / by Earle Rice, Jr. p. cm. — (Biography from ancient civilizations) (The life and times of) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-58415-743-4 (library bound) 1. Eleanor, of Aquitaine, Queen, consort of Henry II, King of England, 1122?– 1204—Juvenile literature. 2. Great Britain—History—Henry II, 1154–1189— Biography—Juvenile literature. 3. France—History—Louis VII, 1137–1180— Biography—Juvenile literature. 4. Queens—Great Britain—Biography—Juvenile literature. 5. Queens—France—Biography—Juvenile literature. I. Title. DA209.E6R53 2010 942.03’1092—dc22 [B] 2009027363 ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Earle Rice Jr. is a former senior design engineer and technical writer in the aerospace, electronic-defense, and nuclear industries. He has devoted full time to his writing since 1993 and is the author of more than fi fty published books. Earle is listed in Who’s Who in America and is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the League of World War I Aviation Historians, the Air Force Association, and the Disabled American Veterans. PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This story is based on the author’s extensive research, which he believes to be accurate. Documentation of such research is contained on page 46. The internet sites referenced herein were active as of the publication date. Due to the fl eeting nature of some web sites, we cannot guarantee they will all be active when you are reading this book. To refl ect current usage, we have chosen to use the secular era designations BCE (“before the common era”) and CE (“of the common era”) instead of the traditional designations BC (“before Christ”) and AD (anno Domini, “in the year of the Lord”). PLB Eleanor book.indd 4 10/5/09 9:18:41 AM CONTENTS Chapter 1 A Mild Disappointment ........................7 FYInfo*: Medieval Social System ...........................13 Chapter 2 Duchess of Aquitaine ...........................15 FYInfo: Eleanor’s Paris ...........................................19 Chapter 3 Queen of France ..................................21 FYInfo: The Second Crusade (114–114) ............27 Chapter 4 Queen of England ................................29 FYInfo: Eleanor’s Courts of Love ..........................35 Chapter 5 Candle in the Wind .............................37 FYInfo: Eagle of the Broken Covenant ..................42 Chapter Notes ...........................................................43 Chronology ...............................................................44 Timeline in History ..................................................45 Further Reading .......................................................46 For Young Adults .............................................46 Works Consulted .............................................46 On the Internet ................................................46 Glossary ....................................................................47 Index ..........................................................................48 *For Your Information Eleanor book.indd 5 10/5/09 9:18:53 AM CHAPTER ONE A MILD DISAPPOINTMENT Nothing about Eleanor of Aquitaine was ordinary. Her life’s story reads like a fairy tale or a romance novel. From the age of fifteen, she stood at the center of courtly culture and intrigue. Her beauty attracted kings; her intellect disarmed them. In a man’s world, she knew few peers on the cutting edge of twelfth-century politics. She began life in a storybook setting known as Aquitaine (pronounced AK-wih-tayn). Eleventh-century cleric and chronicler Heriger of Lobbes described it this way: “Opulent Aquitaine, sweet as nectar thanks to its vineyards dotted about with forests, overflowing with fruit of every kind, and endowed with a superabundance of pasture land.”1 Aquitaine was a lush duchy that sprawled across about a quarter of the land that makes up present-day France. Its name means “land of waters,” after the rivers running through it. Before Eleanor came along, probably in 1122, ten generations of dukes named William had ruled her future domain in an unbroken line. The first Duke William was born in 752. He claimed Charlemagne as a boyhood friend and later championed the conquests of the great Frankish king. With lance, sword, and shield, William I garnered both riches and honors before retiring to a Benedictine monastery near Montpellier at age forty-eight. Others in the line of Williams prospered similarly if less piously. Among all ten dukes, however, none gained greater fame—or notoriety—than Eleanor’s grandfather, William IX. 7 Eleanor book.indd 7 10/5/09 9:19:14 AM Chapter ONE A MILD DISAPPOINTMENT Aquitaine, a historical region in southwestern France, was conquered by the Romans in 56 BCE. It later became a Frankish kingdom, a French and English duchy, and an English principality in the Middle Ages. 8 Eleanor book.indd 8 10/5/09 9:19:18 AM Chapter ONE A MILD DISAPPOINTMENT William IX had an eye for the ladies. Their station in life mattered little to him, whether countess, maid, or maid-in-waiting. Beauty, desirability, and availability held the key to his affections. Poet and historian Jean Markale aptly described him as “one of the most famous skirt chasers of his time.”2 He had a flair for music and the muse, and his poetry—much of it bawdy retellings of his amorous exploits—flowed lyrically into song. At age fifteen, upon the death of his father in 1086, he inherited the duchy and began his reign as William IX of Aquitaine and Gascony and Count of Poitou. Scholars acknowledge him as the first troubadour—a lyric poet or wandering musician. He is still popularly known as William the Troubadour. Despite his young age, William IX quickly established himself as a lord worthy of his standing. His new responsibility did little to dampen the flames of passion that burned within him, however, and he just as quickly sought out and found a partner to perpetuate his line. Her name was Ermengarde. Pretty and well educated, she was the daughter of his northern neighbor, Count Fulk of Anjou, or “Fulk the Contrary.” (A nickname often lends revealing insight into the character of its owner.) Not long after their wedding, William discovered that Ermengarde exhibited troubling mood swings, cheerful one moment and abruptly sullen the next. Her mood changes and ill temper—a personality trait likely inherited from her father—did not bode well for a lasting union. When Ermengarde failed to conceive, William sent her back to Anjou and had their marriage dissolved in 1091. A year later, she married the count of Brittany. She eventually retired to the abbey of Fontevrault (fohn-tuh- VROH) near the border of Anjou. Three years elapsed before William IX learned that King Sancho Ramírez of Aragon had recently expired in battle at the point of an arrow. His widow, Philippa, was the daughter of his neighbor to the southeast, Count William IV of Toulouse. William IV had arranged his daughter’s marriage to Ramírez before departing Toulouse for the Holy Land. Even though he did not intend to return to Toulouse, William IV left his brother Raymond, count of Saint-Gilles, to rule in his stead. When William IV died in 1094, the then widowed Philippa felt dispossessed of her rightful inheritance in Toulouse. She began to look for a strong husband who would help her regain her birthright. She did not have to 9 Eleanor book.indd 9 10/5/09 9:19:19 AM Chapter ONE look far to find a handsome duke who knew how to treat a lady. Enter William IX. William IX promised to help Philippa regain her landed legacy— and possibly the sun and the moon—and the couple married in 1094. Two years later, in the fall of 1096, Raymond IV of Toulouse (the count of Saint-Gilles) rode off to the Holy Land with an army of some 100,000 crossbearers to fight in the First Crusade (1096–1099). William and Philippa bided their time until the spring of 1098, then marched on Toulouse and seized the city without loosing an arrow or striking a blow. The dukes of Aquitaine had long laid disputed claim to Toulouse, and Philippa’s claim was obvious. Both William and Philippa felt that their action was totally justified. The Church did not. The pope, Urban II, threatened to excommunicate William IX. Meanwhile, Philippa settled in at Toulouse and gave birth to a son, William X, heir to Aquitaine and Eleanor’s future father. In 1101, hoping to redeem himself with the Church, William IX embarked on a crusading trek to the Holy Land with a force of about 60,000 soldiers and pilgrims.

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