Queen Eleanor of England
Introduction:
Medieval History has been neglected in most schools. I’m not sure why, but there are plenty of exciting stories that took place for the thousand or so years from 500 AD to 1500 AD. On this blog that is dedicated to the stories of women in history we have only touched on a few.
So far, we have looked at the stories of women from the earliest Middle Ages such as Genovefa, Brigid of Ireland and Radegund[1] (5th and 6th centuries). Then we moved on to the 7th and 8th centuries with stories of abbesses and queens such as Gertrude, Frideswide, and Lioba. We continued with the stories of 9th and 10thcentury women such as Dhuoda (writer and Theologian), and Irene, Euphrosyne, and Theodora who were Byzantine empresses. Then we presented the story of the amazingly gifted Hrotsvitha, a poet and a playwright whose works are still influential today. We progressed to the 11th and 12th centuries with the stories of strong, passionate, and gifted empresses, queens and princesses including Empress Adelheid, Queen Margaret of Scotland and Anna Komnene. Let’s turn this week to the story of a most remarkable 12th century woman, Eleanor of Aquitaine who was the wife of two kings and the mother, grandmother, and ancestress of many more.
Queen Eleanor of England (1122-1204)
High-born lady, excellent and valiant,
True, understanding, noble,
Ruled by right and justice,
Queen of beauty and largesse.
The words of an English poet express what the people of England thought of their queen, Eleanor.[2] A very strong woman for her times, Queen Eleanor lived an epic life ruling for sixty-seven of her eighty-two years. Her life was filled with ups and downs. Surrounded by ambitious male rulers she nevertheless succeeded as one of the most influential figures of the 13th century.
Eleanor was born in 1122, the daughter of Duke William X of Aquitaine and Duchess Aenor de Chatellerault. Duke William ruled over a larger kingdom than Louis the king of France. Louis was the king, and all of the dukes in the surrounding territories had to give him their allegiance, even if the dukes were richer and more powerful than the king. Before we move on, we should look at a map of 12th century “France” so that we can understand the political situation.
Notice that what was known as “France” in the 12th century was the small area around Paris (shown in the darker blue). France’s capital was Paris and was ruled by the king. The other kingdoms, such as Normandy, Brittany, Champagne, and Aquitaine though larger were ruled by Dukes. It would be centuries before all of those areas were united into what we call France today.
As you can see from the map, Eleanor’s father owned more land and was more powerful than the king. He was richer and had more vassals including a large navy. William had only one child, Eleanor. By the time she was fifteen, Eleanor’s fame as beautiful, intelligent, and gifted had spread far and wide. Eleanor could read and write. She was educated in Latin and philosophy. She loved poetry, music, and dancing. She played the harp. She was taught to weave, sew, and embroider. She was very independent-minded. This would later save her in many situations but also get her into trouble with authoritative men who saw her as a woman to be dominated. Little did they know….
The people in Aquitaine were very independent and loved adventure. Since Eleanor was a girl it may have seemed unusual, but definitely not shocking that she took part in horseback riding, often riding astride like the boys. She accompanied her father Duke William on horseback as he made the rounds to all of his vassals collecting rents and seeing to their well-being. This love of riding would continue through her whole life when even in her sixties Eleanor would visit the vassals in England on horseback.
When Eleanor was only fifteen, William died. Eleanor was seen as a great prize for any ruler. Louis VI (also known as Louis the Fat) knew that many nobles would seek the hand of the richest woman in western Europe. He determined to increase his relatively small domains by marrying her to his son, the future Louis VII. King Louis wasted no time in procuring the alliance with Eleanor. He sent his son, escorted by five hundred knights to Aquitaine.
As a noble woman, Eleanor knew that she was destined to marry a noble man. If she married one of the other dukes, she would be duchess of her own territory and duchess of his territory. But if she married Prince Louis, she would one day be queen! She was happy with this proposed alliance. Her new husband, Louis was sixteen, one year older than she. He was as timid as she was independent. She thought that there would be time for him to change. They made plans to move to Paris where they would be Prince and Princess of France as well as Duke and Duchess of Aquitaine and Count and Countess of Poitou. Poitiers always remained Eleanor’s favorite city.
On the way to Paris Eleanor and Louis received the news that King Louis had died. And so, by the time they reached home, they were King Louis VII and Queen Eleanor of France.
Life in Paris was difficult for Eleanor. Their castle was cold, dark, and filthy. Paris streets were noisy and crowded. Eleanor had been accustomed to a warm and gracious palace surrounded by gardens and beauty. True to her nature, Eleanor did not accept this but began to change her surroundings. She brought in tapestries to cover the ugly walls, had fireplaces built in her rooms, and insisted that the servants clean the castle and maintain better hygiene.
Most of all, Louis was a big disappointment to Eleanor. She had hoped that he would get over his timidity, but he was moody and reclusive. Only when someone threatened one of his lands would he come away from his studies and take action. Unfortunately, due to youth and inexperience he often responded to problems with extreme haste and poor judgment. On one occasion, instead of the gallant behavior that Eleanor wanted him to display, he hacked off the hands of the rebels. On another occasion he set fire to a town. The people fled to the cathedral, but it collapsed in flames killing 1300 men, women, and children.
Louis repented with fasting and prayer. The Pope pardoned him, but he remained in poor spirits. Eleanor tried to comfort him, but she was also depressed for a different reason. More than five years had gone by and she had not provided the male heir that the people expected of her.
Finally, in 1145 when she was twenty-two Eleanor had a child. It was not a male, but at least she proved that she was not barren. Their daughter, Marie, brought them much joy. A few years later, in 1150 AD, Alix was born. Marie later married Henry I, Count of Champagne. Alix became the countess of Blois with her marriage to Theobald V. Both Marie and Alix became the regents of their countries while their husbands were away on the crusades. As we shall see they were following in their mother’s footsteps.
In 1147 AD the Pope called for a new crusade. There had already been one crusade to the Holy Land. Eleanor’s uncle had taken part in that earlier one. Not knowing what a poor leader Louis was, the Pope chose him to lead it. This second crusade was a disaster. Louis was responsible for many needless deaths and he lost the Holy Land. By the time he got home, he was also losing Eleanor. Eleanor had traveled with Louis on the crusade and as she watched one failure after another, she became disenchanted with him. When a good opportunity arose where Louis could help her uncle free part of the Holy Land, Louis refused. Eleanor and Louis quarreled.
After returning home from the crusade, Eleanor asked for a divorce. Several unhappy years went by and finally in 1152 Louis and Eleanor received an annulment on the basis of consanguinity, meaning that they were too closely related. Eleanor had to be content with leaving Marie and Alix with Louis. This broke her heart. She did maintain a close friendship with Marie.
While most divorced women were sent to monasteries, Eleanor was free to return to her lands in Aquitaine. Eleanor became an independent woman. She was only twenty-nine years old and still beautiful. The old danger returned however – ambitious men would try and capture her and force her into marriage. Eleanor managed to get to her favorite castle in Poitiers. There she had a respite while she thought about her future.
We will see what that was in Part 2.
[1] Radegund’s influence was felt for centuries. This amazing queen was an inspiration for the queen in this week’s story – Eleanor of Aquitaine.
[2] Polly Schoyer Brooks. Queen Eleanor: Independent Spirit of the Medieval World (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1983) page 81.
