Her first marriage was annulled. Henry was the Duke of Normandy through his mother, Empress Matilda, and count of Anjou through his father. Life. Endowed with intelligence, creative energy and a remarkably long life.  © Eleanor of Aquitaine served as queen of both France and England in the twelfth century, making her one of the most powerful women of the time. She was born, around 1122–24, to Duke William X of Aquitaine who, as he had no surviving sons, named her as the heiress to the duchy in 1137. Louis and Eleanor were married in July 1137, but had little time to get to know one another before Louis’ father the king fell ill and died. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. In the same year she helped to defend Anjou and Aquitaine against her grandson Arthur of Brittany, thus securing John’s French possessions. Eleanor of Aquitaine lies between her son Richard I and her second husband, Henry II, both kings of England; tomb effigies at the abbey in Fontevrault-l'Abbaye, France. Corrections? Her contribution to England extended beyond her own lifetime; after the loss of Normandy (1204), it was her own ancestral lands and not the old Norman territories that remained loyal to England. In her youth, Eleanor was widely regarded as beautiful and was considered capricious and frivolous. For that reason, culture bomb civics and technologies should be priority targets. One thing for sure, it wasn't an easy life. She was instrumental in turning the court of Poitiers, then frequented by the most famous troubadours of the time, into a centre of poetry and a model of courtly life and manners. 1199 (4th September) Joan, daughter of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, died. The exact date of her birth is unknown, but she was raised in one of Europe's most cultured courts and given an excellent education. Read more. Revolt and Imprisonment. She was abducted. Eleanor was born in 1122 CE to William X, Duke of Aquitaine (l. 1099-1137 CE) and Aenor de Chatellerault (l. 1103-1130 CE). By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Eleanor of Aquitaine, also called Eleanor of Guyenne, French Éléonore or Aliénor, d’Aquitaine or de Guyenne, (born c. 1122—died April 1, 1204, Fontevrault, Anjou, France), queen consort of both Louis VII of France (1137–52) and Henry II of England (1152–1204) and mother of Richard I (the Lionheart) and John of England. According to John of Salisbury , Raoul "was always dominated by lust" and decided to divorce his wife, who was the sister of Count Theobald of Champagne . Eleanor’s conduct during this expedition, especially at the court of her uncle Raymond of Poitiers at Antioch, aroused Louis’s jealousy and marked the beginning of their estrangement. Eleanor inherited land in France at the age of 15. Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the most influential people of the medieval period, and one the most famous women in the history of Europe. She was the great patron of the two dominant poetic movements of the time: the courtly love tradition, conveyed in the romantic songs of the troubadours, and the historical matière de Bretagne, or “legends of Brittany,” which originated in Celtic traditions and in the Historia regum Britanniae, written by the chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth sometime between 1135 and 1138. Most learned people would agree she was no faint-hearted lady and had a strong instinct for survival. In 1173, three sons of King … The importance of her gesture was to muster support among the barons and lords who owed her, but not Louis of France, homage. With her father’s death in 1137, Eleanor instantly entered the bewildering life of a … Eleanor had only two daughters by Louis VII, but to her new husband she bore five sons and three daughters. Eleanor (Aliénor) was born around 1124 in southwestern France to William X, Duke of Aquitaine, and Aénor, Viscountess of Châtellerault (Named for … She had difficult husbands, but compensated somewhat through a constant struggle for power. If her money didn’t hook a man, the fact she was hot enough to make even the devoutest of monks recant their vows would. Eleanor became the heiress presumptive of her father province at the very young … Eleanor was born in 1122. In 1173 Eleanor’s eldest surviving son, Henry, dissatisfied with his lack of power, plotted to overthrow his father. Finally, through Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life I was able to sate my eagerness to know what kind of life this woman, that was the Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right and Queen of both France and England, lived. Eleanor was queen consort to Louis VII (1137–52) of France and Henry II of England (1152–1204). 1122-1204) was queen of France from 1137 to 1152 and queen of England from 1154 to 1204. Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine is a lady much favoured by historians and is an iconic figure of the middle ages. Her name (Alienor) means “the other Aenor”, and she may be the first woman to carry this name and so the first “Eleanor”. That same year she married Louis, heir to Louis VI of France, who shortly afterwards became king as Louis VII. She died on 31 March 1204 and was buried in the abbey church at Fontevrault next to Henry II. Upon William’s death in 1137 she inherited the duchy of Aquitaine and in July 1137 married the heir to the French throne, who succeeded his father, Louis VI, the following month. Old Sarum, Wiltshire, where Eleanor was held captive in the 1170s. Eleanor of Aquitaine also upset Pope Innocent II when she and her husband supported her sixteen-year-old sister, Petronilla, when she embarked on an affair with Count Raoul of Vermandois. The couple had five sons and three daughters. William X, though lacking the poetic skills of his father, inherited his love for literature. Her father was William, 10th Duke of Aquitaine. The oldest of the couple’s three children, she had a younger sister, Petronilla, and a younger brother, William Aigret. Eleanor of Aquitaine After Henry's death in 1189, his eldest son, Richard I, ordered his mother's release. Eleanor of Aquitaine was born about 1122, the daughter and heiress of William X, duke of Aquitaine and count of Poitiers. She actively prepared for Richard’s coronation as king, was administrator of the realm during his Crusade to the Holy Land, and, after his capture by the duke of Austria on Richard’s return from the east, collected his ransom and went in person to escort him to England. She has been misjudged by many French historians who have noted only her youthful frivolity, ignoring the tenacity, political wisdom, and energy that characterized the years of her maturity. She later became an important patron of poets and writers. Eleanor was one of the most powerful women of the Middle Ages. Updates? Find out more about how the BBC is covering the. Eleanor of Aquitaine Becomes Queen of France . In 1199 Richard died without leaving an heir to the throne, and John was crowned king. Eleanor of Aquitaine (ca. At just 15-years-old, she had suddenly become the most eligible heiress in Europe. “She was beautiful and just, imposing and modest, humble and elegant”; and, as the nuns of Fontevrault wrote in their necrology, a queen “who surpassed almost all the queens of the world.”. Eleanor of Aquitaine was perhaps the most powerful woman in 12th-century Europe, extremely active in politics as wife and mother of various kings. Eleanor's role in English affairs now ceased, although she continued to be closely involved in those of Aquitaine, where she spent her final years. Eleanor of Aquitaine played a major role in the 12th century, an impressive achievement given that medieval women were considered nothing more than chattel. The death of Eleanor's only brother, and of her father in 1137, left her with a vast inheritance. In 1199, Richard died and was succeeded by Eleanor and Henry's youngest son, John. Eleanor of Aquitaine’s was hardly a rags-to-riches story. The revolt of her sons against her husband in 1173 put her cultural activities to a brutal end. Coronation of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile, manuscript illumination by an unknown artist, 15th century; in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. At that time, Aquitaine was a large and powerful part of what is now France. Queen to two powerful kings, she wielded power in her own right and had more than one son who became a famous king of England. The Crusade was a failure and relations between Eleanor and her husband, already poor, deteriorated even further. Henry's empire did not survive long and collapsed during the reign of his youngest son John, when Philip captured all of the Angevin possessions in France except Gascony. The Little Heiress. Yet she had such a command of England after Henry’s death that laws were made ‘by the order of Queen Eleanor, who at that time ruled England’. Her grandfather was the famous troubadour and warrior William IX (l. 1071-1127 CE) whose works influenced the development of later Provencal romantic poetry. Which king was married to Eleanor of Aquitaine? King William I the Lion of Scotland joined the rebel coalition and invaded the north of England. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. Later that year she … As she matured, she became known for her tenacity and political wisdom. Eleanor did so as the Duchess of Aquitaine and Countess of Poitou – not as Queen of France. On his deathbed, William commended Eleanor to the protection of his overlord, the king of France, who promptly married her off to his own son and heir. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. In 1190, she acted as regent in England when Richard went to join the Third Crusade. Beautiful, capricious, and adored by Louis, Eleanor exerted considerable influence over him, often goading him into undertaking perilous ventures. Coronation procession of Richard I in 1189. Omissions? In May 1152, Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry Fitz-Empress. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The sons were William, who died at the age of three; Henry; Richard, the Lionheart; Geoffrey, duke of Brittany; and John, surnamed Lackland until, having outlived all his brothers, he inherited, in 1199, the crown of England. 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