Henry II (1133-1189) and Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204)


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lexi4

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Eleanor of Aquitaine has always fascinated me. My interest in her developed after watching A Lion in Winter. I have read several book about her and discovered her to be an amazing woman. Her husband, Henry, was notorious for having affairs and it was rumored that Eleanor did as well.
Here are a few tidbits about her:

- She outlived all but two of her children and they were King John of England and Queen Eleanor of Castile.

- She had eight children with Henry: William (died young), Henry, Matilda,Richard, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joanna, and John.

-She had a younger sister, Petronella, with whom she was close.

- After Eleanor of Aquitaine discovered the love affair of her husband, Henry II, with Rosamund and went to France to confront her former husband, King Louis, her husband Henry II intercepted her plan, made her prisoner, and sent her to England to be kept at Winchester. She remained prisoner until Henry II died and then Richard gave her her freedom. He then made her Regent of England while went on crusade. She was Regent from 1189 until 1199.

- She was queen to two kings
 
Oh Lex! I have "Elanor of Aquitane and the 4 (I think it is!) Kings" and I have started it and started it and haven't finished!!
I think The Lion in Winter is incredibly fun! Loved it!
Didn't she have lots of daughters with King Louis and this is why he divorced her?
 
Oh, no I think SHE wanted to divorce him. I think I read that Loius actually liked her. I think they said that they are too closely related (not really close, but any proven relation was enough to annull in those days) and giving them only daughters was god's way of showing them. Louis was really religious.
 
I think that is correct. And then she got with Henry and had a mess of sons. That woman was amazing.
 
She's one of my favorite Queens as well. :flowers: A woman with a very strong personnality, in times where women were not really considered...

She had two daughters, Marie and Alix, with her first husband, King Louis VII of France.

There are many reasons behind their separation : Eleanor's supposed infidelity during the Second Crusade, many arguments between her and Louis (she apparently even said of him "Louis is more a monk than a King":rolleyes:)
She married Henry only six weeks after the marriage's annulation!
 
Wasn't Henry younger than her? Or am I thinking Tudor instead of Plantangent?
 
Henry was 10/12 years younger than Eleanor. (But you're also right, Henry VIII Tudor was six years younger than first wife Katherine of Aragon...)
 
She's one of my favorite Queens as well. :flowers: A woman with a very strong personnality, in times where women were not really considered...

She had two daughters, Marie and Alix, with her first husband, King Louis VII of France.

There are many reasons behind their separation : Eleanor's supposed infidelity during the Second Crusade, many arguments between her and Louis (she apparently even said of him "Louis is more a monk than a King":rolleyes:)
She married Henry only six weeks after the marriage's annulation!

Agreed. The woman had spunk! And how many can say the "ruled" over two kingdoms. She even got one of her sons to lead a war against her husband! Now that took some guts.
 
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I totally agree that Eleanor of Aquitaine was a very amazing and fascinating woman!
 
Eleanor Of Aquitaine,queen of Henry II
 

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She was a fascinating, vibrant, spitfire of a Lady - ie, a Queen.
Ive read and heard some really great things about her life and her character - very strong for a woman in the Middle Ages.

And I have to agree with Russophile - 'A Lion in Winter' is a great movie. Katherine Hepburn is the only person who could ever be Eleanor!
 
She was a fascinating, vibrant, spitfire of a Lady - ie, a Queen.
Ive read and heard some really great things about her life and her character - very strong for a woman in the Middle Ages.

And I have to agree with Russophile - 'A Lion in Winter' is a great movie. Katherine Hepburn is the only person who could ever be Eleanor!

Eleanor was also a very beautiful woman.
He father made sure she was well educated for a woman in the Middle Ages.
I only know of two books written about her in recent years. :)
 
Eleanor was also a very beatiful woman.
He father made sure she was well educated for a woman in the Middle Ages.
I only know of two books written about her in recent years. :)
Isnt one of them on the Book of the mOnth club, if so, I've got it! :D
 
I love her story. She took no BS from anyone.
 
And I bet she was prudent enough to take the things she had to take and couldn't do anything about in good grace.

After her battle for power with her sons over the King's throne. Eleanor of Aquitaine was imprision for many years by her husband the King. I think she must have been a very healthy indivudal because she lived through the imprisionment and her own husband's death. Her son let her go from prision.

I think one of the books I read was written by Alison Wier.:)
 
There are a few good books on Eleanor, i have read the books by Desmond Seward and Douglas Boyd. And i am currently reading the one by Marion Meade. There are also books written by Amy Kelly, D.D.R Owen and Alison Weir.
 
Hi,

Amazingly, she ensured her linage would continue in France, even after her divorce, by arranging the marriage of her granddaughter, Bianca of Castile, to her former husband's grandson, Louis VIII.
At the age of 80, she crossed the Pyranees and fetched Bianca herself and escorted her to Paris.
Bianca is known to history now as Blanche, mother of Louis IX or Saint Louis of France...

Larry
 
I think she is fascinating because she was the richest woman of her time, and ruled over a principality larger than the lands of the King of France. She was Duchess of Aquitaine and Gascony and was overlord over much of southern and central France, all the way down to the Pyrenees.

She was married to the Dauphin Louis, who was to inherit the title of King of France, at that time a pretty empty honour since the King of Frane was the weakest of all French princes, ruling over a tiny principality stretching from Paris to Orleans and the surroundings, and bullied by his much more powerful subjects (Aquitaine, Blois, Champagne, Brittany, Anjou, Normandy).

During her marriage, she had an affair with Geoffrey "Plantagenet", Count of Anjou and Maine, who was married to the insufferable Empress Matilda. For those of you who don't know, her future husband Henry was the eldest of Geoffrey and Matilda's three sons:whistling:

Her marriage to Henry was a big scandal and huge risk at the time - not only because it happened so soon after the end of her first marriage, but because of her prior affair with his father and the secrecy of it, neither of them requested the King of France's permission which was necessary since he was their overlord.

If I'm not mistaken, there had previously been negotiations for a betrothal and future marriage between Henry and one of her daughters, but it had not been permitted because of the fact that they were related in the forbidden degrees (at the time, the Roman Catholic church did not allow marriages up to the fourth degree). Her marriage to Louis was also annulled on the premise that they were related in the forbidden degrees. So she had alot of cheek to marry Henry, and also she majorly paid Louis back for years of unhappy marriage by marrying his most powerful vassal and chief enemy.

And to show how they really did like to keep things in the family, just before her marriage to Henry, when she was riding south for the marriage, one of his brothers (can't remember which one) apparently tried to ambush her, desiring to abduct and rape/marry her, which was something that every heiress ran the risk of back in those days. My memory is shady, but I think that Theobald, Count of Champagne, who later married one of her daughters, also tried to abduct and marry her.

To add insult to injury, she got pregnant soon after her marriage and gave Henry a whole bunch of sons :D Having only given Louis two daughters in many years of marriage (which was terrible, since he had married her to get his hands on her huge inheritance ,but with no sons, her inheritance would pass to her daughters and thus outside of the French royal house).

Her eldest son, Henry, had a special distinction for being the only British royal heir to be crowned King during his father's lifetime, to ensure succession, etc. It was a French custom and I believe she was the one responsible for introducing it to England. Unfortunately Henry "the Young King" was a complete pain in the ass; he married Louis' daughter (by another wife) and generally annoyed both of his parents until he died.

Two of her other sons, Richard and John, became Kings of England. Another son, Geoffrey, ruled the semi-independent principality of Brittany in France. Her daughter Eleonor became Queen of Castille and was meant to become Duchess of Gascony in her own right (yes, all of Gascony was promised as her dowry but it was never paid).

I only wish that John had married Alice de Maurienne, the heiress of Savoy and Piemont. Her father, Count Humbert, had no sons, only daughters; Alice was sent to King Henry's court to be raised and in time marry John "Lackland" (who had no inheritance), with the intention that John should eventually inheriy Savoy and Piemonte and thus extend the Angevin Empire across the Alps. Unfortunately, she died before the marriage could take place; if I'm not mistaken there were rumours that his father had taken her as a mistress also.

Imagine that...if John had gone off to rule Savoy and Piemonte, then King Richard would either have had to make his bastard son, Philip of Cognac, his heir, or recognise his nephew, Arthur, Duke of Brittany, as the heir to the throne. A dynasty called Cognac would have been interesting. But my real desire would be for an even greater Angevin empire than the historical one, encompassing all of England, parts of Ireland, Normandy, Anjou-Maine, Brittany, Aquitaine and Gascony. Without a doubt the feisty and ambitious young Arthur would have made one hell of a King, crushed the French and established the Angevin dynasty (and thus, England) as the leading power in western Europe during the Middle Ages, especially with his uncle ruling rather sizeable lands of Savoy and Piemonte, poised perfectly to make a two-pronged attack into the French royal demesne. And also controlling important passage from Italy and central/eastern Europe into south France (the Angevin Empire).

*sighs*
 
During her marriage, she had an affair with Geoffrey "Plantagenet", Count of Anjou and Maine, who was married to the insufferable Empress Matilda. For those of you who don't know, her future husband Henry was the eldest of Geoffrey and Matilda's three sons:whistling:

If I'm not mistaken, there had previously been negotiations for a betrothal and future marriage between Henry and one of her daughters

There is no evidence to suggest that an affair actually took place, other rumours like this seem to be the medieval version of tabloid gossip stirred up by the people who were none too fond of Eleanor.

The marriage was proposed by Geoffrey between Henry and Marie, in the hope that all or part of Aquitaine would be provided as Marie's dowry.
 
Hmm....I will try and look up, I have a bio on her but its been a while since I read it.
Will post interesting excerpts when I have the time :D

One thing that is definitely fact, and not rumour, is that Eleanor's son Richard and Louis' son Philip Augustus were very good friends for a while, so much so, that they shared a bed.
Considering their parents were all cousins and their mother and father had once been married, and they had two half-sisters in common...
And to add to that, Philip Augustus' sister was betrothed (ie, promised to marry in future) to Richard, so they were also brothers-in-law-to-be, but the poor princess was kept from Richard by his father King Henry II, who made her his mistress (to widespsread shock and the dismay of his wife, Eleanor) and had at least one child by her.

Worse than the Habsburgs, these lot!
 
she got richard as a baby and in british history got richard as a king of england that was henry his father .
 
Shakhim, I don't quite understand your post...what do you mean?
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From "Eleanor of Aquitaine, By the Wrath of God, Queen of England" by Alison Weir; from the end of page 53 to the start of page 55.

Suger was still concerned about the risk of Louis leaving his kingdom without a male heir, and both he and the King were perturbed by the ambition of Count Geoffrey of Anjou. In 1144, after a three-year campaign, Geoffrey had conquered Normandy, and Louis, as its overlord, had confirmed him as its duke. Geoffrey was politically astute. Five years earlier, his wife Matilda had unsuccessfully prosecuted her claim to the English throne, which had been usurped by her cousin, Stephen of Blois. Geoffrey had not embroiled himself in that war, since his ambitions were focused on the continent, and he now sought to extend his influence to France itself; he had been appointed seneschal of Poitou by Louis. He therefore proposed to the King that his son Henry, then aged thirteen, marry Louis' infant daughter Marie. The Salic Law prevented Marie's accession, but it is possible that Geoffrey felt himself powerful enough to circumvent th the event of the King dying whilst on crusade. Although Henry of Anjou was undoubtedly a suitable match for his daughter, Louis prevaricated. Then Geoffrey began to put pressure on him.

While Louis was considering the proposal, Bernard of Clairvaux got to hear of it, and wrote at once to the King to express his disapproval:

I have heard that the Count of Anjou is pressing to bind you under oath respecting the proposed marriage between his son and your daughter. This is something not merely inadvisable but also unlawful, because apart from other reasons, it is barred by the impediment of consanguinity. I have learned on trustworthy evidence that the mothers of the Queen and this boy are related in the third degree. Have nothing whatsoever to do with the matter.
Armed with Bernard's letter, Louis turned down Geoffrey's proposal, and the matter was dropped.

It was lated asserted by Giraldus Cambrensis, in his De Principis Instructione, that 'Count Geoffrey of Anjou, when he was Seneschal of France [sic], had carnally known Queen Eleanor' and that the Count later confesses this to his son. It is not known exactly when Geoffrey was seneschal of Poitou (not of France, as Giraldus asserts), but it was probably during the years before the crusade; his tenure of the office appears to have ceased some time before 1151. He was an extremely handsome man trapped in a tempestous marriage, and several bastards testified to his extra-marital affairs.

After Louis confirmed him as Duke of Normandy, Geoffrey was on friendly terms with the King, but their relations may have cooled when Geoffrey declined to accompany the crusade in order to protect his own interests in Normandy. As Geoffrey's half-brother Baldwin as King of Jerusalem, Louis may have felt that the Count was ducking both his spiritual and familial obligations.

Giraldus claimed that he had heard about Eleanor's adultery with Geoffrey from the saintly Bishop Hugh of Lincoln, who had learned of it from Henry II of England, Geoffrey's son and Eleanor's second husband. Eleanor was estranged from Henry at the time Giraldus was writing, and the King was trying to secure an anullment of their marriage from the Pope. It would have been to his advantage to decalre her an adulterous wife who had had carnal relations with his father, for that in itself would have rendered their marriage incestous and would have provided prima-facie grounds for its dissolution. Indeed, the grounds on which Henry sought an anullment were shrouded in secrecy, which may in itself have been significant. It seems likely that he alleged consanguinity, which could have embraced either his genetic affinity with Eleanor or her possible affair with his father. The incestous nature of such a connection would alone have ensured confidentiality.

It is unlikely that Henry would have lied about the affair to the respected Bishop Hugh, who would surely have protested at being named as the source for such a calumny if it were untrue.

It has beeen stated, with some truth, that at the time he was writing, Giraldus was antagonistic towards Henry II for blocking his election to the See of St David's; his text is hostile and sometimes scathing. Even so, it is hardly likely that he would have written something so prejudicial to the King's honour and the legitimacy of his heirs without reliable evidence. It is true that Giraldus did not like or approve of Eleanor, but it is also fair to say that he must have had some grounds for his disapproval, very probably Eleanor's own conduct.

On balance, therefore, it seems likely that she did indeed have an affair with Count Geoffrey, whcih they managed to keep secret from Louis and the rest of the world. It probably happened on impulse and was of brief duration, and it may have flourished during one of the Queen's visits to Poitou, possibly the one she made in the autumn of 1146. By then, it is likely that she may have been having doubts about the validity of her marriage.

After Giraldus wrote his account, discretion appears to have been maintained. Walter Map, a trusted royal secretary, justice and confidant, would say only the Queen ' was secretly reputed to have shared the couch of Louis with Geoffrey'. It was for this reason that Map and others believed the offspring of Henry and Eleanor were 'tainted at the source'. How, Giraldus asked, could happy issue stem from such a union?"
 
Consider that Eleanor lived to her eighties and continued to travel great distances. What a fascinating woman! She went on a crusade, disposed of one husband after producing two daughters, married another much younger man, produced several sons and daughters, and then outlived all but two of her children. She was Queen of both France and England and perhaps the single greatest landholder in her own right at that time.

Eleanor overcame great obstacles, including imprisonment by her husband, to see her beloved son Richard take the throne, then she ruled in his stead while he was off on a crusade. What has always amazed me is, despite her prominence in both France and England and her longevity, why are there only two representations of her? A tapestry and her tomb effigy are all that serve to show how Eleanor might have appeared.
 
What has always amazed me is, despite her prominence in both France and England and her longevity, why are there only two representations of her? A tapestry and her tomb effigy are all that serve to show how Eleanor might have appeared.
Possibly because she WAS a woman. And a very capable one as well. Probably freaked the crap outta the men folks so they thought it better to let sleeping dogs lie and not give women folk any radical ideas. . . .:D
 
You may be right. Several years ago I visited the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago when it put on an exhibit dedicated to Cleopatra. One section was devoted to how the world perceived her, from her contemporaries down through the ages to Hollywood's treatment on screen and television. One opinion which sticks with me was the view by several historians that she was demonized and vilified by Rome in order to justify their conquest of Egypt as well as to denigrate her merely because she was a woman.
 
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Indeed! She was fluent in what? 7 languages? Held her country together, worshipped with them and gave them pagentry, not unlike Eleanor. And they villify them. Shame, really.
 
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Re: Cleopatra being demonised by later historians:
As was Hatshepshut - no images of her though she was one of Egypt's most remarkable rulers.

"Giraldus claimed that he had heard about Eleanor's adultery with Geoffrey from the saintly Bishop Hugh of Lincoln, who had learned of it from Henry II of England, Geoffrey's son and Eleanor's second husband. Eleanor was estranged from Henry at the time Giraldus was writing, and the King was trying to secure an anullment of their marriage from the Pope. It would have been to his advantage to decalre her an adulterous wife who had had carnal relations with his father, for that in itself would have rendered their marriage incestous and would have provided prima-facie grounds for its dissolution. Indeed, the grounds on which Henry sought an anullment were shrouded in secrecy, which may in itself have been significant. It seems likely that he alleged consanguinity, which could have embraced either his genetic affinity with Eleanor or her possible affair with his father. The incestous nature of such a connection would alone have ensured confidentiality."


I think that alone lends some sort of suspicion to Giraldus' comments - there was something to gain from the accusation being uttered. Had there have been some truth in the matter, I think Henry would seriously have reconsidered his marriage to Eleanor from the beginning. And consanguinity is such a feeble "out" - the laws of consanguinity were ignored when convenient and adopted when prudent.
 
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