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

[Iluvbertie]

Re: Cleopatra being demonised by later historians:
As was Hatshepshut - no images of her though she was one of Egypt's most remarkable rulers.

With Hatshepshut of course a lot of the demonisation was started by her own son when he succeeded her.

 

[Melibea]

^^
She didn't have any sons, only daughters, it was a son of her husband

 

[Lumutqueen]

^^
She didn't have any sons, only daughters, it was a son of her husband

Are we talking about Cleopatra or Eleanor?
Cleopatra had a son named Ptolemy Caesar who was Caesar's son, and later twins with Mark Anthony, a boy and a girl.

And Eleanor of Aquitaine had 5 sons, all by Henry II.

or someone else perhaps?

 

[Dierna23]

They were talking about Hatshepsut I think. Hatshepsut had only one daughter, Neferure.

 

[Melibea]

^^
You're correct

 

[Iluvbertie]

^^
She didn't have any sons, only daughters, it was a son of her husband

I stand correct - it was of course her successor.

 

[EleanorOfAquitaine]

I totally agree that Eleanor of Aquitaine was a very amazing and fascinating woman!

I also agree. I really adore Eleanor.

Are there still any other Eleanor fans here?

I am new here, today i discovered this forum when i searched in the web about Eleanor.
It is very difficult, to find other Eleanor Fans in the world wide web, because she had no own forum.
So i hope to find here others who really like her.

But i dont like King Henry II becauce he cheated her with other womens, and then he prisoned her, because she fight for her sons.
And i dont understand, why Henry thread his wonderful woman so bad.
She must be very strong zu hold on 16 long years of prisoning.

 

[Russophile]

she was tough! That is for sure! I have the boring book by Amy what's-her-face and have not done justice to the Fair Eleanor however I admire the woman for her pluck! Don't think that Henry DIDN'T think Eleanor couldn't raise an army and kick his sorry arse off the throne. HA!

 

[Lumutqueen]

I just love her name to be honest.
She seems like a wonderful woman.

 

[EleanorOfAquitaine]

@Russophile @Lumutqueen

Oh great, i am not the only one here who admires Eleanor

I want to make a forum about her. Do you want to register when its ready?
I think a great tough woman like her must have an own forum.

My meaning is, that Henry had really feared her strenght, thats the reason why he prisoned her.

 

[Vasillisos Markos]

Henry isolated Eleanor because of her power and the loyalty she could raise on the continent, not to mention the support of her sons/

 

[EleanorOfAquitaine]

@Vasillisos

I think you are right with that...in the Aquitaine Eleanor had the power, because she was the dutchess..and the barons of Aquitaine had feel loyality for her not for Henry.
I think the biggest mistake Eleanor has made in her live was merrieng Henry.

 

[Russophile]

But who else could she have married to give her power like that? Although she DID have power on her own, of course.

 

[EleanorOfAquitaine]

@Russophile

I think, that sie has enough power to rule aquitaine without an husband.
But in the middle ages woman with so much estates like she had often went captured and forced to marry. Thats the reason, why she had to marry.

My meaning is, that henry had devious cheated her to bring her to the marriage.
Henrys younger brother had caputered her, and then Henry came to free her from his brother.
I think, that henry did planned this, that he had persuade his brother to capture Eleanor, so he could free her and marry her.

A big cheat, which was very unfair zu eleanor.

I think, that he didnt love her, because he had a lot of affaires, even in the first year of his marriage with her. I think that he had married her only because he needed her power and estates to can conquer the throne of england.

 

[PrincessKaimi]

I think she and Henry truly loved each other - or thought they were in love - when they married. I also think they were both incredibly headstrong people, both of them prone to having affairs (she had one with Henry while married to the King of France, just for starters - and going with the most conservative historical view of her).

By an affair, I mean a love affair (have no idea whether they waited until they were married, etc.)

I believe she was very miffed at Henry installing his mistress as his consort.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

I don't fault Henry for imprisoning Eleanor, what she did was treasonous. I like both Henry and Eleanor and I think their story is rather sad because it was doomed to turn cold because she was so much older. Men married to older women just tend to lose interest. Similarly to Katharine of Aragon, their younger husbands married them when they were still young and pretty; but as time goes on and with all those pregnancies their eyes start to wander. Thankfully unlike Katharine, Eleanor produced sons. She is very much a fascinating and awe inspiring woman; a Duchess in her own right, Queen of France, Queen of England, and mother of two kings.

 

[PrincessKaimi]

I've been married for 20 years to a younger man who just a few minutes ago said he certainly has not lost interest. I guess we'll keep waiting, but as I am in my 50's and he in his late 40's, it seems time may run out before we tire of each other. He also says that now that the children have flown the nest, I look about 20 years younger (that would be the extra sleep I get, I think).

As a descendant of Eleanor of Aquitane through my grandmother, my husband constantly reminds me that our line of women remains quite vibrant and lively until a very old age. My grandmother is 97. Her descent from the Plantagenets comes from both Col. James Taylor and Martha Thompson, as well as through the Thornton family (descended from Eleanor Plantagenet - the mother of Blanche who married Louis IX, through Blanche and the de Hollands/Greys). My mother, who is 72, still turns heads and has her suitors. My sister also married a younger man (and my mother did two, on her second marriage - an incredibly handsome guy although they were both too fiery and it didn't work out).

At any rate, I highly enjoy being married to a younger man (no one has ever dared tell us that we look different ages, btw - perhaps it's my Plantagenet temperament...) And, people who make blanket statements about age differences in marriage usually get told how we view things.

Henry was of course not prone to fidelity in the first place (although frankly, he didn't come close to his father's number of infidelities).

Katharine Hepburn (after whom we named our daughter, among other Katharines) was 61 (approximately) when she filmed Lion in Winter and I think she's too lovely for words and gives poor Alais/Jane Merrow a good deal of competition in terms of attractiveness. But then, character is part of beauty. At our house, we think the aged Queen Elizabeth II is quite an attractive lady, and the Queen Mother was cute and vivacious until 100. My husband says that Queen Elizabeth II's bearing and style have actually improved over the years and that she's more attractive than her daughter (so perhaps I should be worried that he'll run off with an older woman).

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Good for you Kami, but despite your personal experience; there are too many times in history where a man (usually one in power) who married an older woman over time grows tired of them. There are even men who have not married women older than them who end up leaving their wife for someone even younger.

 

[PrincessKaimi]

I don't think Eleanor's marriage to Henry was a mistake, at all. They were both powerful and difficult people, with far-reaching minds and very few other people who could have been their equals at the time. They concocted one of the first modern-like marriages and changed history.

People do have problems. Did he grow tired of her? I don't think so. I think Becket complicated his life to such a point that, after his mother died, he could not cope with people telling him what to do, at all (and that included the high-spirited and often-right Eleanor). Her royal confinement was unjust, but no more unjust than many modern divorces.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

I don't believe I ever said their marriage was a mistake. They loved each other for a time and she was the most powerful woman in Europe at the time in her own right. And though I like Eleanor, I have to disagree that her confinement was unjust; supporting and promoting rebellion amongst your sons against their father is a serious offense. If her husband had been Henry VIII and not Henry II, she would have lost her head.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Eleanor of Aquitaine died on April 1st,1204

 

[Pranter]

Those are so cool!

LaRae

 

[An Ard Ri]

The Face of Henry II

The Face of Henry II (Photoshop Reconstruction) - YouTube


The Face of Eleanor of Aquitaine

The Face of Eleanor of Aquitaine (Photoshop Reconstruction) - YouTube

 

[Baroness of Books]

I love Eleanor of Aquitaine for her indomitable spirit and her wilful independent nature and have read just about every biography written about her. I'm not surprised that there aren't too many representations of her left extant since she probably scared the bejesus out of her contemporaries and they didn't want to leave too many portraits or sculptures existing. She ruled her own territories from a young age, became Queen of France about 15 years old, went on Crusade and gave her husbands and the Church a run for their money by demanding dissolution of her first marriage. King Louis of France loved her but was too monklike to satisfy Eleanor physically and when Henry came along, she realized that she could obtain additional power through him as well as a satisfactory bedmate. She knew once her marriage to Louis ended, she would be prey to anyone who would kidnap her and acquire her territories through forced marriage, so marrying the heir to England and Normandy was a logical conclusion. She saw the continuation of her power through her children, namely Richard her favorite.

If any reports of Eleanor's beauty are true, the photoshop of her effigy certainly proves it. What a beautiful woman she would have been. Thank you, An Ard Ri, for posting those videos.

 

[BritishRoyalist]

I was just reading about her and I have to say one thing that amazes me is her Longevity! It was extremely rare at that time to live into your 80s. She even lived longer then Queen Alexandra (Well by a mere Two Years).

 

[An Ard Ri]

Interesting article on Eleanor of Aquitaine



Eleanor, Queen of France and England and Duchess of Aquitaine

 

[An Ard Ri]

18th of May 1152. The Wedding at Poitiers

Henry the Young King: 18 May 1152. The Wedding at Poitiers

 

[An Ard Ri]

Eleanor of Aquitaine & the Famous Sainte-Radegonde Wall Painting

the Fresco of Chinon ?

 

[An Ard Ri]

14 June 1170: Henry Crowned King at Westminster Abbey



Henry the Young King: 14 June 1170: Henry Crowned King at Westminster Abbey

 

[Baroness of Books]

And so began a deterioration in the relationship between Henry I and his son when the latter was crowned the Young King.