Eleanor, Duchess Of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine ( or ; ; , or ; – 1 April 1204) was Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As the reigning duchess of Aquitaine, she ruled jointly with her husbands and two of her sons, the English kings Richard I and John. As the heiress of the House of Poitiers, which controlled much of southwestern France, she was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages.

The eldest child of William X, Duke of Aquitaine, and Aénor de Châtellerault, Eleanor became duchess upon her father's death in 1137. Later that year, she married Louis, son of King Louis VI of France. Shortly afterwards, Eleanor's father-in-law died and her husband became king, making her queen consort. Louis VII and Eleanor had two daughters, Marie and Alix. During the Second Crusade, Eleanor accompanied Louis to the Holy Land. Pope Eugene III rejected an initial request in 1149 for an annulment of the marriage on grounds of consanguinity. In 1152, after fifteen years of marriage, Eleanor had not borne a male heir, and the annulment was granted. Their daughters were declared legitimate, custody was awarded to Louis, and Eleanor's lands were restored to her.

In the same year, Eleanor married Henry, Duke of Normandy. In 1154, following the death of King Stephen of England, Henry and Eleanor became king and queen of England. The couple had five sons and three daughters, but eventually became estranged. Henry imprisoned Eleanor for supporting the 1173 revolt against him by their sons Young Henry, Richard and Geoffrey. She was not released until 1189, when Henry II died and Richard I ascended the throne. As queen dowager, Eleanor acted as regent during Richard's long absences from England and France. On Richard's death in 1199, she successfully campaigned for his younger brother John to succeed him. After continuing turmoil between the French and English kings and the successive loss of the lands she and Henry II had once ruled over, she died in 1204 and was buried in Fontevraud Abbey in France.

Sources

There is a scarcity of primary sources on Eleanor's life. There are no contemporary biographies, and modern biographies are largely drawn from annals and chronicles, generally written by clerics associated with the royal courts. There are very few surviving records from Aquitaine and she is barely mentioned in records of the French court, and appears to have been actively erased from memory. Consequently, accounts of Eleanor appear largely as a peripheral figure in chronicles of the men around her. Important secular sources from England and Wales include Roger of Howden, Walter Map, Ralph de Diceto, Gerald of Wales and Ralph Niger. While some were relatively neutral, the writings of Map and Gerald were largely satirical polemics, while Niger's criticisms are mainly directed at Eleanor's second husband, Henry II of England, rather than Eleanor herself. Among the chroniclers are also clerical sources, including Gervase of Canterbury, Ralph of Coggeshall, Richard of Devizes, William of Newburgh and Ranulf Higden. The latter were mainly influenced by their revulsion at the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170. Although Richard of Devizes admired Eleanor's perseverance in supporting her son Richard, all of them expressed negative views about women in power and hinted at some darker attributes that eventually led to a "Black Legend" that became associated with her. Twentieth-century writers such as Amy Kelly and Marion Meade would create an opposite myth that pervaded many subsequent accounts, of a feminist heroine, referred to as the "Golden Myth", while in the French literature, similar treatment is seen in the work of Régine Pernoud. More recent scholarship has sought to correct both of these characterisations.

In the absence of reliable contemporary accounts, legend and speculation have frequently been resorted to; "rarely in the course of historical endeavor has so much been written, over so many centuries, about one woman of whom we know so little".

Childhood and adolescence (1124–1137)

Family origins and education

Eleanor was descended on her father's side from a long line of Dukes of Aquitaine, dating back to the 10th century, who in turn succeeded the Carolingian monarchs of the Kingdom of Aquitaine. Twelfth-century Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful vassal states within France at that time. The French kings ruled over a relatively small area around the ÃŽle-de-France to the north-west, and the rulers of the surrounding duchies (''s'') and counties (''s'') gave only nominal allegiance to the French crown.

While little is known of Eleanor's early life or education, many biographers have speculated from what is known of aristocratic households of the era. Her year of birth is not known precisely, and the first mention of her occurs in July 1129. Tradition places her birth on one of her parents' visit to Bordeaux, likely at her father's nearby castle at Belin. Other authors suggest Poitiers, Ombrière Palace, Bordeaux, or Nieul-sur-l'Autise. While the date of her birth was once given as 1122 or 1124, the latter is now generally accepted. A late 13th-century genealogy of her family listing her as 13 years old at her father's death in the spring of 1137 provides the best evidence that Eleanor was born in 1124. However, some chronicles mention a fidelity oath of lords of Aquitaine on the occasion of Eleanor's fourteenth birthday in 1136. Her parents are unlikely to have married before 1121. Her age at her death is thus stated as 80 or 82.
Eleanor was the oldest of three children born to William X, Duke of Aquitaine, and Aenor de Châtellerault. Her father was the son of Duke William IX of Aquitaine and Countess Philippa of Toulouse. Her mother was the daughter of Aimery I, Viscount of Châtellerault, and Dangereuse de l'Isle Bouchard. Dangereuse was also William IX's longtime mistress, and she and William IX then arranged for their respective children to be married to each other. Eleanor had two siblings, Aélith and Aigret.

Eleanor was named for her mother Aenor and baptised as ''Aliénor'' from the Latin ''alia Ænor'', which means ''the other Aenor''. It became ''Eléanor'' in the ''langues d'oïl'' of northern France and ''Eleanor'' in English, but the exact spelling was never fixed in her lifetime.

Little, if anything, is known of Eleanor's education. Eleanor's mother died in 1130, when she was only six, and her younger brother also died in that year. The only contemporary record of her education comes from Bertran de Born, the troubadour, who states that she read the poetry of her native tongue.

Although the language of Bordeaux and Poitiers was Poitevin, a northern French ('' langue d'oïl'') dialect, Eleanor was soon exposed to Occitan (''langue d'oc''), the southern dialect and language of the poets and courtiers at the ducal court. With the death of her brother, Eleanor became the heir presumptive to her father's domains.

Inheritance (1137)

In 1137, Duke William X left Poitiers for Bordeaux and took his daughters with him. Upon reaching Bordeaux, he left them at l'Ombrière Castle in the charge of Geoffroi du Louroux, archbishop of Bordeaux, a loyal vassal. William then set out for the Shrine of Saint James of Compostela in the company of other pilgrims. However, he died on Good Friday of that year (9April).

Eleanor, aged 13, then became the duchess of Aquitaine, and thus one of the richest and most eligible heiresses in Europe. Since kidnapping an heiress was seen as a viable option for obtaining a title and lands, when William X knew that he was dying, he placed Eleanor in the care of Louis VI of France as her guardian. William requested that the King take care of both the lands and the duchess, and find her a suitable husband. However, until a husband was found, the King had the legal right to Eleanor's lands. William also insisted to his companions that his death be kept a secret until Louis was informed; the men were to journey from Saint James of Compostela across the Pyrenees as quickly as possible to notify the archbishop, then to make all speed to Paris to inform the King.

The French king, who was in poor health, recognised an opportunity to realise a long-standing ambition to enlarge his dominions by the acquisition of Aquitaine. His eldest surviving son, Louis, had originally been destined for monastic life, but had become the heir apparent when the King's eldest son, Philip, died after being thrown from his horse in 1131. Louis VI realised the dangers of not swiftly settling the succession of the Aquitainian duchy, while a marriage between his son and Eleanor would add the considerable resources of Aquitaine to the Capetian holdings. Thus, he spent little time in dispatching the young Louis, accompanied by a large retinue, some 500 knights, along with Abbot Suger, Geoffrey II, Bishop of Chartres, Theobald II of Champagne and Raoul I of Vermandois to Bordeaux to secure the marriage.

Queen of France (1137–1152)

Marriage

Relatively little is known from the time that Eleanor was Queen of France. On 25 July 1137, Eleanor and Louis were married in the Cathedral of Saint-André in Bordeaux by the Archbishop of Bordeaux. Immediately after the wedding, the couple were enthroned as duke and duchess of Aquitaine. It was agreed that the duchy would remain independent of France until Eleanor's oldest son became both king of France and duke of Aquitaine. As a wedding present she gave Louis a rock crystal vase.

From Bordeaux, the couple proceeded to Poitiers, arriving on 1 August, where after a week of festivities they were invested as count and countess of Poitou on 8 August. Louis's tenure as count of Poitou and duke of Aquitaine and Gascony lasted only a few days. On their way to Paris, a messenger arrived with the news that Louis VI had died on 1 August and therefore they were now king and queen of France. Louis had already been crowned in the Capetian fashion in 1131 and on Christmas Day 1137, Eleanor was crowned queen at Bourges.

Eleanor was not popular with some members of the court, including Abbot Suger and Louis's mother Adelaide of Maurienne, who left the court shortly thereafter and remarried. Some courtiers made unfavourable reference to memories of Constance of Arles, third wife of Robert II of France and ancestor of both Louis and Eleanor. Constance had had a reputation for being indiscreet in both dress and language. Eleanor's conduct was repeatedly criticised by church elders, particularly Bernard of Clairvaux and Suger, as indecorous. Modifications were made to the austere Cité Palace in Paris for Eleanor's sake and she was joined by her sister Aélith, who became known there as Petronilla.

Claiming Toulouse (1141)

Eleanor was descended from the counts of Toulouse through her grandmother, Philippa, Countess of Toulouse. Philippa was the sole child of William IV of Toulouse, but following her father's death in 1093, Philippa's uncle Raymond IV () asserted a right to the title. Philippa then persuaded her husband, William IX of Aquitaine, to enforce her right, a struggle that lasted nearly 30 years, finally ending in 1123 with Raymond IV's son, Alfonso Jordan (). During this time, control of Toulouse continually changed hands between William IX and Raymond IV's children. Philippa's claim was passed on to Eleanor's father then to Eleanor herself. Louis attempted to enforce her claim by marching on Toulouse, arriving at the walls on 21 June 1141. Although he laid siege to the city, he was unable to subjugate it and withdrew, after accepting the homage of Count Alfonso. Despite this setback, Eleanor continued to press her claims, with further expeditions in 1159 and throughout her life.

Conflict with the church

Louis soon came into conflict with the church and Pope Innocent II (1130–1143). In 1140 he intervened in the election to the see of Poitiers on finding that a new bishop, Grimoald, had been elected and consecrated without his consent. This was despite the fact that his father had granted the ecclesiastical province of Bordeaux the right to do so and that he himself had approved this. Louis then attempted to prohibit Grimoald from entering the city, thus drawing both Innocent II and Bernard of Clairvaux into the dispute. Innocent issued an order to overrule the royal edict but Grimoald died, ending the dispute. The ecclesiastical authorities were aware of the unsuccessful attempt of both Eleanor's father and grandfather to interfere in church matters. However, the Poitiers affair was soon followed by other attempts by Louis to exert his authority.

The most consequential of these occurred when the Archbishopric of Bourges became vacant in 1141. Louis put forward as a candidate his chancellor, Cadurc, while vetoing the one suitable candidate, Pierre de la Chatre, a monk who was promptly elected by the canons of Bourges and consecrated by Pope Innocent in Rome. Louis bolted the gates of Bourges against the new archbishop on his return. The Pope, recalling similar attempts by Eleanor's father to exile supporters of Innocent from Poitou and replace them with priests loyal to himself, may have blamed Eleanor for this, but stated that Louis was only "a foolish schoolboy" and should be taught not to meddle in such matters. Outraged, Louis swore upon relics that so long as he lived Pierre should never enter Bourges. An interdict was thereupon imposed upon the royal household and lands, and Theobald II of Champagne granted Pierre refuge, further annoying the King.

Louis had been in a situation of increasing conflict with Theobald II, and the Bourges affair, together with a crisis in Theobald's family, brought this to a head. In 1125 Theobald's sister Eleanor had married Raoul I of Vermandois, but Raoul had been forming a liaison with Petronilla, the Queen's sister. Raoul eventually deserted his wife, seeking an annulment of their marriage on grounds of consanguinity, to which Louis acquiesced, finding three bishops who agreed that the marriage was invalid and then in 1142 officiated at the wedding of Petronilla and Raoul. Both Theobald, who had taken his sister under protection, and Bernard of Clairvaux protested to Pope Innocent, who convened a council, voided both Raoul's annulment from Eleanor of Champagne and his marriage to Petronilla, excommunicated one bishop and suspended the other two. Furthermore, Raoul was ordered to return to his first wife. Upon his refusal, he and Petronilla were excommunicated and their lands placed under interdiction.

Eleanor's assumed role in these affairs led to the first appearance of the Black legend that would be associated with her for centuries. Women, even queens, were not expected to concern themselves with such matters, and that therefore she might represent darker powers. Rumours began to associate her with mythical figures such as Melusine. Things took a more salacious turn when it was suggested she was having an affair with Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou.

Louis rejected the papal legate's decision and ordered an invasion of Champagne, in a war that would last two years (1142–44) and ended with the occupation of Champagne by the royal army. For a year the royal army laid waste to the Champagne countryside, but since Theobald showed no signs of backing down, Louis took personal charge of the assault in 1143, which focused on the siege of the town of Vitry. More than a thousand people sought refuge in the cathedral, which caught fire, burning alive everyone inside. Horrified at the carnage, Louis returned to Paris, seeking to make peace with Theobald. In return, and with Innocent's support, he demanded Raoul renounce Petronilla and the interdiction on Raoul and Petronilla was duly lifted, while Louis ordered a retreat. When Raoul refused the King's demands, the royal forces once more invaded Champagne.

Public opinion was turning against the war and in particular Bernard of Clairvaux was very critical, while Suger advised settling the issues. Innocent II died in September 1143 and was succeeded by Celestine II (1143–1144), who lifted the interdiction in an offer of conciliation, at Bernard's suggestion and Louis became more open to negotiation. It was about this time that questions of consanguinity were first raised about Louis and Eleanor's marriage, since he had opposed a number of other marriages on these grounds, including that of Raoul of Vermandois and Eleanor of Champagne. Consequently, a number of negotiations took place over the winter of 1143–1144. Finally, Suger hosted a meeting at his newly built monastic church at Saint-Denis during a feast day on 22 April 1144, at which Bernard persuaded Eleanor that her efforts on behalf of her sister were hopeless, and peace was restored, although the couple continued to refuse to separate, and they remained excommunicated till 1148 when Raoul's first marriage was once again invalidated and his second marriage validated. Also the Saint-Denis agreement included Louis withdrawing his opposition to the archbishop of Bourges. The discussion between Eleanor and Bernard also included reference to her apparent infertility (she had had one miscarriage in 1138), and a suggestion that she might be rewarded for her concessions with a child. In April 1145, Eleanor gave birth to a daughter, Marie. On Sunday, 11 June 1144, the King and Queen attended the dedication of Saint-Denis, at which time Louis donated Eleanor's crystal vase.

Second Crusade (1145–1149)

Taking the Cross (1145–1147)

Louis remained obsessed over the massacre at Vitry and considered a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but events overtook this desire. The First Crusade (1096–1099) had succeeded in capturing the Holy Land from the Turks and establishing a system of four (largely Frankish) crusader states to administer the region, known as the Outremer. But this was threatened, when on 24 December 1144, Zengi and the Saracen Turks captured Edessa, capital of one of the crusader states, making the adjacent states of Antioch, Tripoli and Jerusalem vulnerable. Of these, Antioch was the most vulnerable, and of particular concern since the Prince of Antioch was Raymond of Poitiers, Eleanor's uncle. On 1 December Pope Eugene III issued a bull requesting that Louis and all faithful French Christians mount a crusade to rescue the remaining States. Louis and Eleanor were at Bourges when the message arrived, and Louis responded enthusiastically on Christmas Day that he would lead a crusade. Noting a lack of enthusiasm among the French nobility, Louis postponed further action till Easter 1146. Final planning took place at Saint-Denis over Easter that year, at which Pope Eugene attended. Louis delegated administration of his kingdom to Eugene, who appointed Abbot Suger and Raoul of Vermandois as co-regents.

Eleanor also formally took the cross during Bernard's sermon, which meant leaving her daughter behind. Eleanor recruited some women of the Aquitainian nobility for the campaign as well as some 300 other women who volunteered to help. It was not unusual for women to take part in crusades. From Louis's perspective, there were advantages in including her. As regent to an absent monarch, she could have created problems for Suger, Louis's choice as his administrator, and he needed the support of the Aquitainian nobility. Furthermore, the crusade was ostensibly to come to the aid of her uncle. The presence of women was not without its critics, particularly among clerics, though this may have been influenced by hindsight, given that William of Newburgh's account was written well after the actual crusade. Eleanor's taking the cross provided the next opportunity for her detractors to construct her legend, with claims that she and her ladies set off for the crusades as Amazonian warriors.

Road to Ephesus (1147)

On 11 June 25,000 to 50,000 crusaders and pilgrims gathered at Saint-Denis and began their march, first to Metz and then crossing the Rhine at Worms, and pressing on to Regensburg and the Danube river. There they were met by envoys from Byzantine Emperor Manuel Komnenos (), and followed the river via Klosterneuburg and through Hungary, reaching the Eastern Empire by mid-August and then, crossing the Danube, to Adrianople and finally Constantinople, five days later, on 4 October 1147.

In Constantinople, the French crusaders were obliged to await the arrival of those of their forces that were travelling by sea. While there they received the hospitality of the Emperor, Louis and Eleanor staying in the Philopation palace just outside the city walls. Meanwhile, the German crusaders had gone ahead and crossed the Bosphorus into Asia Minor. Once all their forces were gathered together, the French crossed into Asia on 15 October and proceeded south to their first stop at Nicaea. Continuing south down the Aegean coast, they discovered that the Germans had suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Turks, at the battle of Dorylaeum. The French, together with the remnants of the Germans continued south on the safer coastal route to Ephesus, via Pergamus and Smyrna, which they reached on 20 December. After camping at Ephesus, most of the Germans left for Constantinople.

Ephesus to Jerusalem (1148–1149)

In January 1148, Louis decided to travel inland towards Laodicea in Phrygia, to reach Antalya on the south coast and thus Antioch more quickly. They reached Laodicea on 6 January and then their route took them across the mountains. On the day of their crossing of Mount Cadmus, Louis took charge of the rear of the column, where the unarmed pilgrims and the baggage trains were, while the vanguard was commanded by the Aquitainian Geoffrey de Rancon and instructed to set camp on the plateau before the next pass. They reached the summit of Cadmus, one of the highest in their path, but Rancon, in concert with Louis's uncle Amadeus III of Savoy, chose to continue on through the pass to the next valley. Accordingly, when the main part of the column arrived, and approached the pass, separated from both the vanguard and rearguard, they were ambushed by the Turkish forces. In the ensuing Battle of Mount Cadmus, the Turks inflicted great losses on the French, while Louis barely escaped.

The chronicler William of Tyre, writing between 1170 and 1184 and thus perhaps too long after the event to be considered historically accurate, placed the blame for this disaster firmly on the amount of baggage being carried, much of it reputedly belonging to Eleanor and her ladies, and the presence of non-combatants. Louis was a weak and ineffectual military leader with no skill for maintaining troop discipline or morale, or of making informed and logical tactical decisions. Official blame for the disaster was placed on Geoffrey de Rancon, who had made the decision to continue. Since Geoffrey was Eleanor's vassal, many believed that it was she who had been ultimately responsible for the change in plan, and thus the massacre. This suspicion of responsibility did nothing for her popularity in Christendom. She was also blamed for the size of the baggage train and the fact that her Aquitanian soldiers had marched at the front and thus were not involved in the fight. The survivors reached Antalya on 20 January.

In Antalya, the crusaders found there was a limited number of ships available, and those that were required more money than they were willing to pay. Consequently, the royal party sailed from the port with a relatively small group of followers, arriving in Antioch on 19 March, well behind schedule. The remainder attempted to complete the journey with great hardship and much loss, only about half of them completing the journey.

While the crusaders were initially welcomed, tensions grew between them and Raymond. Raymond's agenda was to attack Aleppo and regain control of Edessa, and hence gain some security, while Louis was determined to press on to Jerusalem, despite the original papal decree being to recapture Edessa. Louis was not keen to fight in northern Syria, and his forces were badly depleted. Furthermore, he had a personal agenda to journey in pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Eleanor's loyalty to her uncle created conflict between her and Louis. Eventually the French, now only a tenth of their original strength, left Antioch abruptly on 28 March, despite Eleanor's protests and attempts to remain with Raymond. These conflicts once again led to the question of consanguinity being raised. According to John of Salisbury, it was Eleanor who prompted this. The crusaders reached Jerusalem in May, entering by the Jaffa Gate, where they were greeted by Queen Melisende and King Baldwin III. A conference was then held at Acre on 24 June, to discuss strategic plans. This resulted in the disastrous siege of Damascus on 24 July. The crusaders' forced withdrawal after only four days effectively ended the crusade and many of the survivors started making plans to return, but Louis vowed to celebrate Easter 1149 in the Holy Land, despite the pleas of Suger.

The sojourn in Antioch, the conflict between the rulers and the resulting rift between the royal couple led to chroniclers, such as John of Salisbury and William of Tyre, hinting at an adulterous and incestuous affair between Eleanor and Raymond. Such an affair would become an enduring part of her legend, which in some versions also depicted her as having an affair with a Saracen leader. Contemporary accounts suggest it was her attention to political affairs that was considered the greatest stain on her character.

Return to France (1149)

After celebrating Easter, Louis and Eleanor set sail from Acre for Italy in separate ships on 3 April but were delayed by both hostile naval forces off the Peloponnesus in May and storms which drove Eleanor's ship as far south as the Barbary Coast, and for a while their whereabouts were unknown. Louis arrived in Calabria on 29 July and eventually discovered Eleanor had reached Palermo, Sicily, where she was sheltered by agents of King Roger II at his palace. It took some time before Eleanor and Louis could be reunited.

At King Roger's court in Potenza, Eleanor had learned of the death of her uncle Raymond, who had been beheaded by Nureddin's Muslim forces at the Battle of Inab, on 29 June. Nureddin then overran most of Raymond's territories in Antioch, setting back the goals of the crusade even further. Instead of returning directly to France, Louis and Eleanor headed north towards Rome, stopping at the Abbey of Monte Cassino on 4 October after Eleanor fell ill. Pope Eugene invited them to stay at his palace at Tusculum, south of Rome, where they arrived on 9 October. Eugene had been informed by Suger of the couple's marital problems, and that they were no longer having sexual relations. The question of consanguinity and hence possible annulment was again raised, but was denied by Eugene, who declared the marriage legitimate by canon law and urged reconciliation. It is likely that Eleanor's second child was conceived at this time. From Tusculum, the couple travelled north through Italy, visiting Rome and then crossing the Alps to reach France and finally arriving in Paris around 11 November 1149, after an absence of two and a half years.

Annulment (1152)

In the summer of 1150, Eleanor gave birth to a second daughter, Alix. The lack of a male heir was unprecedented in the Capetian line, Eleanor was now twenty-six and had been married for thirteen years. Not only was the likelihood of a son being born to secure the succession seen as remote, but the lack of an heir was perceived as an omen. Suger had been a strong advocate for the political advantages of the marriage between Louis and Eleanor. When he died on 13 January 1151, the balance changed since Bernard of Clairvaux was a critic of the marriage's consanguinity. A number of nobles and courtiers also advised the King to dissolve the marriage. Later that year, Henry, Count of Anjou, appeared at the court in Paris to pay homage as the new Duke of Normandy to King Louis. Chroniclers such as Gerald of Wales, William of Newburgh and Walter Map later implied that something happened between Henry and Eleanor, eleven years his senior, that contributed to the dissolution of her marriage with Louis.

By this stage, her reputation badly damaged, Eleanor's influence at court was waning. Any such dissolution would require a complex political realignment, separating the Aquitanian and Capetian possessions and jurisdictions, and in the autumn of 1151 the couple made a tour of the duchy during which much of the French presence, such as garrisons, was replaced with Eleanor's people. On 11 March 1152, at the royal castle of Beaugency on the Loire, near Orléans

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