Eleanor Of Aquitaine – Mother Of King Richard The Lionheart And One Of Most Powerful Women Of Middle Ages

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - Eleanor of Aquitaine was not just an ordinary woman of 12^th century Europe. She was charismatic and well-educated. Her outstanding personality largely shaped European history for more than 300 years.

Eleanor Of Aquitaine (1122 -1204) by Frederick Sandys, 1858. Credit: Public Domain

She was Queen consort of France (1137-1152), England (1154-1189), and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right. She is remembered as the "mother of kings" and "queen of kings."

Eleanor was born around 1122 and died in 1204. Her grave is next to her son, King Richard the Lionheart, and husband, King of England, Henry II (Plantagenet), in the Fontevraud Abbey.

The Middle Ages was a time dominated by men, but Eleanor – with her outstanding and extraordinary achievements - was a remarkable exception to them. In reality, Eleanor's dominance range was much more extensive, covering almost all of Western Europe. She was respected and admired. For 82 years, this woman had a powerful influence on French and English politics.

Who Was Eleanor Of Aquitaine?

From the preserved official accounts, we learn that Eleanor of Aquitaine married two kings (France and England), and her two sons King Richard the Lionheart and John('John Lackland'), sat on the throne of England. She also initiated the dynasty that ruled England for over three centuries.

In an 1840 painting by Jean Baptiste Mauzaisse, young Louis VII, Eleanor’s first husband, takes the banner of St. Denis in 1147. The original hangs at Versailles. Eleanor is kneeling at the Prie Dieu. Image source.

But contemporary sources speak about specific 'facts' or 'rumors,' which are not particularly flattering or hostile. There were many rumors about Eleanor's morality; she was accused of an intimate relationship with her uncle, murder of her husband's mistress, and even suspected of using dark forces.

This woman lived a long time ago, and it is very difficult to reconstruct her real life but it is still possible to gather some real facts about her, not only gossip. Her family highly valued education, so Eleanor learned arithmetic, Latin, history, and constellations. She was also s skilled in household management, embroidery, sewing, spinning, and weaving. She also could sing, dance, play chess and the harp, and was very competent in riding, hawking, and hunting.

Eleanor of Aquitaine had two husbands in her life.

"I thought I married a king, not a monk," she said once about her first husband, Louis VII, King of the Franks.

The Crusader Queen Joined The Second Crusade That Ended In A Fiasco

When Eleanor was 19, she offered the Church the aid of her fighting vassals. The Church was pleased with her proposal until the Church's father learned she was accompanied by 300 of her ladies.

                                Accolade by Edmund Blair Leighton 1901, Credit: Public Domain

Women had nothing to do on a battlefield, but Eleanor declared she and her ladies would help tend the wounded. All the women wore armor and carried lances, but they did not participate in the fighting.  Eleanor appointed herself as the leader of her soldiers and departed with her husband.

The Crusader queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was so impressive that she was compared to the mythical queen of the Amazons.

Nevertheless, the Second Crusade ended in a fiasco. Not long after that, in 1152, the marriage between Louis VII, King of the Franks, and Eleanor of Aquitaine was officially annulled 1152 after no male heir was produced.

Eleanor Married King Of England Henry II Plantagenet

About six weeks after the divorce, there was a marriage with the count of Anjou, Henry - the later king of England, Henry II Plantagenet. This marriage was much more successful, and eight children (five sons and three daughters) came into the world. Two became future kings - Richard the Lionheart and John without Earth. However, there were also scandals because Henry II decided to associate with a beautiful woman, Rosamund Clifford.

Tomb effigies of Eleanor and Henry II at Fontevraud Abbey. Credit: Adam Bishop - CC BY-SA 3.0

His decision forced Eleanor to leave him. She left England and returned to Aquitaine, where she took over the government. In the meantime, her sons (without any hope of gaining absolute power) started an open rebellion against their father, Henry II. They quarreled much due to Henry's habit of ostensibly dividing his possessions among his sons while reserving real power for himself.

Eleanor Of Aquitaine Spent 15 Years In Prison

The rebellion was useless, and Henry suppressed it quickly. Between the end of March and the beginning of May, Eleanor left Poitiers. She was arrested and sent to the king at Rouen. The king did not announce the arrest publicly; for the next year, the queen's whereabouts were unknown. On 8 July 1174, Henry and Eleanor left Barfleur for England, and as soon from. As soon as they disembarked at Southampton, Eleanor was taken to Winchester Castle or Sarum Castle and held there.

She was imprisoned for the next 16 years, much of the time in various locations in England.

During her imprisonment, Eleanor became more and more distant from her sons, especially her son, Richard.

On Henry's death in 1189, Richard the Lionheart sat on the throne, and one of his first acts as king was to send William Marshal to England with orders to release Eleanor from prison. Marshal found upon his arrival that her custodians had already helped her leave the prison.

Richard the Lionheart has always been portrayed as England's hero-king, but he did not speak English and was certainly not interested in ruling England. During his 10-year reign, he spent only six months in England. It's good that his mother, Eleanor, was eager to lead a country.

When Richard set off on the third crusade, the mother exercised authority on his behalf. During the conflict with Leopold V, she supported her son continuously, negotiating the conditions of release and contributing to the efficient ransom collection.

Eleanor died at 82 and rested in the Fontevraud Abbey, France. She survived most of her children.

Written by – A. Sutherland  AncientPages.com Staff Writer

Updated on July 5, 2022

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