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Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the most fascinating personalities of Medieval Europe. In her youth she was remarkably beautiful, and in her later years her showed evidences of a noble disposition. She is one of the few women of antiquity who have atoned for an ill-spent youth by a wise and benevolent old age. Eleanor of Aquitaine ranks among the greatest of female rulers.
Born around 1122, Eleanor was the daughter of William X, duke of Aquitaine and count of Poitiers. Upon her father’s death in 1137, Eleanor inherited Aquitaine and Poitiers. That same year, at the age of 15, she also married Louis VII, King of France, bringing to the union her vast possessions from the River Loire to the Pyrenees.
Eleanor was a very intelligent woman; many considered her superior in intellect than her husband. She was also very courageous and passionate. In fact, Eleanor and her retinue, dressed in battle attire, joined Louis VII on the Second Crusade. While the church may have been glad to receive her fighting vassals, they were less than pleased when they learned that Eleanor and 300 of her ladies planned to go along.
On their journey to the Holy Land, they first stopped at Antioch, where Eleanor’s uncle, Raymond of Tripoli, had been appointed prince of the city. She renewed her friendship with her kin, spending so much time with him that Louis grew jealous. When Louis prepared to leave for Jerusalem, Eleanor refused to go with him, threatening a divorce. Louis, however, took her by force. The expedition failed and both returned to France in separate ships. While the marriage continued for a time, the couple finally separated after the birth of their second daughter. The marriage was annulled in 1152 and Eleanor’s vast estates reverted to her control.
Six weeks after her divorce, Eleanor married Henry, duke of Normandy, who soon afterwards became Henry II of England. During her marriage to Henry, Eleanor continued to rule Aquitaine, which consisted of Guienne and Gascony. The couple had eight children including Richard Coeur de Lion (Richard the Lionhearted), who ruled England from 1189 - 1199 and John Lackland who ruled from 1199 - 1216.
Eleanor was very jealous of her second husband, Henry II. In 1173, she incited her sons to rebel against their father, giving them military support. The revolt failed and Eleanor was thrown into prison, where she remained for sixteen years, until her husband’s death. In 1189 she was released from prison by order of her son, Richard, when he took the throne. Richard then proceeded to place her at the head of the government.
While she undoubtedly underwent much deprivation during her imprisonment, she did not, when she obtained power, use it to punish her enemies, but rather devoted herself to deeds of mercy and piety, going from city to city, setting free all persons confined for violating the game laws, which in the latter part of Henry’s life, were cruelly enforced. In 1202, Eleanor retired to the monastery at Fontevrault, Anjou, where she died in 1204. She goes down in history as one of the greatest female sovereigns.
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