Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine is a widely known and rather infamous historical figure. She was born in 1122 in the French province Aquitaine, and died in 1204 in Fontervraud Abbey. She became Queen of France and later became the Queen of England. She was active in the governance of her territories, wielded a significant amount of power and was extremely cunning and intelligent. It is, however, more common for Eleanor of Aquitaine to be remembered for the children she gave birth to, the animosity she supposedly fostered between them and her alleged affairs. This is not suppressing as women in history are less remembered for their actions and decisions and more remembered for their behavior and offspring. They are discussed in terms of the men and number of men they slept with and nature of the children they gave birth to; almost without exception is this true if their children were male, which is the case with Eleanor.

Eleanor was the most desirable bride in France because of the wealth and land she would bring to the marriage with her. At the age of 15 she married Louis VII, King of France and when she was just 19 years old she declared, during a sermon by Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux, that she and her vassals would take up the cross. She, along with 300 of her ladies, actively participated in the Second Crusade and arrived in Constantinople in 1147 A.D. However, she and Louis were quickly defeated and they returned home, only to have their marriage annulled 5 years later. Two months after the annulment, Eleanor married Henry of Anjou who became King of England, they had five sons and three daughters together and Eleanor actively assisted in the running of their vast territories.

It is true that Eleanor was involved in a plot against Henry II that culminated in 1173 and resulted in her imprisonment however, the extent of her involvement is not quite known. It appears that she was working with her sons, particularly her eldest son Henry. She was captured and imprisoned for 15 years until Henry II died and her son Richard, who was now the King of England, set her free. When Richard went off on the Third Crusade, Eleanor, now in her mid to late sixties, acted as regent. After Richard died and her youngest son John inherited the throne Eleanor lost power in the government. Eleanor did, however, remain the active ruler of Aquitaine where she spent her remaining years.

Although she gave birth to two kings of England, what is more impressive was her ability to successfully rule her territories in a time when women were believed to be unfit for such roles. That she had the mind and ability to conspire against Henry II, if she if fact did so, is fascinating and deserves further research. Great still is her ability to maneuver herself into positions of great power and hold the loyalty of so many and deserves admiration. Less attention needs to be paid to the factors that have little to do with a woman’s abilities and more to how their actions and decisions impacted the worlds they lived in and how they paved the way for change.