Eleanor of Aquitaine- By the Wrath of God, Queen of England

471 Pages·2007·1.59 MB·English

by  Weir Alison

Eleanor of Aquitaine
Alison Weir
This book is dedicated with heartfelt thanks to my agent, JULIAN
ALEXANDER
and to JILL BLACK who has edited so many of my books.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I should like to extend very special thanks to my editor, Anthony Whittome,
for his creative input and his unflagging enthusiasm for this project, and to my
commissioning editor, Will Sulkin, for his tremendous support. Gratitude is also
due to Lily Richards for her indefatigable picture research.
As always, I must express my thanks to my agent Julian Alexander, without
whom this book would not exist: he kept faith with this project for many years
before its acceptance. I am grateful also to his former assistant, Kirstan Romano,
for all her kindness. Finally, as ever, thank you, Rankin, my husband, and John
and Kate, my children, for putting up with me while this book was in
preparation. I could never have done it without you.
Contents
Preface xix
Prologue: 18 May 1152 1
1 "Opulent Aquitaine" 3
2 "A Model of Virtue" 21
3 "Counsel of the Devil" 37
4 "To Jerusalem!" 55
5 "A Righteous Annulment" 73
6 "A Happy Issue" 89
7 "All the Business of the Kingdom" 104
8 "Eleanor, by the Grace of God, Queen of England" 120
9 "The King Has Wrought a Miracle" 141
10 "Conjectures Which Grow Day by Day" 158
11 "The Holy Martyr" 177
12 "The Cubs Shall Awake" 189
13 "Beware of Your Wife and Sons" 198
14 "Poor Prisoner" 211
15 "Shame, Shame on a Conquered King!" 231
16 "The Eagle Shall Rejoice in Her Third Nesting" 248
17 "The Admiration of Her Age" 260
18 "The Devil Is Loosed!" 279
19 "The Staff of My Old Age" 300
20 "The Most Reverend Eleanor" 314
21 "The Brood of the Wicked Shall Not Thrive" 326
22 "A Candle Goeth Out" 336
Notes on the Chief Sources 347
Bibliography 355
Notes and References 375
Genealogical Tables 407
Index 423
A Note on Names and Spellings
Different variations of the names of people and places occur in twelfth-
century sources. For example, the names Matilda, Maud, and Mahalde are
interchangeable, as are Alice, Aaliz, and Alais.
For the sake of clarity, I have used different spellings of the same name to
identify different people. Eleanor's daughter is called Alix, Richard Is betrothed
of the same name Alys, and the Lord John's betrothed Alice. All are accurate
renderings. A similar differentiation has been used with the name
Amaury/Aymer/Aimery. Louis VII's daughter, often called Margaret in other
works, is here referred to by the French version of her name, Marguerite.
Eleanor, who would have called herself Alienore, is referred to by the more
familiar anglicised version of her name.
As in many other history books, William the Marshal is throughout referred to
as such, even though he did not acquire his office of Marshal until 1199.
Although Eleanor was Countess of Poitou and Duchess of Aquitaine, I have
occasionally used the name Aquitaine as a blanket term covering both her
domains, although I have tried to differentiate between them wherever possible.
Many place names have changed since the twelfth century, and where
appropriate I have given the modern name in parentheses. Some places no longer
exist; wherever possible, I have attempted to discover their exact or approximate
location.
Illustrations (not included)
Palais de Justice, Poitiers © Roger-Viollet
William IX, Duke of Aquitaine. Manuscript illumination, fr. 12473 fol. 128 ©
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris Louis VII, King of France. Manuscript
illumination from "Grands Chroniques de France," fr. 2813 fol. 223 ©
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris Rock crystal vase, 12th c, from the Abbey of
Saint-Denis, now in the Louvre © Reunion des Musees Nationaux-- Daniel
Amaudet Retable of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (detail), anon., 12th c, Museo de
Mallorca, on loan from the Sociedad Arqueologica Luliana Count Geoffrey of
Anjou. Enamel tombstone, c. 1152, Musee de Tesse, Le Mans © Giraudon
Eleanor's seal, from a charter in the Archives de France © Atelier de
photographic du Centre historique des Archives nationales, Paris Engaged
capital, thought to portray Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. © The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Collection, 1934 (34.115.4ab) Tomb
of Matilda, daughter of Henry II, and Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony,
Brunswick Cathedral, late 12th c. © AKG London Effigy of Henry the Young
King (detail), late 12th c, Rouen Cathedral © Roger-Viollet
Effigy of Henry II (detail), late 12th c, Fontevrault Abbey © AKG London
Effigy of Richard I (detail), 1199-1200, Fontevrault Abbey © AKG London
Effigy of Berengaria of Navarre (detail), after 1230, Le Mans Cathedral ©
Geoffrey Wheeler Effigy of King John (detail), c. 1225-1230, Worcester
Cathedral © Geoffrey Wheeler
Mural from Sainte-Radegonde, Chinon, c. 1196 © By courtesy of Les Amis du
Vieux Chinon
Effigy of Isabella of Angouleme (detail), mid 13th c, Fontevrault Abbey ©
Geoffrey Wheeler Effigy of Eleanor of Aquitaine (detail), c. 1204, Fontevrault
Abbey © AKG London
The tombs of the Plantagenets in the Abbey of Fontevrault © Bildarchiv Foto
Marburg
Maps
The Angevin Empire in 1154 xv
Europe and the Holy Land in the Twelfth Century xvi England in the Twelfth
Century xviii [map of the Angevin Empire in 1154 removed]
[map of Europe and the Holy Land in the Twelfth Century removed]
[map of Richard I's route during the Third Crusade, 1190-1194 removed]
[map of Eleanor's journey, 1190-1191 removed]
[map of England in the Twelfth Century removed]