Eleanor Of Aquitaine: Heroine Of The Middle Ages

makers of The middle AgEs and Renaissance Eleanor of Aquitaine Heroine of the Middle Ages Chaucer Celebrated Poet and Author Dante Poet, Author, and Proud Florentine Eleanor of Aquitaine Heroine of the Middle Ages Galileo Renaissance Scientist and Astronomer Machiavelli Renaissance Political Analyst and Author The Medicis A Ruling Dynasty Michelangelo Painter, Sculptor, and Architect Thomas More and His Struggles of Conscience Queen Elizabeth and England’s Golden Age Leonardo da Vinci Artist, Inventor, and Renaissance Man makers of The middle Ages and Renaissance makers of The middle Ages and Renaissance Eleanor of Aquitaine Heroine of the Middle Ages Rachel A. Koestler-Grack COVER: Eleanor of Aquitaine. Tombs of the Plantagenet Kings. Thirteenth-century abbey, Fontevrault, France. CHELSEA HOUSE PUBLISHERS VP, N EW P RODUCT DEVELOPMENT Sally Cheney DIRECTOR OF P RODUCTION Kim Shinners CREATIVE MANAGER Takeshi Takahashi MANUFACTURING MANAGER Diann Grasse Staff for Eleanor of Aquitaine EXECUTIVE E DITOR Lee Marcott E DITORIAL ASSISTANT Carla Greenberg P RODUCTION E DITOR Noelle Nardone COVER AND I NTERIOR DESIGNER Keith Trego LAYOUT 21st Century Publishing and Communications, Inc. © 2006 by Chelsea House Publishers, a subsidiary of Haights Cross Communications. All rights reserved. Printed and bound in the United States of America. www.chelseahouse.com First Printing 987654321 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Koestler-Grack, Rachel A., 1973– Eleanor of Aquitaine: heroine of the Middle Ages/Rachel Koestler-Grack. p. cm.—(Makers of the Middle Ages and Renaissance) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7910-8633-X 1. Eleanor, of Aquitaine, Queen, consort of Henry II, King of England, 1122?–1204—Juvenile literature. 2. Queens—Great Britain—Biography— Juvenile literature. 3. Queens—France—Biography—Juvenile literature. 4. Great Britain—History—Henry II, 1154–1189—Biography—Juvenile literature. 5. France—History—Louis VII, 1137–1180—Biography—Juvenile literature. 6. Middle Ages—Juvenile literature. I. title. II. Series. DA209.E6K64 2005 942.03'1'092—dc22 2005007489 All links and web addresses were checked and verified to be correct at the time of publication. Because of the dynamic nature of the web, some addresses and links may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. Contents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A Wedding That Changed the World 1 A Young Duchess Marries a Prince 8 Queen Eleanor of France 21 Give Us Crosses! 34 A Monk, Not a King 51 Queen Eleanor and Her Sons 67 Queen Eleanor’s Revolt 83 The Mother Queen 99 Protecting the Kingdom 112 A Fight for Angevin 129 Chronology & Timeline 142 Notes 146 Bibliography 147 Further Reading 148 Index 149 A Wedding That Changed the World n May 18, 1152, Eleanor of Aquitaine stood at O the altar in a cold, stone cathedral in the city of Poitiers, in what is now France. The young man facing her at the wedding altar was Duke Henry of Normandy, Count of Anjou, the most promising young ruler in the land. The couple had a lot in common. 1 2 Eleanor of Aquitaine An unquenchable desire for power, seemingly limitless energy, and a strong will were just a few of their shared attributes. Few would have guessed that the wedding ceremony about to take place would change all of Europe. Eleanor of Aquitaine was considered one of the most beautiful women of her century, but she possessed much more