Henry did not stop her; on the contrary, he and his army personally escorted her there before attacking a castle belonging to the rebellious Lusignan family. When it went horribly wrong, he asked his mom, Empress Matilda, for money to pay his men, but she refused. Rather than act as guardian to the duchess and duchy, he decided to marry the duchess to his 17-year-old heir and bring Aquitaine under the control of the French crown, thereby greatly increasing the power and prominence of France and its ruling family, the House of Capet. On 13August 1189, Richard sailed from Barfleur to Portsmouth and was received with enthusiasm. As such, I asked him to stop by and talk about his newest book, Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine: Founding an Empire. Eleanor's marriage to Henry was reputed to be tumultuous and argumentative, although sufficiently cooperative to produce at least eight pregnancies. Over the next twelve years Eleanor bore Henry five sons and three daughters. [22] Henry donated much money to Godstow Nunnery in Oxfordshire, where Rosamund was buried. 1556332. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Whats a Ricardian doing at the wrong end of the Plantagenet dynasty? Upon the death of her husband Henry II on 6 July 1189, Richard I was the undisputed heir. In December 1154, Henry and Eleanor arrived in England for their joint coronation. In mid-July, Eleanor's ship finally reached Palermo in Sicily, where she discovered that she and her husband had both been given up for dead. There was an odd series of standoffs, and a refusal to fight that is usually put down to nobles tired of the ongoing wars. As Eleanor travelled to Poitiers, two lordsTheobald V, Count of Blois, and Geoffrey, Count of Nantes, brother of Henry II, Duke of Normandytried to kidnap and marry her to claim her lands. She did not have the opportunity to see her sons very often during her imprisonment, though she was released for special occasions such as Christmas. She continued south, crossed the Pyrenees, and travelled through the kingdoms of Navarre and Castile, arriving in Castile before the end of January 1200. The Lion in Winter will be directed by Tom Hollis. The vanguard, with which Queen Eleanor marched, was commanded by her Aquitainian vassal, Geoffrey de Rancon. Eleanor recruited some of her royal ladies-in-waiting for the campaign as well as 300 non-noble Aquitainian vassals. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Its a fair question. "[31], In March 1173, aggrieved at his lack of power and egged on by Henry's enemies, his son by the same name, the younger Henry, launched the Revolt of 11731174. Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine: Founding an Empire, Matts History Blog Hopefully interesting snippets and thoughts (wordpress.com). In 1154 he became, as Henry II, king of England, with the result that England, Normandy, and the west of France were united under his rule. Eleanor, nearly 80 years old, fearing the disintegration of the Plantagenet domain, crossed the Pyrenees in 1200 in order to fetch her granddaughter Blanche from the court of Castile and marry her to the son of the French king. This notorious affair caused a monkish scribe to transcribe Rosamund's name in Latin to "Rosa Immundi", or "Rose of Unchastity". The death of William, one of the king's most powerful vassals, made available the most desirable duchy in France. 1. Eleanor agreed with her uncle, perhaps believing that he had far more knowledge of the region and its politics than they did, but Louis refused to be swayed. As the heiress of the House of Poitiers, which controlled much of southwestern France, she was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. Eleanor was again unwell in early 1201. On 25 July 1137, Eleanor and Louis were married in the Cathedral of Saint-Andr in Bordeaux by the archbishop of Bordeaux. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Please sign up to receive Sharon Kay Penman's newsletter to get the latest news and events. During her childbearing years, she participated actively in the administration of the realm and even more actively in the management of her own domains. It feels like something we could do with more of today. The king was madly in love with his beautiful and worldly bride, however, and granted her every whim, even though her behaviour baffled and vexed him. JACKSON, Miss. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Consanguinity was grounds for annulment in the medieval period. Soon afterwards, she sought an annulment of her marriage,[2] but her request was rejected by Pope Eugene III. Her half-brother Joscelin was acknowledged by WilliamX as a son, but not as his heir. [28], Some scholars believe that the "court of love" probably never existed since the only evidence for it is Andreas Capellanus' book. According to feudal customs, Eleanor then regained possession of Aquitaine, and two months later she married the grandson of Henry I of England, Henry Plantagenet, count of Anjou and duke of Normandy. Henry imprisoned her in 1173 for supporting the revolt of their eldest son, Henry the Young King, against him. Her fatherWilliam X,. Eleanor had lived an incredibly full medieval life before she even met Henry. Yet despite his impending death, Louis's mind remained clear. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Later, at King Roger's court in Potenza, she learned of the death of her uncle Raymond, who had been beheaded by Muslim forces in the Holy Land. Since Geoffrey was Eleanor's vassal, many believed that it was she who had been ultimately responsible for the change in plan, and thus the massacre. Unencumbered by baggage, they reached the summit of Cadmus, where Rancon had been ordered to make camp for the night. Eleanor played a key role in raising the ransom demanded from England by HenryVI and in the negotiations with the Holy Roman Emperor that eventually secured Richard's release. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Eleanor Henry. Archbishop Samson of Reims acted for Eleanor. After wandering aimlessly through Aquitaine, Henry the Younger caught dysentery. Yet the existence and reasons for this court are debated. As a wedding present she gave Louis a rock crystal vase {fr}, currently on display at the Louvre. In December, Eleanor gathered her movable possessions in England and transported them on several ships to Argentan. Geoffrey of York, for example, was an illegitimate son of Henry, but acknowledged by Henry as his child and raised at Westminster in the care of the queen. He shunned all majesty, preferring to send his Chancellor Thomas Becket to Paris to make a splendid, showy entrance to the city because, well, it just wasnt Henrys style. [9] Some believe that Eleanor's court in Poitiers was the "Court of Love" where Eleanor and her daughter Marie meshed and encouraged the ideas of troubadours, chivalry, and courtly love into a single court. For good measure, accusations were added that she had engaged in an affair with Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, Henrys father, and that her lust for Henry ruined her marriage to Louis. [11] Later, during the first four years of HenryII's reign, her siblings joined Eleanor's royal household. Corrections? Upon reaching Bordeaux, he left them in the charge of the archbishop of Bordeaux, one of his few loyal vassals. She was given shelter and food by servants of King Roger II of Sicily, until the king eventually reached Calabria, and she set out to meet him there. Instead, he attempted to reconcile Eleanor and Louis, confirming the legality of their marriage. In her youth, Eleanor was widely regarded as beautiful and was considered capricious and frivolous. Henry is, for me, a complex character. Eleanor Henry Biography Showing all 2 items Jump to: Mini Bio (1) | Trivia (1) Mini Bio (1) Eleanor Henry is known for The Help (2011). John instructed his mother to travel to Castile to select one of the princesses. Reputedly Eleanor then requested to stay with Raymond and brought up the matter of consanguinitythe fact that she and her husband, King Louis, were perhaps too closely related. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The play premiered on Broadway in 1966 and was adapted into an Academy Award-winning movie. Trivia (1) Twin sister of Emma Henry. [a] Eleanor's conduct was repeatedly criticised by church elders, particularly Bernard of Clairvaux and Abbot Suger, as indecorous. William had anticipated her value and had her betrothed to the soon . He may have done so to provoke Eleanor into seeking an annulment, but if so, the queen disappointed him. Warned just in time, she avoided an ambush set by Henrys young brother Geoffrey, who hoped to advance his ambitions by marrying her himself, and arrived safely at her own capital of Poitiers. Eleanor, aged 12 to 15, then became the duchess of Aquitaine, and thus the most eligible heiress in Europe. She was the eldest of three children. On Saturday, 11 June 1183, the young king realized he was dying and was overcome with remorse for his sins. Alternate titles: Alinor dAquitaine, Alinor de Guyenne, Elonore dAquitaine, Elonore de Guyenne, Eleanor of Guyenne. She has also been introduced in The Royal Diaries series in the book Crown Jewel of Aquitaine by Kristiana Gregory. Eleanor had been Queen of France, a mother to two daughters, and had been on the Second Crusade to the Holy Land, spending Easter in Jerusalem, before she encountered Henry in Paris. 2. Eleanor Henry was born in Los Angeles, United States. As soon as they disembarked at Southampton, Eleanor was taken either to Winchester Castle or Sarum Castle and held there. In spite of all these words of praise, no one left a more detailed description of Eleanor; the colour of her hair and eyes, for example, are unknown. She was able to retire comfortably as Queen of England, with Aquitaine in the capable hands of Richard, and in doing so, take the sting out of the conflict between her husband and their sons. Although Eleanor held no formal office in England during this period, she arrived in England in the company of Coutances in June 1191, and for the remainder of Richard's absence, she exercised a considerable degree of influence over the affairs of England as well as the conduct of Prince John. [10] Eleanor was extroverted, lively, intelligent, and strong-willed. From there, "the younger Henry, devising evil against his father from every side by the advice of the French king, went secretly into Aquitaine where his two youthful brothers, Richard and Geoffrey, were living with their mother, and with her connivance, so it is said, he incited them to join him. Children born to a marriage that was later annulled were not at risk of being "bastardised," because "[w]here parties married in good faith, without knowledge of an impediment, children of the marriage were legitimate." Eleanor was queen consort to Louis VII (113752) of France and Henry II of England (11521204). The girls were 3 years old when "The Help" was filmed. In 1141, the Archbishopric of Bourges became vacant, and the king put forward as a candidate one of his chancellors, Cadurc, while vetoing the one suitable candidate, Pierre de la Chatre, who was promptly elected by the canons of Bourges and consecrated by the Pope. As queen of France, Eleanor participated in the unsuccessful Second Crusade. Blurry borders and ill-defined authority were no good to Henry. My answer would be that understanding the end of a story (or at least the closing of a chapter) often requires knowledge of its beginning. On television, she has been portrayed in this play by Una Venning in the BBC Sunday Night Theatre version (1952) and by Mary Morris in the BBC Shakespeare version (1984). The four published mysteries are the Queen's Man, Cruel as the Grave, Dragon's Lair, and Prince of Darkness. As he is forced to reconstruct the shattered settlement of his domains, it is to her that he turns for help. In 1199 Richard died without leaving an heir to the throne, and John was crowned king. Beyond that, I think it created a relationship between Stephen and Henry that prevented all-out slaughter in 1153 when Henry returned in earnest as the twenty-year-old Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou and Maine, to claim the crown of England. She has a twin sister named Emma Henry. In the 2014 film Richard the Lionheart: Rebellion, Eleanor is played by Debbie Rochon. In addition, she had been corresponding with her uncle Raymond, Prince of Antioch, who was seeking further protection from the French crown against the Saracens. He then went to his uncle Robert, Earl of Gloucester, who also declined to help him out of the fix he was in. Henry was the obvious candidate. In the cost Henry incurred on her care, and her placement at one of her favourite castles at Old Sarum, there is little trace of the vindictive, wronged husband. He records some twenty-one cases, the most famous of them being a problem posed to the women about whether true love can exist in marriage. I encountered the young Henry in depth when writing about The Anarchy. It is for this reason that I didnt see Eleanors move to Aquitaine in 1168 as the split in their relationship it is often portrayed as. Their two daughters were, however, declared legitimate. The revolt of her sons against her husband in 1173 put her cultural activities to a brutal end. Louis VII had set Eleanor aside, and there had been efforts to blame her for their lack of a son and heir. He arrives near the end in earnest but has a couple of fascinating cameos earlier on. Politics during this period demanded a degree of flexibility that I think Henry struggled to find. Historical fiction author Elizabeth Chadwick wrote a three-volume series about Eleanor: The Summer Queen (2013), The Winter Crown (2014) and The Autumn Throne (2016). On her release, Eleanor played a greater political role than ever before. Theobald had also offended Louis by siding with the Pope in the dispute over Bourges. Continue with Recommended Cookies. She left for the Second Crusade from Vzelay, the rumoured location of Mary Magdalene's grave, in June 1147. King Philip II of France claimed that certain properties in Normandy belonged to his half-sister Margaret, widow of the young Henry, but Henry insisted that they had once belonged to Eleanor and would revert to her upon her son's death. The effigy on her tomb shows a tall and large-boned woman with brown skin, though this may not be an accurate representation. Most recently, she was portrayed by Eileen Atkins in Robin Hood (2010). On 18 May 1152 (Whit Sunday), eight weeks after her annulment, Eleanor married Henry "without the pomp and ceremony that befitted their rank."[24]. She had her tomb placed beside that she had commissioned for her husband, Henry, suggesting again a fondness that undermines the view of their relationship as fractious and difficult. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The annulment gave Eleanor back Aquitaine and Poitou, which she took with her eight weeks later to Henry, Count of Anjou and Duke of Normandy, to whom, incidentally, she was just as closely related as she had been to Louis. The king had many mistresses, but although he treated earlier liaisons discreetly, he flaunted Rosamund. Notwithstanding, during their three-week stay at Constantinople, Louis was fted and Eleanor was much admired. The French, with what remained of the Germans, then began to march in increasingly disorganised fashion towards Antioch. Searching to find out more about Eleanor Henry? All rights reserved. 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