Eleanor of Aquitaine

by Marion Meade

  It was spring again. The sap had begun to rise in the withered trees, the rivers gleamed like wax, plowmen turned over the good black earth, small birds swooped and dipped against the canopy of the sky. It was the season of renewal and also the season for going to war. The king of France roamed the Plantagenet provinces at will; sailing down the Loire by boat, he leisurely took possession of fortresses along his route, and in ensuing months, he would have those famous castles where Eleanor and Henry had kept their Christmas courts, brought children into the world, made love, and quarreled furiously: Domfront, Le Mans, Falaise, Bayeux, Lisieux, Caen, Avranches. “Messengers came to John with the news, saying that the King of the French has entered your territories as an enemy, has taken such and such castles, carries off their governors ignominiously bound to their horses’ tails, and disposes of your property at will without anyone stopping him. In reply to this news, King John said, ‘Let him alone! Someday I will recover all I have lost.’ ” By August 1203, Philip had reached the Rock of Andelys and cast his eyes up at Chateau Gaillard, the fortress that Richard had boasted he could defend if its walls were made of butter. The seat of Plantagenet power on the Continent, it was the one castle that by all logic the Capetian had no hope of winning and, by the same token, John had no fear of losing. Even so, Philip set up his siege engines and catapults.

  “In the meantime,” Roger of Wendover writes, “the king was staying inactive with his queen at Rouen, so that it was said that he was infatuated by sorcery or witchcraft, for in the midst of all his losses and disgrace, he showed a cheerful countenance to all, as though he had lost nothing.” The chronicler omits a few important facts. At the end of August, John devised an imaginative plan for the relief of Chateau Gaillard, a night operation to bring supplies to the castle by land and water, but a miscalculation of the tides on the Seine turned the expedition into a disaster, and John’s army was repulsed with heavy losses. The king’s failure to relieve Chateau Gaillard provided the final blow to the confidence of his Norman barons. By the autumn of 1203, his military resources were exhausted, and even William Marshal bluntly advised him to abandon the struggle.

  “Whoso is afraid, let him flee!” answered John. “I myself will not flee for a year.”

  “Sire,” Marshal pointed out, “you have not enough friends. You who are wise and mighty and of high lineage and whose work it is to govern us all have not been careful to avoid irritating people.”

  By the first week of December, there remained on the Continent little that John could call his own except Rouen, the beleaguered Rock of Andelys, and the Norman shores of the Channel. On December 5, he sailed from Barfleur with Isabella, William Marshal, and a few others. He was leaving, he said, to seek the aid and counsel of his English barons; he would, he promised, return soon. Exactly three months later, on March 6, 1204, the Saucy Castle hung out a white flag. Those Norman barons who had remained loyal sent couriers to England notifying the king of their precarious position, “to which messages King John answered that they were to expect no assistance from him but that each was to do what seemed best to him.”

  Among those thus cast upon their own resources was Eleanor, but by this time she had, evidently, slipped into a coma, the annals of Fontevrault stating that she existed as one already dead to the world. She would not live to witness the loss of Normandy, to watch Louis Capet’s son march into Poitiers, to hear of Runnymede or Magna Charta, and of course she would never know that only one king of England would be named John. Perhaps even the fall of Coeur de Lion’s Chateau Gaillard failed to penetrate the private cocoon into which she had withdrawn.

  The last months of her life are blank. The chroniclers were too busy documenting the smoking rubble of Henry’s great dream to concern themselves with an octogenarian queen, and later, they would not even agree on the place where she had spent her last days. The chronicle of Saint Aubin of Angers claimed that she died in her native city of Poitiers, but others declared that prior to her coma, she had made her way to Fontevrault, where she took the veil. During those last fatal months, whether at the ducal palace of her forebears or among the veiled women at Fontevrault, she had been a queen for sixty-six years, but she did not count the time. Born with one foot on fortune’s throne, crowned with garlands of rare intelligence and beauty, loving when she could and hating when she must, she had traveled a long weary road through the highest citadels of Christendom. On April 1, 1204, her turbulent pilgrimage ended.

  Eight centuries later, the traveler driving along the Loire toward Tours may turn down N 147 at Montsoreau village and ride the few miles to Fontevrault Abbey. There in the cool south transept of the . church can be seen Eleanor of Aquitaine lying between the second of her husbands and her beloved Coeur de Lion. The Gothic effigy on her tomb, ravaged by time and revolution, shows her lying full length, her ageless face framed by a wimple, her expression radiating dignity and the faintest suggestion of a smile. Her graceful fingers clasp a small open book—and who can tell from the stone image whether it is a missal or a volume of those cansos that meant so much to her? In the shadows, alone with her book, she reads on in peace and serenity.

  Notes and Sources

  Prologue

  3 “Aquitaine, wrote Ralph”: Ralph of Diceto, vol. 1, p. 293.

  5 “When they set themselves”: Ibid.

  5 “Nowadays, scornfully wrote”: Geoffrey of Vigeois, Delisle, vol. 12, p. 450,

  6 “Unlike their counterparts”: Barber, p. 79.

  6 Arrival of the troubadours: Briffault, p. 85.

  A Child in the Land of Love

  7 “Duke William IX”: In the following account of Eleanor’s grandparents and parents I have relied mainly on Alfred Richard’s Histoire des comtes de Poitou, 778-1204, unless otherwise indicated.

  9 Pope Urban’s speech at Clermont: Viorst, pp. 40-44.

  11 “In the fall of 1096”: During the First Crusade, Count Raymond of Toulouse was better known as Raymond of Saint-Gilles.

  12 William IX’s Crusade: Oldenbourg, pp. 175, 182; Runciman, vol. 2, pp. 28-29.

  13 “At home again, his restlessness”: Ordericus Vitalis, vol. 3, p. 300. Prior to William’s stay in Antioch, he had had other opportunities to hear Moorish music. His father, William VIII (Guy-Geoffrey), is said to have brought back captured female singers from an expedition against the Moors in 1064. and William also must have heard this type of music while courting Philippa in Aragon.

  13 William’s love poems: Creekmore, p. 39; Flores, Medieval Age, p. 102; Marks, p. 73.

  13 “Although Philippa’s dream”: Bertrand followed his father to Syria and died there in 1112. Since his heir, half brother Alphonse-Jourdain, was only nine. William was able to take back Toulouse for his wife in 1113.

  14 “William of Malmesbury related”: William of Malmesbury, vol. 2, pp. 510-511.

  14 Founding of Fontevrault: Marks, p. 62; White, p. 60.

  14 “Flinging himself”: William of Malmesbury, vol. 2, pp. 510-511.

  15 “But William replied jokingly”: Ibid.

  16 “Among the women”: James, Letters, p. 181.

  17 “One chronicler contended”: Richard, vol. 1, p. 478. Ralph of Diceto asserts that young William’s rebellion began in 1112. At that time, however, he was only thirteen, and furthermore, William had not yet met Dangereuse.

  17 Portrait of Aenor: In fairness to Eleanor’s mother, we know virtually nothing of her life or feelings. As the Bulloughs point out in The Subordinate Sex (p. 3): “About the only way a woman managed to appear as an individual in the historical record was when she scandalized her contemporaries.” Unlike both her mother and her ‘daughter. Aenor did nothing shocking. Thus even though she appears colorless, this may not have been the case.

  17 “There is a story”: Bregy. p. 91. Author does not cite source of this quote. However, I have included it because it is typical of the kind of thing said about Eleanor.

  17 Eleanor’s date of birth: Some chroniclers give the date as 1120, but since her
age was recorded as eighty-two when she died in 1204, the year 1122 must be correct.

  18 “She was named”: Geoffrey of Vigeois, Delisle, vol. 12. pp. 434-435.

  20 “How much I tupped them”: Creekmore, p. 41.

  20 William IX’s Spanish Crusade: Marks, p. 86.

  20 “My friends”: Ibid., p. 87.

  21 Description of Eleanor’s education and training are entirely inferential: Holmes, pp. 227-228; Evans, pp. 116-120; Rowling, p. 84.

  24 “Her name first appeared”: Richard, vol. 2, pp. 10-11, 18.

  25 Life of Radegonde: Encyclopedia of Catholic Saints, Aug., pp. 69-72; Marks, pp. 1-10.

  26 “Meeting at the Abbey of Montierneuf”: James, Letters, p. 199.

  27 “Once, some fifteen years earlier”: Ibid., p. 8.

  27 “We have petitioned you”: Williams, p. 132.

  27“The bishop of Poitiers”: Ibid., p. 133.

  28 William’s betrothal: Richard, vol. 2, p. 51. Geoffrey of Vigeois claimed that William actually married Emma, but subsequent events do not bear out this allegation.

  31 “Throughout Aquitaine”: Geoffrey of Vigeois, Delisle, vol. 12, p. 435.

  32 William X’s death: Ordericus Vitalis, vol. 4, p. 175.

  The Devil and the Monk

  33 Louis the Fat at Béthizy: Suger, Vie, pp. 280-282; Richard, vol. 2, pp. 57-58.

  34 “The boy, says Walter”: Walter Map, p. 285.

  34 “The fall ‘so dreadfully’ ”: Ordericus Vitalis, vol. 4, p. 129.

  35 Louis’s journey to Bordeaux: Geoffrey of Vigeois. Delisle, vol. 12, p. 435; Richard, vol. 2, pp. 59-60.

  36 “Ringing in his ears”: Molinier, p. 128.

  37 “A great crowd”: Geoffrey of Vigeois. Delisle, vol. 12, p. 435.

  38 “The Franks to battle”: Kelly, p. 13, citing Raoul of Caen.

  39 “Scarcely the tongue”: Chronique de Morigny, p. 68.

  39 Wedding menu is inferential: Holmes, pp. 87-88, 93.

  39 “Saint James”: Flores, Anthology, p. 13.

  39 “Perhaps Marcabru”: Ibid., pp. 15—25.

  39 “The French clerks”: Briffault, p. 53.

  40 Eleanor and Louis’s wedding: Ordericus Vitalis, vol. 4, p. 181; Richard, vol. 2. p. 61.

  41 Trip to Poitiers: Suger, Vie, p. 283; Richard, vol. 2, pp. 60-61.

  42 “With no father”: Dangereuse lived a long and full life; she did not die until 1151.

  42 “In a holiday mood”: Ordericus Vitalis, vol. 4, p. 182.

  43 Death of Louis the Fat: Suger, Vie, p. 285; Ordericus Vitalis, vol. 4, p. 181.

  43 Troubles with the dowager queen: Molinier, p. 150.

  44 “For the first time within memory”: Briffault, p. 247, n. 77. Briffault and others agree that the introduction of Provençal poetry and “courtly” ideas into northern France was largely due to Eleanor and, later, to her daughters. Marie and Alix.

  45 “In his personal routine”: The Notre Dame referred to was a church dating back to Merovingian times. The cathedral we know today was not begun until 1163.

  45 “Odo de Deuil”: Odo de Deuil, p. 3. From a letter written to Suger in the winter of 1148 while on the Second Crusade.

  46 “In sex Louis”: Richard, vol. 2, p. 90.

  46 Description of Paris: Holmes, pp. 77-107.

  48 “Peter Abélard blazed”: John of Salisbury, Metalogicon, p. 95.

  48 “It seems inconceivable”: Abélard. p. 15.

  49 “He would always remain”: Suger, Vie, p. 267.

  49 “The queen Suger”: Ibid., p. 280.

  49 “He had such a great knowledge”: Suger, Oeuvres, p. 382.

  49 “In recent years”: James, Letters, p. 112.

  50 Political situation in Orléans and Poitiers: Richard, vol. 2, pp. 61—68.

  51 “His demands were positively”: Molinier, p. 151.

  53 “Unlike previous French queens”: Facinger, pp. 28—29.

  53 Toulouse expedition: Ordericus Vitalis, vol. 4, p. 221.

  54 “Eleanor’s private feelings”: Her ideal man was not very different from that of most women in the twelfth century.

  54 “Still. perhaps from pitv”: Later Louis gave the vase to Suger. It can be seen today in the Louvre with the following inscription:Hoc vas Sponsa dedit Aenor Regi Ludovici, Mitadolus avo. mihi Rex. sanctisque Sugerus.

  Eleanor, his wife. gave this vase to King Louis. Mitadolus gave it to her grandfather, the king gave it to me, I, Suger give it to the Saints.

  54 “She would make a holiday”: Richard, vol. 2, p. 77.

  55 “That year the archbishopric”: James, Saint, p. 153.

  56 “Like Eleanor”: John of Salisbury. Hist. Pont., p. 14.

  56 Marriage of Ralph and Petronilla: Richard, vol. 2, pp. 78-79.

  57 “Innocent’s response”: James, Letters, p. 361.

  57 “In January 1143”: Richard, vol. 2, p. 79.

  Behind the Red Cross

  59 “But Louis, feeling his soul”: Gervaise, vol. 3, p. 94.

  60 Bernard’s letters to Pope Innocent and Louis VII: James, Letters, pp. 362-365.

  61 “In early 1144”: Richard, vol. 2, p. 81.

  63 Suger’s Gothic cathedral: Heer, p. 397.

  64 “No one would have taken”: Gervaise, vol. 3, p. 98.

  64 “His whole body”: Alan, bishop of Auxerre, trans. in Coulton, Life in the Middle Ages, p. 162.

  65 “His hostility”: James, Saint, p. 40. Bernard succeeded in shaming his sister; two years later she entered a convent.

  65 “It is ironic”: James, Letters, pp. 174-177.

  65 “Bernard remembered the queen”: Ibid., p. 175.

  66 “By the time she had finished”: James, Saint, p. 159; Williams, p. 215; Richard, vol. 2, p. 81.

  66 “My child”: Migne, vol. 185, pp. 332 and 527.

  67 “The papal bans”: John of Salisbury, Hist. Pont., pp. 12, 14; Molinier, p. 150, n. 4.

  67 “Following the havoc”: Richard, vol. 2, p. 82.

  68 “That year of 1145”: Ibid., p. 84.

  68 “Then in the closing days”: Oldenbourg, p. 319.

  69 “Although rumors of disturbances”: Runciman, vol. 2, p. 247.

  69 “At Christmas court”: Odo de Deuil, p. 7; Chronique de Morigny, p. 85.

  70 “Among those who voiced disapproval”: Odo de Deuil, p. 7, n. 6.

  71 “And since there was no place”: Ibid., p. 9. Other chroniclers claim that the platform, except for the portion Louis stood on, collapsed, but no one was injured. Odo fails to mention the incident.

  71 “Soon Bernard’s supply”: Ibid.

  72 “Later, after the newly blessed cruciati”: It is a dramatic story but probably not true. The tale is mentioned in Gervaise, vol. 3, p. 118. and has been repeated by numerous writers, including some fairly modern ones. “This band of mad-women practiced Amazonian exercises and performed a thousand follies in public” (Strickland, vol. 1, p. 246).

  72 “William of Newburgh”: William of Newburgh, vol. 1, pp. 92-93.

  73 “To him, taking the cross”: Oldenbourg, p. 324.

  74 “William of Tyre relates”: William of Tyre, vol. 2, p. 179.

  74 “At Fontevrault”: Richard, vol. 2, p. 85.

  75 “Finally, at Christmas”: Williams, p. 274.

  75 “For this purpose”: Roger of Wendover, vol. 1, p. 498.

  76 Etampes conference: Odo de Deuil, pp. 13—15.

  76 “Suger was only slightly”: Ibid., p. 15. n. 36.

  77 “The crowds and the king’s wife”: Ibid., p. 19.

  80 “Somewhere in that unruly torrent”: Marks, pp. 138-143. Rudel did not return. Either he was killed or he may have entered a monastery in Antioch and died there.

  To Jerusalem

  82 “Her critics”: William of Tyre, vol. 2, p. 180.

  83 “Odo de Deuil”: Odo de Deuil, p. 21.

  84 “Resigning herself”: Odo includes only four brief references to Eleanor, and in not one of them does he call her by name. It has been suggested
that Odo’s work may have been subsequently revised, and all extensive references to Eleanor excised. For example, in the following passage, it would seem that a lacuna occurs: “Occasionally the empress wrote to the queen. And then the Greeks degenerated into women; putting aside all manly vigor, both of words and of spirit, they lightly swore whatever they thought would please us, but they neither kept faith with us nor maintained respect for themselves.” Odo de Deuil, p. 57.

  84 “The bishop of Langres”: Ibid., p. 27.

  85 “To the thirteen-year-old”: Anna Comnena, p. 248.

  86 “Odo, having nothing”: Odo de Deuil, p. 33.

  86 “In a mood”: Delisle, vol. 15, p. 487.

  86 “For the other countries”: Odo de Deuil, p. 41.

  87 “Instead, in some bewilderment”: Ibid., p. 45.

  87 “The only Greeks”: Ibid.

  87 “Because of this”: Ibid., p. 57.

  87 “In other words”: John of Salisbury, Hist. Pont., p. 54.

  87 “Since the bodies”: Odo de Deuil, p. 47.

  88 “While Rome had sunk”: Ibid., p. 63.

  89 “Even Eleanor and Louis”: Ibid., p. 61, n. 5. Odo is vague about their accommodations. Some historians have concluded that they were lodged in Manuel’s palace, the Blachernae, but I believe that if they had been invited to share the royal residence, Odo would have mentioned it. Probably he avoided doing so because he wished to gloss over the snub.