In the 12th century, a royal marriage forever altered the political and cultural landscape of Europe. The union of Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, and Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Normandy and future King of England, created a dynastic empire that would control England and half of France. Their legacy would shape Western art, literature, and politics for centuries to come. But the path that brought these two ambitious, strong-willed rulers together was paved with secret plots, forbidden desire, and a whirlwind elopement that defied two kings.
The Indomitable Duchess of Aquitaine
To understand Eleanor‘s pivotal place in history, we must start with her birthright and upbringing in Aquitaine, a prosperous and powerful duchy that encompassed nearly a third of modern France. In the 12th century, Aquitaine enjoyed a "golden age" as a center of art, learning, and culture.[^1] It was also a land where women were granted more freedoms and authority than in other parts of Europe.[^2]
Born in 1122, Eleanor inherited this wealthy domain at age 15 after the death of her father, William X. Contemporary sources describe her as intelligent, cultured, and "a beauty in the sight of all."[^3] Trained in languages, literature, riding, and hunting, the young duchess was determined to rule in her own right. But in the eyes of the feudal world, Eleanor needed a husband to secure her authority and lands.
Duchy of Aquitaine in the 12th Century
Size: 170,000 km² (larger than England)
Population: Approx. 3 million
Key cities: Poitiers, Bordeaux, Limoges, Toulouse In 1137, Eleanor married Prince Louis, heir to the French throne, in a union that brought together the two largest feudal states in France.[^4] Eleanor became Queen of France when Louis ascended as Louis VII later that year. Their marriage united the royal house of Capet with the vast wealth and lands of Aquitaine – but it would prove to be an ill-fated match of clashing personalities and political ambitions.
The Second Crusade and the Strains of Marriage
As Queen, Eleanor exerted a strong influence over the cultural life of the French court. She patronized artists, poets, and musicians, and helped spread the ideals of courtly love and chivalry.[^5] But her power and unconventional ways also earned her enemies among the more traditional French nobility.
The turning point came during the Second Crusade in 1147-1148. Eleanor accompanied Louis on the expedition, along with 300 of her ladies-in-waiting, all dressed "like Amazons, in glittering garb."[^6] In the Holy Land, Eleanor‘s close relationship with her uncle Raymond of Antioch sparked rumors of an affair. She and Louis also clashed over military strategy, with Eleanor supporting her uncle‘s aggressive tactics against Damascus while Louis favored a more cautious approach.[^7]
The crusade ended in humiliating defeat, with Louis‘ forces decimated by battle and disease. Returning separately to France, the already strained relationship between Eleanor and Louis deteriorated further, compounded by Eleanor‘s failure to produce a male heir after 15 years of marriage. The couple had only two daughters, Marie and Alix.
The Handsome Young Duke
It was during this time of marital turmoil that Eleanor first encountered Henry Plantagenet, the young Duke of Normandy. Born in 1133, Henry was the son of Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, and Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou. Henry‘s early life was marked by the civil war between his mother and her cousin Stephen of Blois for control of the English throne – a conflict called "The Anarchy" for its brutal lawlessness.[^8]
Henry‘s visits to the French court in the early 1150s brought him in close contact with Eleanor. Some historians speculate that Eleanor, impressed by Henry‘s military prowess and political ambition, saw in the young duke a more suitable match for her own power and influence than her pious, peace-loving husband.[^9]
What is certain is that in the spring of 1152, while still married to Louis, Eleanor began secret negotiations with Henry to become his wife upon the dissolution of her marriage.[^10] It was a bold and unprecedented move for a sitting queen to arrange her own remarriage, especially to a rival of her husband. But Eleanor was determined to secure her own future and that of Aquitaine.
The Whirlwind Elopement
Events moved swiftly in the first months of 1152. In March, a council of bishops granted an annulment of Eleanor and Louis‘ marriage on grounds of consanguinity, or blood relation (they were third cousins once removed).[^11] The convenient discovery of this impediment after 15 years of marriage was likely a face-saving pretext for what was, in effect, a divorce due to mutual dissatisfaction and the lack of a male heir.
Wasting no time after the annulment, Eleanor left the French court and journeyed to her capital in Poitiers. Along the way, she narrowly escaped attempted kidnappings by two different noblemen, each hoping to force the wealthy duchess into marriage and gain control of Aquitaine.[^12] But Eleanor had other plans. She sent word to Henry to meet her in Poitiers, where, just eight weeks after her separation from Louis became official, Eleanor and Henry married in a private ceremony in the cathedral.[^13]
Timeline of Events
1152
March 21: Annulment of Eleanor and Louis VII‘s marriage
April: Eleanor returns to Poitiers, evades capture
May 18: Eleanor and Henry marry in Poitiers CathedralContemporary chroniclers were shocked at the haste and audacity of the match. "Still young and handsome, [Eleanor] married the young and handsome Henry…and so, grieving deeply, the King of France watched the duchy of Aquitaine pass to the lordship of the Duke of Normandy," wrote the monk Gervase of Canterbury.[^14] The political repercussions were immediate: Eleanor‘s vast inheritance was now joined to Henry‘s already substantial territories in England and France, creating an Angevin Empire that rivaled the French crown.
An Empire United and Divided
As Duke and Duchess of Normandy and Aquitaine, Henry and Eleanor ruled over a territory that spanned from the border of Scotland to the Pyrenees.[^15] Two years after their marriage, in 1154, Henry became King of England after reaching a settlement with Stephen of Blois, ending the civil war that had dominated his youth. Eleanor was crowned Queen of England beside him in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey.[^16]
The Angevin Empire under Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
Territories: Normandy, Anjou, Maine, Touraine, Aquitaine, Gascony, Poitou, England
Total area: Approximately 450,000 km² (80,000 km² in England, 370,000 km² in France)
Percentage of France controlled: Nearly half of modern FranceTogether, the king and queen worked to consolidate their power and expand their influence. Henry reformed the English legal system and strengthened royal authority over the nobility.[^17] Eleanor focused on governing her own lands in Aquitaine and Poitou, where she maintained a court renowned for its patronage of the arts. The troubadours of her court, including Bernard de Ventadour and Bertran de Born, helped spread the ideals of fin‘amor or courtly love through their poetry and songs.[^18]
But Henry and Eleanor‘s marriage was also marked by conflict and infidelity. Henry was notorious for his extramarital affairs and fathered several illegitimate children.[^19] His struggle for power with Thomas Becket, his former friend and chancellor whom he appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, ended in Becket‘s shocking murder by Henry‘s knights in 1170.[^20]
Eleanor, too, fought for influence and control as she bore Henry eight children: five sons and three daughters. In 1173, frustrated by Henry‘s infidelities and attempts to curb her authority, Eleanor and three of their sons launched a rebellion against the king.[^21] The revolt failed, and Henry imprisoned Eleanor for the next 16 years, though she continued to wield influence from captivity.[^22]
The Queen, the Mother, the Legend
In the end, Eleanor would outlive Henry by 15 years. When he died in 1189, she emerged from captivity to rule England as regent while their son Richard the Lionheart led the Third Crusade.[^23] She continued to actively govern her lands in Aquitaine and Poitou well into her old age, defending them against rebellious nobles and scheming grandchildren.[^24]
Before her death in 1204 at the age of 82, Eleanor had been queen of both France and England, duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, and mother to two kings (Richard and John) and ancestors of countless more European monarchs.[^25] But her impact extended beyond her roles as ruler, wife, and mother. Through her court at Poitiers and her patronage of the arts, Eleanor helped shape the literary and cultural landscape of the High Middle Ages and beyond.
The ideals of courtly love that Eleanor and her daughers Marie and Alix brought to their own courts in Champagne and Blois influenced the development of French and English literature, from the romances of Chrétien de Troyes to the love poetry of Dante and Petrarch.[^26] The Code of Chivalry promoted by Eleanor‘s court formed the basis for models of knightly behavior in the centuries to come.[^27] And the legend of Eleanor herself – the beautiful, intelligent, powerful queen who defied convention – has continued to inspire works of history, fiction, drama, film, and television around the world.[^28]
At the heart of this enduring fascination is the story of Eleanor and Henry – two strong-willed, ambitious, flawed individuals who together created one of the most powerful political unions of the Middle Ages. Their romance, born of a secret rebellion against one king and sealed by a sudden elopement to the cathedral, forever altered the course of European history. In her long and extraordinary life, Eleanor of Aquitaine blazed a trail for queens, duchesses, and women of power – a legacy that still resonates today.
References
[^1]: Bonnie Wheeler and John Carmi Parsons, eds., Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002), 3.[^2]: Alison Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life (New York: Ballantine Books, 1999), 12.
[^3]: Gervase of Canterbury, The Chronicle of the Reigns of Stephen, Henry II, and Richard I, ed. William Stubbs (London: Longman, 1879), 147.
[^4]: Jane Martindale, Status, Authority and Regional Power: Aquitaine and France, 9th to 12th Centuries (Aldershot: Variorum, 1997), 147.
[^5]: June Hall McCash, "Chrétien‘s Patrons," in A Companion to Chrétien de Troyes, eds. Norris J. Lacy and Joan Tasker Grimbert (Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 2005), 16.
[^6]: Ralph V. Turner, Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France, Queen of England (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 77.
[^7]: Ibid., 88-89.
[^8]: Marjorie Chibnall, The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1992), 66.
[^9]: Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine, 80-81.
[^10]: Ibid., 83.
[^11]: Marion Meade, Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1977), 111.
[^12]: Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine, 86.
[^13]: Turner, Eleanor of Aquitaine, 110.
[^14]: Gervase of Canterbury, Chronicle, 149.
[^15]: Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine, 91.
[^16]: Ibid., 97.
[^17]: W.L. Warren, Henry II (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973), 228.
[^18]: William D. Paden, "Troubadours and History," in The World of Eleanor of Aquitaine, eds. Marcus Bull and Catherine Léglu (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2005), 167.
[^19]: Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine, 128-129.
[^20]: John Guy, Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel (New York: Random House, 2012), 324.
[^21]: Turner, Eleanor of Aquitaine, 224.
[^22]: Ibid., 249.
[^23]: Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine, 289.
[^24]: Ibid., 308.
[^25]: Elizabeth A.R. Brown, "Eleanor of Aquitaine: Parent, Queen, and Duchess," in Eleanor of Aquitaine: Patron and Politician, ed. William W. Kibler (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1976), 16.
[^26]: Meg Bogin, The Women Troubadours (New York: Paddington Press, 1976), 63.
[^27]: C. Stephen Jaeger, The Origins of Courtliness: Civilizing Trends and the Formation of Courtly Ideals, 939-1210 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985), 207.
[^28]: Michael R. Evans, Inventing Eleanor: The Medieval and Post-Medieval Image of Eleanor of Aquitaine (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2014), 1.
