Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France, Queen of England (2009)

Eleanor of Aquitaine's extraordinary life seems more likely to be found in the pages of fiction. Proud daughter of a distinguished French dynasty, she married the king of France, Louis VII, then the king of England, Henry II, and gave birth to two sons who rose to take the English throne--Richard the Lionheart and John. Renowned for her beauty, hungry for power, headstrong, and unconventional, Eleanor traveled on crusades, acted as regent for Henry II and later for Richard, incited rebellion, endured a fifteen-year imprisonment, and as an elderly widow still wielded political power with energy and enthusiasm. This gripping biography is the definitive account of the most important queen of the Middle Ages. Ralph Turner, a leading historian of the twelfth century, strips away the myths that have accumulated around Eleanor--the "black legend" of her sexual appetite, for example--and challenges the accounts that relegate her to the shadows of the kings she married and bore. Turner focuses on a wealth of primary sources, including a collection of Eleanor's own documents not previously accessible to scholars, and portrays a woman who sought control of her own destiny in the face of forceful resistance. A queen of unparalleled appeal, Eleanor of Aquitaine retains her power to fascinate even 800 years after her death

Eleanor of Aquitaine’s extraordinary life seems more likely to be found in the pages of fiction. Proud daughter of a distinguished French dynasty, she married the king of France, Louis VII, then the king of England, Henry II, and gave birth to two sons who rose to take the English throne—Richard the Lionheart and John. Renowned for her beauty, hungry for power, headstrong, and unconventional, Eleanor traveled on crusades, acted as regent for Henry II and later for Richard, incited rebellion, endured a fifteen-year imprisonment, and as an elderly widow still wielded political power with energy and enthusiasm.

This gripping biography is the definitive account of the most important queen of the Middle Ages. Ralph Turner, a leading historian of the twelfth century, strips away the myths that have accumulated around Eleanor—the “black legend” of her sexual appetite, for example—and challenges the accounts that relegate her to the shadows of the kings she married and bore. Turner focuses on a wealth of primary sources, including a collection of Eleanor’s own documents not previously accessible to scholars, and portrays a woman who sought control of her own destiny in the face of forceful resistance. A queen of unparalleled appeal, Eleanor of Aquitaine retains her power to fascinate even 800 years after her death. CONTENTS 5 List of Illustrations 7 List of Maps 9 Acknowledgments 10 Genealogies 16 Introduction: Searching for a “Truthful Image” of Eleanor of Aquitaine 19 1. Growing Up in the Ducal Court of Aquitaine, 1124–1137 28 2. Bride to a King, Queen of the French, 1137–1145 57 3. Adventures and Misadventures on the Second Crusade, 1145–1149 88 4. A Husband Lost, a Husband Gained, 1149–1154 117 5. Once More a Queen and Mother: England, 1154–1168 141 6. A Queen’s Work: Regent for an Absentee King, 1155–1168 168 7. A Taste of Power in Poitou, 1168–1173 193 8. A Queen’s Discontent and her Sons’ Thwarted Ambitions, 1173–1174 223 9. A Captive Queen’s Lost Years, 1174–1189 249 10. The Queen-Mother: Richard’s Reign, 1189–1199 274 11. Securing the Plantagenet Legacy: John’s Reign, 1199–1204 298 12. Overwhelmed by a Black Legend 317 Abbreviations 332 Notes 336 Bibliography 382 Index 401 Proud daughter of a distinguished French dynasty, Eleanor of Aquitaine married the king of France, Louis VII, then the king of England, Henry II, and gave birth to two sons who rose to take the English throne - Richard the Lionheart and John. This title offers an account of the most important queen of the Middle Ages.