Duchess of Aquitaine: A Novel of Eleanor "Love is for peasants," Eleanor said. "We make alliances. And I intend to make a very good one." Beautiful and brilliant, Eleanor is the daughter of the duke of Aquitaine, whose glittering court is the twelfth-century birthplace of courtly love. For all of the duke's boasts that Eleanor has the brains of a man and the soul of a warrior, everyone knows that a girl of fifteen cannot possibly hold the richest dukedom in France. Everyone, that is, except for her dying father, who insists on leaving Eleanor his most valuable provinces--and making her prey to the first baron who rides in to kidnap her. In order to safeguard her lands and her life, Eleanor devises a scheme to marry the heir to the throne of France. But she must learn to be careful what she wishes for. Eleanor's alliance to Louis VII may be a dazzling one, but her husband is a cautious man, originally intended for the priesthood, whose wit and courage do not always match Eleanor's own; and she ultimately finds herself seeking an even greater match with Henry II of England. Sweeping from the courts of Paris to the perils of the Crusades, Duchess of Aquitaine gloriously illuminates the life of one of the most powerful, resourceful, and fascinating women in all of history. |
Contents
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Prologue | 1 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter One | 5 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Two | 13 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Three | 29 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Four | 43 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Five | 63 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Six | 75 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Seven | 93 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Ten | 149 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Eleven | 165 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Twelve | 183 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Thirteen | 211 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Fourteen | 241 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Fifteen | 273 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Sixteen | 303 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Seventeen | 329 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Eight | 111 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Nine | 127 |
A NOVEL OF ELEANOR Chapter Eighteen | 351 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abbot Suger Alexios Anjou Antioch Aquitaine army Arnulf Arnulf of Lisieux BenoƮt Bernard Bernard of Clairvaux bishop Bordeaux breath Cadmos Cercle-le-Monde church Clairvaux Constantinople count of Vermandois Crusade dance Dangereuse dark duchess duchess of Aquitaine duke duke of Aquitaine Edessa Eleanor emperor Everard de Barres eyes face Faenze fingers flowers forest France French Geoffrey de Rancon Geoffrey Plantagenet girl gold golden gown Greek Guilhem hair hand head hear Henry holy horse king king's knew knights lady lands laughed leave looked lord Louis Louis's Lusignan Manuel marriage married matter never noble Normandy Outremer palace Paris Petronilla Poitevins Poitiers Poitou queen Radegonde Raoul de Vermandois Raymond ride Saint sighed silk smile song stone sweet Sybille Talmont tell Thierry things thought told Turks voice waiting walls whispered William of Lezay wind wine woman women words young