Eleanor of Aquitaine: A LifeRenowned in her time for being the most beautiful woman in Europe, the wife of two kings and mother of three, Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the great heroines of the Middle Ages. At a time when women were regarded as little more than chattel, Eleanor managed to defy convention as she exercised power in the political sphere and crucial influence over her husbands and sons. In this beautifully written biography, Alison Weir paints a vibrant portrait of this truly exceptional woman, and provides new insights into her intimate world. Eleanor of Aquitaine lived a long life of many contrasts, of splendor and desolation, power and peril, and in this stunning narrative, Weir captures the woman - and the queen - in all her glory. With astonishing historic detail, mesmerizing pageantry, and irresistible accounts of royal scandal and intrigue, she recreates not only a remarkable personality but a magnificent past era. |
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Page 131
... Arthur had come to embody every contempo- rary ideal of knighthood and kingship . Many stories were told of him , most of them mythical , but in their day they were accepted as histori- cal fact and eagerly retold and embellished by ...
... Arthur had come to embody every contempo- rary ideal of knighthood and kingship . Many stories were told of him , most of them mythical , but in their day they were accepted as histori- cal fact and eagerly retold and embellished by ...
Page 315
... Arthur of Brittany had the better dynastic claim , but the law of primogeniture was by no means established at this time ; moreover , Arthur was a mere boy and John a grown man , although to vassals desirous of gaining autonomy and ...
... Arthur of Brittany had the better dynastic claim , but the law of primogeniture was by no means established at this time ; moreover , Arthur was a mere boy and John a grown man , although to vassals desirous of gaining autonomy and ...
Page 336
... Arthur was John's nephew , his own flesh and blood , and Queen Eleanor had exhorted the King to spare her grandson's life . Undoubtedly , John shrank from the consequences of ordering Arthur to be publicly put to death . Arthur had been ...
... Arthur was John's nephew , his own flesh and blood , and Queen Eleanor had exhorted the King to spare her grandson's life . Undoubtedly , John shrank from the consequences of ordering Arthur to be publicly put to death . Arthur had been ...
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Common terms and phrases
abbey Abbot Alys Angevin Archbishop army Arthur barons Becket Berengaria Bernard Bishop Blois Bordeaux Brittany brother castle Cathedral Chinon Christmas chroniclers Chronique Church court crown crusade daughter death domains Duchess duchy Duke of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine Emperor English father Fontevrault French Geoffrey Gervase of Canterbury Giraldus Cambrensis Guillaume le Maréchale heir Henry and Eleanor Henry's honour Hugh husband Ibid Isabella Jerusalem Joanna John's King Louis King of England King of France King's kingdom knights L'Histoire de Guillaume London Longchamp Louis's Lusignan marriage married Matilda mother Norman Normandy overlord palace Paris peace Philip Pipe Rolls Poitevin Poitiers Poitou Pope Queen Eleanor Ralph of Coggeshall Ralph of Diceto Raoul Raymond reign Richard of Devizes Robert of Torigni Roger of Hoveden Roger of Wendover Rosamund Rouen royal sent sons Suger Theobald took Toulouse troubadours twelfth century vassals Walter Map wife William of Newburgh Winchester Young King