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 60
... Christmas Eve , the Christians were victorious in their first skirmish with the Turks , cutting down many , driving the rest into the hills , and raiding their deserted camp for gold and food . On Christmas Day and for the next four ...
... Christmas Eve , the Christians were victorious in their first skirmish with the Turks , cutting down many , driving the rest into the hills , and raiding their deserted camp for gold and food . On Christmas Day and for the next four ...
Page 186
... Christmas Day , from his pulpit in Canterbury Cathedral , the Archbishop publicly denounced the renegade bishops and published his sentence of excommunication on them . What followed was not only the most cataclysmic disaster of the ...
... Christmas Day , from his pulpit in Canterbury Cathedral , the Archbishop publicly denounced the renegade bishops and published his sentence of excommunication on them . What followed was not only the most cataclysmic disaster of the ...
Page 237
... Christmas , the King sent Geoffrey to Normandy to take charge of the duchy in his absence , a move that astonished observers and led to rumours that Henry was contemplating naming Geoffrey as his heir . Geoffrey's duchess , Constance ...
... Christmas , the King sent Geoffrey to Normandy to take charge of the duchy in his absence , a move that astonished observers and led to rumours that Henry was contemplating naming Geoffrey as his heir . Geoffrey's duchess , Constance ...
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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