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 7
... Poitiers and Toulouse , who both wished to rule what was now the duchy of Aquitaine . By the middle of the tenth ... Poitiers Cathedral , collected books , and promoted learning at his court at Poitiers , already the leading centre of ...
... Poitiers and Toulouse , who both wished to rule what was now the duchy of Aquitaine . By the middle of the tenth ... Poitiers Cathedral , collected books , and promoted learning at his court at Poitiers , already the leading centre of ...
Page 25
... Poitiers , crossing the River Charente at Saintes and spending their first night together as man and wife at the castle of Taillebourg , owned by Eleanor's loyal and chivalrous vassal Geoffrey de Rançon.1 Louis was a virgin when he ...
... Poitiers , crossing the River Charente at Saintes and spending their first night together as man and wife at the castle of Taillebourg , owned by Eleanor's loyal and chivalrous vassal Geoffrey de Rançon.1 Louis was a virgin when he ...
Page 170
... Poitiers for the foreseeable future . This was not , as some historians have speculated , a marital separation as ... Poitiers and Niort , he razed it to the ground and ravaged the surrounding lands , so forcing the dis- Eleanor's palace ...
... Poitiers for the foreseeable future . This was not , as some historians have speculated , a marital separation as ... Poitiers and Niort , he razed it to the ground and ravaged the surrounding lands , so forcing the dis- Eleanor's palace ...
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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