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. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 42
Page 5
... duchy of Aquitaine , named " land of waters " after the great rivers that dissected it : the Garonne , the Charente , the Creuse , the Vienne , the Dordogne , and the Vézère . The duchy also incorporated the counties of Saintonge , An ...
... duchy of Aquitaine , named " land of waters " after the great rivers that dissected it : the Garonne , the Charente , the Creuse , the Vienne , the Dordogne , and the Vézère . The duchy also incorporated the counties of Saintonge , An ...
Page 16
... duchy was higher than elsewhere in feudal Europe . Women could inherit property in their own right and even rule autonomously over lands they inherited . They took a part in public life and , unlike women in northern France , were not ...
... duchy was higher than elsewhere in feudal Europe . Women could inherit property in their own right and even rule autonomously over lands they inherited . They took a part in public life and , unlike women in northern France , were not ...
Page 74
... duchy , on her death , would be inherited by the eldest son of her sec- ond marriage , and Marie would be deprived of her inheritance . Suger was committed to the eventual permanent absorption of Aquitaine into the French royal demesne ...
... duchy , on her death , would be inherited by the eldest son of her sec- ond marriage , and Marie would be deprived of her inheritance . Suger was committed to the eventual permanent absorption of Aquitaine into the French royal demesne ...
Other editions - View all
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