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 12
... wife , Ermengarde of Anjou , who withdrew there after the death of her sec- ond husband . These ladies were accommodated in their own apart- ments , where they could enjoy worldly status and comforts while living in seclusion . The ...
... wife , Ermengarde of Anjou , who withdrew there after the death of her sec- ond husband . These ladies were accommodated in their own apart- ments , where they could enjoy worldly status and comforts while living in seclusion . The ...
Page 66
... wife , since they were related into the fourth and fifth degrees . " 34 She said " she would not live as the wife of a man whom she had dis- covered was her cousin " ; 35 it was her belief that her failure to bear a son was due to God's ...
... wife , since they were related into the fourth and fifth degrees . " 34 She said " she would not live as the wife of a man whom she had dis- covered was her cousin " ; 35 it was her belief that her failure to bear a son was due to God's ...
Page 233
... wife of Sir Eustace de Vesci , Eustace smuggled a whore into John's bed in her place . The next day , when John boasted to Eustace about how good his wife had been in bed , Eustace could not resist telling him the truth , thereby ...
... wife of Sir Eustace de Vesci , Eustace smuggled a whore into John's bed in her place . The next day , when John boasted to Eustace about how good his wife had been in bed , Eustace could not resist telling him the truth , thereby ...
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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