Eleanor of Aquitane is often given the epitah of the most powerful woman in Medieval Europe, and with good reason. She was charming, beautiful and fiercely intelligent. She married a king of both France and England and had two sons who became Kings aswell!

Eleanor was the oldest of three children born to the Duke and Duchess of Aquitaine. The court of the French province was one of the most cultured and beautiful in the world and the young girl had an extensive education in the arts, languages and classics as well as more active pursuits such as riding and hunting. She was said to be very beautiful, though the colour of her complexion is unknown, and possessed of a strong will and free spirit.

At the age of 15, when her father passed away she became Duchess of Aquitaine and inherited all of his estates. She was left to the care of the king, Louis VI who quickly married her to his son the Prince, so that her lands may be brought under control of the crown. While married to Louis she took part in the Crusades, riding at the head of the vassals of her Duchy, she was much acclaimed for her bravery and compared to an Amazon Queen. However the crusades were not successful for her and her husband who had begun to drift apart in their marriage as well. They divorced shortly afterwards.

Eleanor’s second marriage to Henry II was not an easy one either, but possibly they were closer and certainly respected eachother. They had eight children, one of whom became the famous king Richard the Lionheart. Eventually, disgusted by Henry’s behaviour, Eleanor returned with some of her sons to Aquitaine, from where she encouraged them to stage a revolt against the King. She was captured by Henry and imprisoned in Winchester castle for 15 years. On his death her son Richard became King and she, his Regent. She survived Richard to see her son John become king and arranged his marriage herself.

Eleanor was a powerful Queen who led an incredible life, she had more influence than any other woman of her era and very much typified the ideal of ‘the power behind the throne.’ Her story is so fascinating I could barely brush the surface of it here, so I do suggest reading these resources to learn more about the Lioness Queen.

reference 1, reference 2