The Woman

Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine the woman, was a very special person. She didn't stay home, she didn't cook, and she impacted life. She was associated with a very high class of people that made her impact so significant. Eleanor was busy giving birth to ten children. Two were; from King Louis VII, also known as the Younger of France. The children were both girls. One was named Marie and the other, Alix. There were no male children, which made Louis furious. The furiosness inside him, led to the divorce with Eleanor. King Henry II of England and Eleanor produced two future kings, Richard I and John I. Richard is sometimes called the Lionhearted or in french, Coeur de Lion.   Mother Eleanor was influencial in Richard and John as kings. They might have inherited the throne, but politically, they were inexperienced. Eleanor was always by her sons' sides. She was consulted on all matters of state When King Richard I went away on the Third Crusade, she outmanouvered John in his only attempt to seize the throne. She was a mother to them, rather than Queen Eleanor.   Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine was a special woman. She was a mother that was very rare at the time. She a wife that was very rare at the time. She was a person very rare at the time. To be as different as she was, she had to achieve being a queen. Eleanor possessed a good heart, but she wouldn't have the impact she had, if she had been a peasant. King Henry II, who imprisoned her at a point, made her out to her be like a Robin Hood.

She was a good person for people and her family, but a higher power looked down on her.  Her role to her family was one of great importance. She assisted her sister, Petronella get married. Eleanor was able to encourage a nobleman to divorce his wife, in order to marry Petronella. The family of the woman he divorced was very mad. They, as long with the town of Vitry opened a war with King Louis VII. The French army came out victorious in a war druing which over one thousand people died. Eleanor was a woman for her sister, but didn't invision the consequences of her actions.   Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine also brought a great change in music. The woman she was, brought musicians and poets to Northern France. This continued with the fame of the troubadours. One of the most famous and earliest preserved troubadours was Duke Guillaume IX of Aquitaine. In English, Guillaume is William. He was Eleanor's grandfather. He was one of over four hundred troubadours who made their form of music popular from the late 11th century and early 13th century. The troubadours took lyrics from poems, and changed the language to their native tongue, and added a vocal composition. They were the first to use their native language in song, instead of Latin which was the written language.   Her death in 1204 was witnessed by many people, because she was a woman of the people and a woman of the time. There are no authenticated portraits of her, however, there are many portraits that display her as she was. The only authenticated image of her is the effigy at Fontevrault, which can be seen on this page.