Eleanor Of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England

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Jones, Dan (2013). The Plantagenets: The Kings who made England. London: William Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-721394-8. It is your province to release my son, unless the fear of God has yielded to a human fear. Restore my son to me, then, O man of God, if indeed you are a man of God and not a man of mere blood. For know that if you are slow in releasing my son, from your hand will the Most High require his blood."

Eleanor was a woman who took charge of her own life and owned not just her inherited lands but also strategized and manipulated to get her way in a rich elitist man's world with finesse. She was also in charge of her own sexuality and took pleasure in her beauty and moderate intellect. She was an immensely devoted mother to her sons and mostly used her daughters as political pawns. She was a mother of 10 and outlived eight of her children. She went on the Second Crusade and had numerous affairs...some of them incestuous. She became a wise ruler in her later years and was the queen of France and England and often acted as a regent for her young sons. She could be cruel to her adversaries, was faithful to her Catholic faith and at times could be quite caring and benevolent. This book is well-written and extensive research has been conducted during its compilation. The analysis is presented in a subtle manner. One of my favorite aspects of this book is that Weir roots out substantiated rumors and exposes their origins. For example, the murder of Rosamund; some of the legends associated with Eleanor's murder of Rosamund began after all parties were dead and were developed to satisfy political agendas, some even naming the wrong queen named Eleanor entirely! Wheeler, Bonnie; Parsons, John C., eds. (2008) [2002]. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady (reprinted.). Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-60236-6.Weir really tries to make her subject accessible to the reader, yet Eleanor elusively is just that little bit beyond our reach. In the end, it feels like we know more about what Eleanor wasn't than what she was. For me, this was a frustrating read as I waited for Eleanor of Aquitaine to take center-stage in her own biography. As I neared the middle I resigned myself to the knowledge that she has been truly relegated to the sidelines of History, despite her remarkable achieves. After this, reading became an exercise to finish this book rather than an enjoyment. When you finish the book you feel you have been put painlessly (but not necessarily without tears) in possession of the facts about this extraordinary, indefatigable woman." ( The Spectator)

Weir doesn't speculate on the daily prodding Eleanor might have given her sons to make war on their father, but she presents evidence to demonstrate that she tried to temper their wars against each other. Her efforts on behalf of the kidnapped Richard are extraordinary. There is no record, but legend has it that she sought leniency for her imprisoned (by her son) grandson and other legends have it that she killed him. As soon as the annulment was granted, Eleanor became engaged to her third cousin Henry, Duke of Normandy. The couple married on Whitsun, 18 May 1152 in Poitiers. Eleanor was crowned queen of England at Westminster Abbey in 1154, when Henry acceded to the throne. Henry and Eleanor had five sons and three daughters, but eventually became estranged. Henry imprisoned her in 1173 for supporting the revolt of their eldest son, Henry the Young King, against him. She was not released until 6 July 1189, when her husband died and their third son, Richard I, ascended the throne. As queen dowager, Eleanor acted as regent while Richard went on the Third Crusade. [5] She lived well into the reign of her youngest son, John. Duby, George (1997). Women of the Twelfth Century, Volume 1: Eleanor of Aquitaine and Six Others. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-16780-0. Once the sons were all born and grew up and started fighting the book got AWESOME. It was as good as guilty pleasure Kardashian-esque reality TV. Again, I think only a little of this is due to Weir's actual authorship - this family was just super batshit crazy. I could just see Eleanor sitting in her castle a la Lucille Bluth on "Arrested Development" : a b c Weir, Alison (2007). Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England. London: Vintage. p.352. ISBN 978-0-099-52355-0.This book strips away much of the myth. It reads like a medieval legend. This is readable history at its best, and a fascinating insight into the medieval mind." ( Northern Echo and various other local papers) Just a taste of Weir's great novel, where the author discusses how restrictive and how excrutianting for women Eleanor's time was: Blogging Pound's The Cantos: Cantos VI and VII". gordsellar.com. 3 April 2012 . Retrieved 23 February 2022. married 1) Isabella, countess of Gloucester 2) Isabella, countess of Angoulême; had issue, including Henry III, King of England, Richard, king of the Romans, Joan, queen of Scotland, Isabella, Holy Roman Empress An alluringly candid portrait of this most public yet elusive woman… A truly epic landscape of twelfth-century Europe in all its blood and glory." ( The Boston Globe)