How Eleanor of Aquitaine Influenced and Reflected Her Times Essay Example
British Studies Term Paper
19 November 2012
Eleanor of Aquitaine As an aristocratic woman never intended to inherit her father’s duchy and living in the socially constricted confines of the Middle Ages, Eleanor of Aquitaine led a surprisingly long and influential life. She was the queen consort to two kings of two different, yet both powerful, European countries; conspired with her sons to lead a revolt against her husband; and even after being imprisoned for over ten years, she persevered and exerted herself to protect her rights, her ancestral lands, and her children. Eleanor of Aquitaine led a life active in the politics and administration of her inherited lands and later England, after her second husband Henry of Anjou acceded to the English throne. During the High Middle Ages, it was extremely rare for a woman to wield political power because of the rigid social constraints enforced by both Church and state. However, Eleanor was the heiress to an extremely large and rich estate, wealthier even than the kingdom of France (Parsons, 4-5). Therefore, whomever she married would control this valuable expanse of land. This is because power was determined in patrimonial terms during her lifetime, and marriage was an “important instrument of royal alliance” (Parsons, 63). Eleanor’s first marriage to the Capetian King Louis VII in 1137, therefore, resulted in her vast property and rights being handed over to her husband. After fifteen years of marriage, however, Eleanor did not produce a male heir, which posed a considerable threat to the continuation of the Capetian royal dynasty. Although both sides placed blame on the other, the marriage was annulled on the “convenient grounds of consanguinity;” the Church deemed them too closely related, even though they had already been married fifteen years (Weir 90). After her first marriage was dissolved, Eleanor regained possession of her former lands of Aquitaine and Poitou. The value of her estate attracted many
19 November 2012
Eleanor of Aquitaine As an aristocratic woman never intended to inherit her father’s duchy and living in the socially constricted confines of the Middle Ages, Eleanor of Aquitaine led a surprisingly long and influential life. She was the queen consort to two kings of two different, yet both powerful, European countries; conspired with her sons to lead a revolt against her husband; and even after being imprisoned for over ten years, she persevered and exerted herself to protect her rights, her ancestral lands, and her children. Eleanor of Aquitaine led a life active in the politics and administration of her inherited lands and later England, after her second husband Henry of Anjou acceded to the English throne. During the High Middle Ages, it was extremely rare for a woman to wield political power because of the rigid social constraints enforced by both Church and state. However, Eleanor was the heiress to an extremely large and rich estate, wealthier even than the kingdom of France (Parsons, 4-5). Therefore, whomever she married would control this valuable expanse of land. This is because power was determined in patrimonial terms during her lifetime, and marriage was an “important instrument of royal alliance” (Parsons, 63). Eleanor’s first marriage to the Capetian King Louis VII in 1137, therefore, resulted in her vast property and rights being handed over to her husband. After fifteen years of marriage, however, Eleanor did not produce a male heir, which posed a considerable threat to the continuation of the Capetian royal dynasty. Although both sides placed blame on the other, the marriage was annulled on the “convenient grounds of consanguinity;” the Church deemed them too closely related, even though they had already been married fifteen years (Weir 90). After her first marriage was dissolved, Eleanor regained possession of her former lands of Aquitaine and Poitou. The value of her estate attracted many