Famous French People Culture Project 

 

By June Tome

 

 

Nom

 I am Eleanor of Aquitaine.

 

Pays/Ville

 I am from Aquitaine, France.

 

Details Personnels:

 I was originally a duchess of the wealthy and large region of Aquitaine, but after I married I always made sure that I was in control of the land of Aquitaine.  I was crowned Queen of France in 1137 only a few days after my wedding to Louis VII. He was only a year older than me and I had great influence over him in the first years of our marriage. I became Queen when I was only fifteen years old and after several years our marriage was anulled and I married Henry II and I later became the Queen of England. As a woman I had a great deal of authority living in 12th century Europe due to the huge amount of land that I inherited from my father and my desire for having more power as a woman in ruling  both France and England. I am also known as the " Grandmother of Europe" for all of the royal lines that I started and for the many  royal marriages that I arranged for my children.

 

Date de Naissance:

I was born on 1122 in Bordeaux in southern France.

 

Date de Mort:

I died on 1204 in Anjou, France at the age of 82.

 

Sexe:.

I am a female.

 

Croyances Politiques:

I support the monarchy as a result of being the Queen of France and later becoming the Queen of England. However, I wanted to overthrow my husband Henry II the King of France in the rebellion between 1173-1174. I tried to encourage my sons to revolt agianst their father because my relationship with my husband grew very bitter after several years of marriage because of his infidelity. The rebellion was unsuccessful and I was locked up in the castle of Touraine and I was unable to go anywhere without permission. I spent my life this way for the next sixteen years by being locked up in several other casltes, until the death of my husband.

 

Croyances Religieuses:

I strongly believe in the Christian religion and that is why I accompanied my husband to the Holy Land to help convert mulsims to Christianity during the Crusades. However, I encountered some problems with the church when I wanted my younger sister to marry an already married man. Bernard of Clairvaux was a very powerful religious writer and preacher of the time and he shared very different views than mine and we had many conflicts. I finally mad peace with the church in 1145, years afterward.

 

Situation de Famille:

I married Louis VII that later became the King of France in 1137. Our marriage lasted several years and we had two daughters together. However, problems started to occur in our marriage when I traveled with him in the Second Crusade of 1147 to the Holy Land. Rumors started that I was having an affair with my uncle Raymond of Poitiers during the Crusade. To make matters even worse a dispute broke out between both of them when Louis wanted to go to Jerusalem, while Raymond wanted to stay to defend Antioch. I sided with Raymond instead of  with my husband and our marrriage was even more torn apart. We traveled on seperate ships back to France from the crusade where we had an annulement of our marriage in 1152.  It was not proper to have a divorce and as a result we had an anullement. I later married Henry II that was elleven years younger than me and he was the lord of Normandy and Anjou in France and was also heir to the English throne. In 1154 we became King and Queen of England and our marriage lasted until his death in 1189.  I married him because I needed protection because it was common for noblewomen to be kidnapped by men for possesion of their lands and Henry II wanted the lands of Aquitaine to belong to England. It was a great political match that benfited the both of us. However, my marriage to him caused bad relations between France and England.  Louis VII claimed that our marriage was invalid because I did not ask for his permission to marry the King of England. the reason I did not ask for his permsission, as was my noble duty, was because I knew he would never consent. The King of France as a result fought wars against England over the custody of me. However he eventually gave up and he was foced to acknowledged my marriage to Henry II.

 

Enfants:

I had ten children and two of them became the King of England. I had eight children with Henry II and ony two children with Loiuis VII. I did not have a male heir with the King of France as he wanted and instead we had two daughters. My children are: William (1153-1156); Henry the "young king" (1155-1183); Matilda (1156-1189), Duke of Saxony; Richard (1157-1199); Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany (1158-1186); Eleanor (1162-1214), ; Joanna (1165-1199), and John (1167-1216).

 

En Cherchant:

I was always looking for more power as a women in ruling the country, instead of just my husband as the king having all the power. I struggled all my life to fit into the traditional women's roles and was never content in just watching my husband rule the country alone. I  managed to earn a lot of authority  and became very involved in ruling the country and being in charge of my own land of Aquitaine. I eventually became officially in charge of ruling the duchy of Aquitaine and my own royal courts as well.

 

Metier:

Originally my job was as Duchess of the lands of Aquitaine and I have always had the great responsibility of controllong the land and making sure that it maintained its high status. Later when I became the Queen of France and afterwards the Queen of England I had a tremendous amount of repsonsibilities. I had to aid my husband the King in ruling over the country that meant being involved in the political affairs of the country. I was very involved in the Second Crusade and in other religious matters. I also aided my sons when they became kings and I helped settle their disputes and fighting for the crown.  I thought it was my duty as well to help arrange marriages for my children to ensure that they would maintain a high noble status and lead a very good life.  I had many responsibilities as Queen that I needed to do in order for the country to be successsful into the future.

 

Interets/Loisirs:

I have always been interested in traveling because when I was a young girl my father always took me with him during his travels. Even when I grew older I continued to travel around Europe to help arrange marriages for my daughters and sons to assure that they would have high positions in society. I also spent most of my time involved in political affairs of the country and used my family ties to increase my authority and that of my sons. I was the one that kept England unified when my son Richard that was king at the time was captured on his way back from the Third Crusade, until he returned. I personally had to deliver a ransom in Germany to give to the Holy Roman Emperor, for Richard to be set free. I constantly spent my time trying to control who was in power of England and I was very clever in manipulating family ties. For example, I tried to prevent my youngest son John from stealing the crown from his elder brother Richard. However, when Richard suddenly died in 1199 I helped John secure the position as King of England and I served as his powerful advisor and diplomat. I always used my family ties to ensure that I kept my authority and always watched out for the political affairs of the country as a whole, and the inentions of individuals.

 

Accomplissements:

I was one of the most politically influential women in the Middle Ages thanks to the vast lands of Aquitaine that I inherited.  Those lands were part of my huge sucess throughout my life, because I married the King of France and England because it was in their best interest to have the land as part of their empire. If I would not have inherited the land I might not have married to such a high noble class and I might have only remained with the title as Duchess of Aquitaine. I was also very clever in the anullement of my first marriage and I ensured that I always kept my land instead of France keeping the land when I became Queen of England. Those lands are what gave me so much power compared to other women living in the Middle Ages and my clever management and use of the lands. I was never content just staying in the castle, but wanted to rule along with my husband and be very active in the political affairs of the country. I am mainly remembered for my accomplishments in seetting up the famous Court of Poitiers that had many influental poets and artists and for my great involvement in ruling the country as a women. Compared to other women in the Middle Ages I had a tremendous amount of authority and fought for more power.

 

Education:

I received a very good education due to the wealthy family I was raised in and my father's desires for me to have the best education possible. I learned to read and speak latin, was educated in music and literature and many other subjects as well.  I learned the basics of math and I also learned to identify the constellations in the sky, while most women were only taught to embroider or do other traditional roles that women were expected to do. In the 12th century women were usually not educated and the lower classes received  very little education. I was very fortunate to receive such high education due to the time period that I live in and my education inspired other women to do the same.

 

Romans Favoris:

I do not have a favorite novel, but I have always loved to listen to poetry and I enjoy reading about romance. My father was a poet and he loved the arts and he greatly influenced me during my childhood to read poetry.  As a result when I became Queen I always made sure that famous poets attended the royal courts at my castles and I also made sure to educate my children in literature. Famous writers and musicians came to my royal courts such as: Bernart de Ventadour, Chrétien de Troyes, and Bertran de Born. The royal court at Poitiers became a meeting place were writers came.  In fact, some people say that we formed the "courts of love" and the courts always maintained a high status of being a place were writers gathered.

 

Musique Preferee:

I enjoyed listening to musicians come and perform at my royal palaces to entertain my guests. I loved listening to performances given by orchestras and listening to the melodies of the violins and other instruments that were common of my time era. I do not have a specific favorite song, but  I enjoy listening to great musical performances at my courts and that is part of the reason they are so famous in all of France. Besides for the writers that came to my courts it was full of famous musicians from all around Europe as well. It was very prestigious for musicians to come and play for the King and Queen in the Middle Ages.

 

Personnage que je voudrais rencontrer et pourquoi:

I believe I would choose the famous poet Marie de France because I truly love poetry and it was a huge part of my life from early childhood. I have often been called "the patroness of the arts and love" that reflects how much  I enjoyed listening to musicians and writers perform at my royal courts. Marie de France has written very famous short stories, fables and stories about the lives of saints. Little is known of her, but I would greatly enjoy to have her come to my castle at Poitiers and have her read her poetry to me.

  

Amis:

I had a very good relationship with my favorite son named Richard who was named the "lionhearted". At a ceremonial crown wearing in Winchester I was the one who presided as Queen instead of his wife. It shows how close our bond as mother and son was and how we shared a lot of power together. I was devasted when he died because he was my favorite son. Another person that I had a very good relationship with was Raymond of Poitiers. We traveled together on the Second Crusade and became very close firends. I even supported his military decisions instead of backing up the military decisions from my husband. Unfortunatley he was killed in battle at a young age.  However, I always had to be carfeul of my firends' intentions for political power and at times I was allies with some of my friends and at other times we were enemies.

  

Citation Memorable:

"I thought I had married a king, but instead I have found that I married a monk" is a very famous quote that I said during my lifetime. It expressed the frustration that I had while I was married to the King of France and it shows how our relationship was not very strong, that soon lead to the anullement of our marriage. I said this quote during the Second Crusade to my uncle Prince Raymond, while we were discussing the problems of my marriage to the king. Our marraige was at its worst during the Crusade and I even refused to return on the same ship with my husband to France. The pope officially recognized our anullement due to the excuse that our blood ties were too close for us to be married.

 

Mon Influence sur la Culture Francaise

          I had a huge impact on French culture as the Queen of France and still had a great impact as Queen of England as well. I greatly showed women that they could do much more than was expected of them during the Middle Ages. I was never content to let my husband rule and have all the power. I always wanted to share the power and have more rights as a woman that was at times very challenging. I did many things at that time that were not acceptable behaviors for women such as: accompanying my husband on the Second Crusade dressed for battle and prepared to help the wounded soldiers. Many blamed the failure of the crusade due to all the women I brought on the voyage. I did not let that stop me and I continued to push the limits of women's roles in society. Most noblewomen at the time spent their entire life in their castles and were not actively invloved in the affairs of the kingdom. I however lead a very active life and traveled around all of Europe. I also had very important authority in my own courts and invited  many poets and artists to my castles. I also held great responsibilities and authority over my lands of Aquitaine that belonged to me, as the heir after my father's death and the death of my brothers. Furthermore, I was always very involved in the ruling of the country, despite being a women living in the Middle Ages. I lead a very active role in the political affairs of the country and what went on outside of the castle as well.       

 

       Other impacts that I had on French culture include turning the land of Aquitaine into an important cultural center for: famous poets. muisicians, artists, singers, and writers. Europe was getting out of the Middle Ages and new ideas and arts were becoming increasingly important. Aquitaine became known as a center of culture and as a result many noblemen wanted to add the land to their own knigdoms to gain more power and authority. It is one of the reasons that the King of France married me, for possesion of the lands and later for similar reasons that I also married the King of France. I needed their protection and they wanted my lands and as a result many political reasons were invloved. I had a very important impact on Paris when I became Queen of France. I originally hated the city because I was accustomed to the nature of Bordeaux where I was born and the beautiful coastlines. I transfromed the city of Paris into a center of art and literature that I was accustomed to in my home lands of Aquitane. Today Paris continues to be a very important part of France and is known for its many museums that are full of art and other important aspects. I was the one who set the high standards for cities and emphasized the importance of the arts and music.

 

        I also influenced french culture by the english culture having a strong mark and influence on french culture as well. This is because when I married the King of France the lands that I held at Aqutaine were now part of England and he already controlled the lands of Anjou and Normandy before I married him. As a result his lands were larger than the lands of even the King of France at the time. I also influenced the conflicting relationship between France and England for many years because of the marriage I had with Henry II that Louis VII did not accept. I tried to improve the relationship and at one time I even became allies with Louis VII again. Despite obstacles between France and Engalnd, I was always very involved with the kingdom and made sure that Aquitaine kept its reputation for a center of the arts. I brought a great change to Europe that had been under tremendous influence by the church and I brought new ideas that made Europe a center for learning and education. During my reign people from all over the world came to the universities that I helped create and schools that I founded. Furthtermore, I had a tremendous impact on French culture by emphasizing the arts and literature during my reign and showing how women could gain more rights and did not have to accept the traditional role that women had at that time. Additionally, I became one of the most powerful and influential women in Europe during the 12th century due to all of my accomlishments, and my active rule in ruling the country throughout my life.

 

Resources:

 

"Eleanor of Aquitaine." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Vol. 5. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 246-247. 23 vols. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. 7 June 2009 <http://find.galegroup.com/gvrl/>.

 

Eleanor of Aquitaine." Historic World Leaders. Gale Research, Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC>.

 

"Eleanor of Aquitaine." The Crusades Reference Library. Eds. Michael O'Neal, Marcia Means, and Neil Schlager. Vol. 2: Biographies. Detroit: U*X*L, 2005. 75-82. 4 vols. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. 7 June 2009 <http://find.galegroup.com/gvrl/>.

 

"Eleanor of Aquitaine." World Eras, Vol. 4: Medieval Europe (814-1350). Gale Group, 2002. 

Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC>.