Alison Weir – Eleanor Of Aquitaine (1999) (48)
General Information
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Title: Eleanor Of Aquitaine
Author: Alison Weir
Read By: Jill Tanner
Copyright: 1999
Audiobook Copyright: 2002
Genre: Nonfiction
File Information
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Number of MP3s: 290
Total Duration: 18:35:20
Total MP3 Size: 384.25
Encoded At: CBR 48 kbit/s 44100 Hz Stereo
ID3 Tags: Set, v1.1, v2.3
Book Description
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Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine was one of the leading personalities of
the Middle Ages, and also one of the most controversial.
having inherited a vast feudal domain stretching from the Loire to the
Pyrenees, she was one of the greatest heiresses in history;
yet in her own day, she was famous not only for who she was, but also
for what she did.
In an age when women were treated as mere chattels, she made her own
choices, wielded power and won widespread respect.
Circumstances, however, dictated that her memory would be sullied by
calumny and misunderstanding. Eleanor was no saint.
She was beautiful, intelligent and wilful, and in her lifetime there
were rumours about her that were not without substance.
Her contemporaries were sometimes scandalised by her behaviour. She
had been reared in a relaxed and licentious court where the arts of
the troubadours flourished,
and was even said to have presided over the fabled Courts of Love.
Eleanor married in turn Louis VII of France and Henry II of England,
and was the mother of Richard the Lionheart and King John.
She lived to be 82, but it was only in old age that she triumphed over
the adversities and tragedies of her earlier years a
nd became virtual ruler of England.
Eleanor has exerted a fascination over writers and biographers for 800
years, but the prevailing myths and legends that attach to her name
still tend to obscure the truth.
By careful research, Alison Weir has produced a vivid biography with
a fresh and provocative perspective on this extraordinary woman.
Widow of Louis VIII of France, Eleanor Of Aquitaine married the first
Plantagenet henry II of England, and was mother of two English Kings,
Richard The lionheart and John.
She played a prominent part in the politics of the 12th century.
Who was this powerful woman, wife of two kings, mother of two kings,
and heiress of the Angevin Empire?
The 12th-century chroniclers as well as later writers presented contradictory
pictures of the "most beautiful woman" in Europe.
Much of Eleanor’s story was clouded by myths depicting her as a vain,
wicked, cruel, loose-living woman.
As centuries passed Eleanor became in turn a romantic heroine or a mere
footnote in the history of Henry II and their sons,
Richard the Lionheart and John.
Weir combined the chronicles and numerous other contemporary sources
to research this medieval queen who left no writings of her own
and of whom there is no known portrait.
What Weir has done for Eleanor is to place her squarely within the turbulent
milieu of feudal England and France,
presenting a strong woman trapped in an era when women were pawns given
in marriage to increase territory and fortunes and provide offspring.
Eleanor did not conform to their pattern, even accompanying her first
husband, King Louis of France, on the Second Crusade.
After receiving an annulment, Eleanor secretly married Henry II, but
faced a difficult and troubled marriage with her lustful husband.
As punishment for supporting her sons against their father, she suffered
the humiliation of imprisonment and rejection by Henry.
Eleanor recovered her leadership role after his death, displaying strong
political acumen. Of her eight children by Henry,
she favored Richard and constantly strove to reconcile him with his
brothers, especially John, who coveted the English throne.
Weir depicts Eleanor as a powerful ruler who worked to save her own
kingdom by supporting wise policies and patronage.
She also creates a broad panorama of the 12th century, with its constant
feudal battles, land grabs, and the treacheries of those who jockeyed
for power.
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