Eleanor of Aquitaine
Woman, Queen and Legend
Lindy GrantThe life, power, influence and myth of Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Eleanor of Aquitaine (1124–1204), the legendary queen of France and later England, has captivated historians for centuries. Heiress to the duchy of Aquitaine, wife to King Henry II and mother to Richard the Lionheart and King John, her life was marked by power, influence and myth. This concise, accessible history sheds new light on Eleanor, cutting through the hearsay and slander with a close reading of primary sources. It highlights the family bonds that shaped her power and identity, tracing her roots to the Loire rather than the Occitan south. Lindy Grant demonstrates that Eleanor’s story is one of resilience: like Churchill, she saved England during a national crisis, though her political judgement could be equally erratic.
The life, power, influence and myth of Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Eleanor of Aquitaine (1124–1204), the legendary queen of France and later England, has captivated historians for centuries. Heiress to the duchy of Aquitaine, wife to King Henry II and mother to Richard the Lionheart and King John, her life was marked by power, influence and myth. This concise, accessible history sheds new light on Eleanor, cutting through the hearsay and slander with a close reading of primary sources. It highlights the family bonds that shaped her power and identity, tracing her roots to the Loire rather than the Occitan south. Lindy Grant demonstrates that Eleanor’s story is one of resilience: like Churchill, she saved England during a national crisis, though her political judgement could be equally erratic.
-
'
This is an outstanding, sharply observed biography written by one of the UK’s foremost specialists in the history of medieval France and its queens. A tour de force combining profound critical analysis with engaging writing, this is the best biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine to date.
'Elisabeth van Houts, Emeritus Honorary Professor of Medieval European History, University of Cambridge
-
'
Who can resist the idea of comparing Eleanor of Aquitaine with Winston Churchill? Not me! Certainly not when the thought comes from Lindy Grant, world-renowned authority on French politics and culture and author of Blanche of Castile, Queen of France, the modern study on Eleanor’s granddaughter and one of France’s greatest queens.
'John Gillingham, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, London School of Economics and Political Science
-
'
In a brilliantly conceived and beautifully written book, Lindy Grant provides a powerful and convincing portrait of the most extraordinary woman of her age. By first telling Eleanor’s story and then examining her pedigree and contemporary setting, Grant shows us who Eleanor really was, warts and all, finally freeing us from the tyranny of the Eleanor of Legend. The book is a triumph of the biographer’s art.
'Stephen Church, Professor in Medieval Studies, University of Lincoln, and author of King John: England, Magna Carta and the Making of a Tyrant
-
'
Rejecting the rose-tinted, make-believe version of Eleanor, Lindy Grant here tells the queen’s story as it has never been told before. The outcome is not only the best short biography of Eleanor, but of any medieval queen.
'Nicholas Vincent, Professor of Medieval History, University of East Anglia
-
'
[An] outstanding new biography . . . beautifully written and attractively illustrated, which is that rare thing: entirely authoritative, yet engaging and immediately accessible . . . A tremendously insightful volume [that] is the best biography yet published on a woman who confused even contemporaries with her many contradictions.
'Country Life
Prologue: Meeting Eleanor
1 Queen of France
2 Queen of England
3 Queen Dowager
4 Family and Dynasty
5 Marriage, Sex and Scandal
6 The Eagle with the Spread Wings
7 Riches
8 Prayer
9 Power
Epilogue: Finding Eleanor
Maps and Family Trees
References
Select Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
Lindy Grant is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at the University of Reading and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Courtauld Institute of Art. Her books include Blanche of Castile, Queen of France (2016).