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Eleanor of Arquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine - Woman of THE REAL WORLD

The romance of courtly love especially of the great legends on King Arthur arose during the 12th century when women 's situations were ironically different from the images pictured by the troubadours . In those days , women of royal blood , were pawns in the power games that men played to further political strength and conquer their lands . The courteous spirit favorable to women was very rare in feudal society .1 Women were to be submissive to their husbands and even ignore their infidelities and handicaps

p It is in this era that Eleanor of Aquitaine made a major impact on the Second Crusade and indefinitely the 12th century with her beauty determination , intelligence and wealth . She was the wife of two kings and mother to two more . She was a driving force behind the Second Crusade but also caused the slow centralization of France . She was free to affect matters of politics but imprisoned by one of her husbands Her love for the arts helped the craft of troubadours flourish producing legends that remain to be favorites today . Eleanor of Aquitaine was definitely a woman ahead of her time

Eleanor was born in 1122 to William X , the very powerful and wealthy duke of Aquitaine , which was a very large duchy west of the kingdom of France . Her grandfather , William IX , is a musician and poet acknowledged as history 's first troubadour .2 She was five years old when her grandfather died and in a couple of years , her mother and brother also passed away . This made her the heir of the vast lands of Aquitaine When William X caught an illness

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1 . Achille Luchaire and Edward Benjamin Krebbiel , Social France at the Time of Philip Augustus (New York : H .Holt , 1912 , 356

2 . Bonnie Wheeler , Eleanor of Aquitaine , Courtly Love and the Troubadours ' The Historian (Volume 68 .2 2006 : 403

and realized that he would soon be facing his death , he entrusted the young Eleanor to the care of King Louis VI of France to protect her from scheming men who might take advantage of her youth for their political schemes . Yet , King Louis VI was also quick to see an opportunity and married fifteen-year old Eleanor to his heir to the throne , Louis VII who was also still a teenager at that time . Theirs was a grand wedding that marked the legitimacy of France 's claim to the

duchy of Aquitaine

Eleanor rose to power when King Louis VI died in 1137 and she became the queen of France . She was known for her beauty and aggressive nature while her husband was popular for being a very religious and conscientious young man . Historians note that despite her striking character , King Louis VII loved her dearly and allowed her to influence his political views . Thus , at the age of 19 , Queen Eleanor was able to persuade her husband to join the Second Crusade

Despite the fact that women in the 12th century...

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