Editing Eleanor of Aquitaine (section)

==== Return to France (1149) ====

After celebrating Easter, Louis and Eleanor set sail from Acre for Italy in separate ships on 3 April but were delayed by both hostile naval forces off the [[Peloponnesus]] in May and storms which drove Eleanor's ship as far south as the [[Barbary Coast]], and for a while their whereabouts were unknown. Louis arrived in [[Calabria]] on 29 July and eventually discovered Eleanor had reached [[Palermo]], Sicily, where she was sheltered by agents of [[King Roger II]] at his palace. It took some time before Eleanor and Louis could be reunited.{{efn|Both destinations were part of the [[Norman Kingdom of Sicily]]}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=67–70}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}

At King Roger's court in [[Potenza]], Eleanor had learned of the death of her uncle Raymond, who had been beheaded by [[Nur al-Din Zengi|Nureddin]]'s Muslim forces at the [[Battle of Inab]], on 29 June. Nureddin then overran most of Raymond's territories in Antioch, setting back the goals of the crusade even further. Instead of returning directly to France, Louis and Eleanor headed north towards Rome, stopping at the Abbey of [[Monte Cassino]] on 4 October after Eleanor fell ill. Pope Eugenius invited them to stay at his palace at [[Tusculum]], south of Rome, where they arrived on 9 October. Eugenius had been informed by Suger of the couple's marital problems, and that they were no longer having sexual relations. The question of consanguinity, and hence possible annulment was again raised, but was denied by Eugenius, who declared the marriage legitimate by [[canon law]] and urged reconciliation. It is likely that Eleanor's second child was conceived at this time.{{sfn|Chibnall|1986}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=71–72}} From Tusculum, the couple travelled north through Italy, visiting Rome and then crossing the Alps to reach France and finally arriving in Paris around 11 November 1149, after an absence of two and a half years.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=72}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}