Editing Eleanor of Aquitaine (section)

=== Queen and regent (1154–1173) ===

==== Early years in England (1154–1158) ====

On 25 October 1154, King Stephen died. Although Henry was immediately summoned to England, it was not until 7 December that he and Eleanor were able to cross the channel from [[Barfleur]], landing near [[Southampton]] on the 8th. They travelled first to [[Winchester]] to greet [[Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury]], who had been acting as [[regent]]. From Winchester, the royal party moved to London and were lodged at the royal palace at [[Bermondsey]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=101–103}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}} On 19 December 1154, Archbishop Theobald [[coronation of the British monarch|crowned Henry as King Henry II]] in [[Westminster Abbey]], with Eleanor beside him.{{sfn|Jones|2013|p=45}}{{sfn|Parsons|Wheeler|2003}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}} It is unclear whether Eleanor was actually crowned or [[anointed]] as well, since she had already been crowned queen of France in 1137.{{sfn|Aurell|2007}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}} This was the beginning of the [[House of Plantagenet]] that would rule England till the end of the fifteenth century.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=103}}

As queen of England, Eleanor was provided for generously by Henry, including multiple dowerlands and regular settlements of money that made her one of the richest people in the kingdom, earning her the title of "''riche dame de riche rei''".{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 6}}{{sfn|Sainte-More|1912}} The chroniclers barely mention Eleanor during the reign of Henry II, other than to note when she was with the King, and biographies have been built on these itineraries and surviving official documents.{{sfn|Stapleton|2012}}{{sfn|Vincent|2006}}{{sfn|Richardson|1959}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}} She signed her official documents {{langx|la|Alienor Dei Gracia Regine Anglorum|links=no|lit=Eleanor by the Grace of God Queen of England}}. This was not uncommon, in that the activities of women were not thought to be of sufficient importance to report, they were merely {{Langx|la|regalis imperrii participes|links=no|lit=participants in the imperial kingship}}.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=126–127}} Furthermore, the independence and authority of queens had been progressively eroded prior to her ascension to the role. She participated with the King in ceremonial occasions,{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=128–129}} though she never learned English.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}}

Henry's dominions stretched from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees, and he was frequently travelling through them, both in England and France and was absent from England far more than any of his predecessors. For much of his absences from court Eleanor acted as either [[regent]] or co-regent with the [[justiciar]].{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 6}} Although she sometimes accompanied Henry, she also travelled extensively throughout her domains on her own or with her children.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=126–128}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}} While claims that she was an influential patron of the arts appear to be greatly exaggerated, many writers dedicated works to her. These include [[Robert Wace]]'s ''Roman de Brut'' ({{c.|1155}}) and [[William of Blois (poet)|William of Blois]], while other writers such as [[Marie de France]] and the author of ''[[Roman de Thebes]]''{{sfn|Clogan|1990}} are believed to have been inspired by her. Some writers, such as Marie de France appear to associate her with the [[Matter of Britain|Arthurian Legends]], while the more speculative Eleanor legends even associate her with the person of [[Guinevere]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=130–132}}{{sfn|Broadhurst|1996}}{{sfn|Pappano|2003}}

On 28 February 1155, Eleanor gave birth to the couple's second child, [[Henry the Young King|Henry]], during the King's absence.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=144}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}} On 10 January 1156, King Henry left England for one of his many prolonged absences, leaving Eleanor pregnant again.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=145}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}} It was during this absence, in the spring of 1156, that Prince William died and was buried at [[Reading Abbey]], next to his great-grandfather [[Henry I of England|Henry I]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=145–146}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}} In June of that year, the couple's third child [[Matilda, Duchess of Saxony|Matilda]] was born and Eleanor and her children travelled to France to be with Henry in July, returning in February 1157. Henry joined her in England in April, and on 8 September their fourth child, [[Richard I of England|Richard]], was born at [[Beaumont Palace]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=146–147}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}} After 1156, Eleanor's autonomous rule of her duchy was much diminished, her name disappearing other than to confirm acts of Henry, for whom Aquitainians had little respect.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}}

==== Toulouse Campaign (1159) ====

Meanwhile, Louis VII had remarried in 1154, and by 1157 had a third daughter, [[Margaret of France, Queen of England and Hungary|Marguerite]]. Noting a seeming inability of Louis to produce a male heir, Henry II conceived of a plan to eventually acquire the French throne by marrying his son Henry to Marguerite and began making plans in 1158, and travelling to France in August to negotiate the terms with Louis, and take the infant Marguerite into his care until she was old enough to marry. He would remain away for over four years.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=147–148}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}} While Henry was away, Eleanor gave birth to a fourth son, [[Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany|Geoffrey]], on 23 September 1158,{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=149}} and shortly after rejoined Henry in France. In 1159, Henry and Eleanor made a further unsuccessful attempt at enforcing her claims to Toulouse through her grandmother, thereby alienating Louis VII again, since [[Raymond V, Count of Toulouse]], was both his vassal and now his relative.{{efn|Louis had arranged for his widowed sister [[Constance of France, Countess of Toulouse|Constance]] to marry Raymond in order to protect the county from any plans of Eleanor and Henry. While accounts vary, this took place in 1154 or 1156{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}}}} Although Henry had formed a coalition to conquer Toulouse, Louis came to Raymond's aid. Amongst Henry's allies was [[Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona]]. Henry symbolically tied the two dynasties by betrothing his son Richard to Raymond Berengar's daughter.{{efn|Richard's betrothal was broken off when it was no longer a political expedient{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}}{{sfn|Gillingham|2002|p=30}}}}{{sfn|Gillingham|2002|p=29}} But by September Henry had been forced to a temporary truce, although this was the beginning of forty years of war between England and France. Eleanor sailed to England on 29 December, obtained funds for Henry's campaigns and escorted it to him in France before returning to England.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=150–151}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}}

==== Later years in England (1159–1168) ====

It was not till September 1160 that Henry again summoned Eleanor and the children to be with him in France.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=152}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}} Louis VII's second wife had died that year, providing him with only two daughters but no male heir, and he promptly arranged a third marriage. Therefore, Henry II decided to immediately arrange for Prince Henry's marriage to Marguerite, despite their being only children. For this he obtained a special dispensation from the church, and the marriage proceeded on 2 November, unbeknown to Louis.{{efn|Since Louis VII and Eleanor's marriage had been annulled for consanguinity, the marriage between their children was also problematic. Complicating this was the fact that Louis had once again married a relative, taking [[Adela of Champagne]] as his third wife in 1160.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}}}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=151–152}} Eleanor remained in France and in September 1161 gave birth to their second daughter, [[Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile|Eleanor]], at [[Domfront, Orne|Domfront]], Normandy.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}} The number of years between the birth of Geoffrey (1158) and Eleanor (1161) compared to Queen Eleanor's other pregnancies has given rise to speculation about the presence of another child. [[John Speed]], in his ''History of Great Britain'' (1611), states that Eleanor had a son named Philip, born sometime between 1158 and 1162 and died young. His sources no longer exist, and he alone mentions this birth.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=154–155}} Henry and Eleanor finally returned to England on 25 January 1163, after their prolonged absence,{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=157}} which also marked the end of her duties as regent in England.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=158}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}}

February 1165 saw Henry back on the continent to arrange the marriages of their daughters Matilda and Eleanor to cement an alliance with Emperor [[Frederick Barbarossa]] and Eleanor joined him on 1 May, acting as his regent in Anjou and [[Maine (province)|Maine]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=163–164}} It was there that another daughter, [[Joan of England, Queen of Sicily|Joanna]], was born at Angers in October, although Henry was not there, having returned to England only two weeks after her arrival. During much of these times the royal couple saw very little of each other, Henry not joining Eleanor till she asked for his help in dealing with a potential revolt in March 1166. His conflict with Breton nobles was settled by betrothing Prince Geoffrey to [[Constance, Duchess of Brittany|Constance]], daughter of [[Conan IV, Duke of Brittany]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=163–167}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}}

These long periods of separation would give rise to speculation and then rumours of Henry's infidelities, and a resultant rift between him and Eleanor. The most notorious of these stories was that of an alleged affair with [[Rosamund Clifford]]. By late 1166, Henry's affair had become known,{{sfn|Pernoud|1967|p=135}} and was acknowledged by 1174. Henry had a reputation for philandering; he fathered other, illegitimate, children throughout the marriage. Eleanor appears to have taken an ambivalent attitude towards these affairs. [[Geoffrey of York]],{{efn|However, it is likely that Geoffrey was born before Henry and Eleanor were married. Some chroniclers confine accounts of his affairs to his youth and later years beyond Eleanor's child bearing.}} for example, was an illegitimate son of Henry, but acknowledged by Henry as his child and raised at [[Westminster]] in the care of the Queen.{{efn|Eleanor was well aware of her husband's infidelities, and this was even an expectation of the spouses of aristocrats{{sfn|Turner|2009}}}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=93–94}}{{sfn|Turner|2009}}

Following the birth of Princess Joanna, Eleanor remained at Angers. Henry did not join her for Christmas that year, only crossing to France in March 1166, where he would remain for another four years. The unprecedented separation at Christmas also led to speculation of discord, but Henry was with her by Easter that year, when she conceived their last child, [[John, King of England|John]]. After Easter, Eleanor returned to England, and Christmas 1166 was again spent apart, with John having been born on Christmas Eve. Eleanor did not join Henry in France till they spent Christmas 1167 together at Angers. This year also saw her bringing Matilda, then only eleven, to the continent in September in preparation for her marriage to the much older [[Henry the Lion]], Duke of Saxony, which took place on 1 February 1168.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=167}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}}

Henry II's reign was marred by a bitter feud with [[Thomas Becket]], which began in 1163. Becket was initially a close friend and adviser, then his chancellor and eventually Archbishop of Canterbury. There has been some speculation as to what role Eleanor may have played in this, but very little evidence. During his exile in France from 1164, Becket unsuccessfully sought her help. What little evidence exists though, suggests that she urged reconciliation.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=159–162}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}}

In December 1167, Eleanor gathered her movable possessions in England and transported them on several ships to [[Argentan]]. Christmas was celebrated at the royal court there, and immediately afterward she left for her own city of Poitiers. Henry and his army went with her before attacking a castle belonging to the rebellious [[Lusignan]] family. Henry then went about his own business outside Aquitaine, leaving [[Patrick, Earl of Salisbury]], his regional military commander, as her protective custodian. When Patrick was killed in a skirmish with the Lusignans, Eleanor, who proceeded to ransom his captured nephew, the young [[William Marshal]], was left in control of her lands. There she would remain until 1173, a move that facilitated Henry's control over a corner of his realm where the vassals were continually rebelling. This move also led to speculation of a marital breakdown.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=169–172}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}}

By this time, Louis VII and his third wife had finally had a son, [[Philip Augustus]]. Philip's birth in 1165 ended Henry II's attempts to add the throne of France to the Angevin empire through dynastic alliances.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=164–165}}

==== Poitier years  (1168–1173) ====
[[File:Poitiers - Palais de Justice 2.jpg|thumb|The [[Palace of Poitiers]], the seat of the counts of Poitou and dukes of Aquitaine in the 10th through to the 12th centuries, where Eleanor's court inspired tales of the Court of Love.]]
The separation of Eleanor and Henry during the next five years has been the subject of much speculation as to whether it was predominantly a matter of political expediency, an indication of a growing rift between the couple or both. Certainly Eleanor had fulfilled her queenly duties of providing both male heirs and daughters as commodities for alliances,{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}} but was now too old to provide further children. She successfully set about restoring order in proverbially restless Aquitaine, and continued in her royal duties as Angevin queen, including acting as regent in various French territories. Richard of Devizes suggested it was Eleanor that initiated the separation and that Henry did not oppose it.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=172–174}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 7}}

Although not much is known about Eleanor's whereabouts during this period,{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 9}} Christmas 1168 was spent apart, Henry at Argentan and Eleanor at Poitiers. On 6 January 1169, Henry and his two eldest sons met with Louis VII at Montmirail, Maine. In the resulting Treaty of Montmirail, Henry divided his domains between his sons and betrothed Prince Richard to Louis' daughter [[Alys of France, Countess of Vexin|Alys]].{{efn|Prince Richard's prior betrothal to the house of Aragon had been previously dissolved{{sfn|Gillingham|2002|p=30}}}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=177}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 8}} In addition to keeping his vassals in order and maintaining relations with the French king, Henry was busy creating domestic alliances. Geoffrey was betrothed to [[Constance of Brittany]]{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=177}} and negotiations were begun to marry Joanna to [[William II of Sicily]]{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=179}} and John to Alicia, eldest daughter of [[Humbert III, Count of Savoy]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=191, 194–195}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 8}} To further secure a peaceful [[order of succession|succession]] he sought to continue the Capetian tradition of crowning his heir, Prince Henry. Despite opposition from the Church, this took place on 14 June 1170, and from then on he was referred to as Henry the Young King.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=179–181}}  While Henry appeared to be in communication during this period, it is not evident that they actually saw much of each other,{{efn|Weir states they travelled together to [[Quercy]] in 1170, citing Robert de Torigny,{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=185}} but this appears to be a misreading of the text, since Torigny only mentions their daughter Eleanor in that passage,{{sfn|Torigny|1964|pp=267–268}} whereas everywhere else he is careful to document when she accompanied him, eg ''Rex Henricus ...cum regina Alienor''{{sfn|Torigny|1964|p=206}}}} other than at some of the major feasts, such as Christmas at Bur-le-Roi, near [[Bayeux]], in 1170{{efn|This was the occasion when Henry allegedly uttered the words "Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?", resulting in the assassination of Becket on 29 December}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=186}} and at [[Château de Chinon|Chinon]] in 1172.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=196}} While there were rumours of alienation between the couple, Eleanor began to exert increasing autonomy in ruling her duchy. For instance she changed her formal address to omit "the king's", merely stating "to her faithful followers".{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 7}}

During this period, relations between Henry II and his young sons became increasingly fractious. Having been allocated portions of the Angevin empire at Montmirail, they were eager to assume their powers, rather than wait for their father's death. Louis VII saw an opportunity to exploit these divisions. In November 1172, Louis invited his daughter, Queen Marguerite, and the seventeen-year-old King Henry to Paris where he encouraged the former's ambitions.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=195}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 8}}

===== Courtly love, troubadours and the Golden Myth =====

Of all her influence on culture, Eleanor's time in Poitiers between 1168 and 1173 has been claimed to be the most critical, yet very little is actually known about it.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=194}} Henry II was occupied with his own affairs after escorting Eleanor there.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=170}} For a long time, writers dealing with this period stated that her court was a center of [[chivalry]] and the [[troubadour]] culture. This evolved further into the tradition that Eleanor presided alongside her eldest child, Marie of Champagne, over what became known as "The Court of Love", where [[courtly love]] thrived. While troubadours both attended her court and praised her, the Court of Love was a later literary invention. This emerged from a late 12th-century treatise known as ''The Art of Courtly Love'', or ''Tractatus de amore et de amoris remedio'' by [[Andreas Capellanus]],{{sfn|Black|2015|p=389}}{{sfn|Capellanus|1960}} which appeared long after the period of Eleanor's court in Poitiers, and is largely [[satirical]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=174–175}}{{sfn|Boyle|2006|p=4, 18, 22}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 7}}

The ''Tractatus'' stated that Eleanor, together with her daughter Marie, [[Ermengarde of Narbonne]], [[Elisabeth, Countess of Vermandois|Isabelle of Vermandois]] and other ladies, would listen to the quarrels of lovers and act as a jury on questions of romantic love. He records some twenty-one cases, the most famous of them being a problem posed to the women about whether true love can exist in marriage. According to Capellanus, the women decided that it was not at all likely.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 7}} There is no evidence for any of Capellanus' claims.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=175–176}}{{sfn|Kelly|1937}}{{sfn|Swabey|2004|pp=71–73}} Despite this, many popular accounts, such as the biography by Polly Schoyer Brooks, continue to give credence to it, at least as some sort of "parlor game".{{sfn|Brooks|1983|p=101ff}}

There is no evidence to the claim that Eleanor invented "courtly love", an expression that only appeared in the late nineteenth century.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 7}} The concept of ''courtoisie'' (''amour courtois'', ''fin'amor'') was a set of attitudes regarding love associated with the courts and praised by troubadours that had begun to grow before Eleanor's Poitier period.{{sfn|Aurell|2007|pp=14–15}} What can be said, is that this ''fin'amor'' first appeared in the south in the early twelfth century, became popular and spread north, and that there were troubadours at Eleanor's court, such as [[Bernart de Ventadorn]] and [[Arnaut Guilhem de Marsan]], as at other Occitan courts. The rest is merely conjecture.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 7}} The legend of a court of love has formed an important element in what has been referred to as the "Golden Myth" of Eleanor's life.{{sfn|Evans|2014|p=168}}{{sfn|Flori|2004|pp=239–272}}