Editing Eleanor of Aquitaine (section)

==== 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}}