Editing Eleanor of Aquitaine (section)

=== King John (1199–1204) ===

Richard and Berengaria had no children, and on Richard's death, one of the first things Eleanor did was to warn John to flee from Brittany, where he was with his nephew [[Arthur I, Duke of Brittany]], and secure Richard's possessions. Arthur was the only son of Eleanor's fourth son Geoffrey and his wife Constance. He had been considered to be Richard's heir, being the son of John's older brother, and hence had a claim on the throne, there being no other male heirs. Richard himself had declared John to be his successor.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=311}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}} King Philip was quick to exploit the possibility of an Angevin succession war, proclaiming the twelve-year-old Arthur as the new king, who in turn swore allegiance to Philip for his French possessions. Whereupon the Breton army advanced on Angers and captured it, followed by Anjou, Maine and Touraine declaring their allegiance to Arthur. Eleanor immediately acted to repel the Bretons, ordering the devastation of the lands of any vassal disloyal to John. Support for Arthur soon collapsed and he withdrew with Philip to Paris and John was officially invested as Duke of Normandy on 25 April 1199, while Eleanor toured all her domains raising support for John, whom she had declared the rightful heir and on 25 May 1199, John arrived in England and was crowned king on 27 May, although he was back in Normandy by 20 June where he concluded a truce.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=315–318}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}}

Eleanor also made peace with Philip and pledged her allegiance as a vassal.{{efn|It was a most unusual step at that time or a woman to pledge allegiance for her lands{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}} }}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=320}} She had come to an arrangement with John, whereby she would officially declare him her heir and cede her French possessions to him, while retaining her right to them during her lifetime, as his ''domina''. This helped to safeguard them from Philip in the event of her death.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=320}} John and Isabella had no children, and he needed an heir to secure succession and in 1199, he had his marriage annulled. In September that year Joanna died in childbirth, at Fontevrault, where she was buried, leaving Eleanor with only two surviving children.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=321–322}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}} Despite their truce, conflict between John, Arthur and Philip continued intermittently, till a further arrangement was put in place at Le Mans sometime after Christmas 1199. Among other provisions, the new truce cemented dynastic alliances through the marriage of the twelve-year-old [[Louis VIII of France|Louis]], King Philip's heir, to one of John's Castilian nieces and the payment of 30,000 marks by John to Philip. This was formalised in the [[Treaty of Le Goulet]] of May 1200. Subsequently, John returned to England to raise the money, while Eleanor travelled to Castile to select a suitable bride.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=322–323}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}} On the way she was kidnapped, just south of Poitiers, by [[Hugh IX of Lusignan]], one of her vassals. Hugh demanded she cede him the [[county of La Marche]], which one of his ancestors had previously sold to Henry II, which she acceded to so that she could complete her mission. She arrived in Castile by the end of January 1200.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=323–324}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}}

Eleanor of Castile had two unmarried daughters, and of those Eleanor chose the younger, [[Blanche of Castile|Blanche]]. She remained there till late March, to avoid Lent, during which marriages could not be solemnised, arriving in Bordeaux at Easter on 9 April.{{sfn|Hoveden|1853|loc=cited in {{harvnb|Weir|2012|p=324, note 49}}}} Travelling on to the Loire, she entrusted Blanche to the Archbishop of Bordeaux, who escorted her to meet King John, while Eleanor once more returned to Fontevrault. While there she undertook a major reconstruction of her [[Palace of Poitiers|ducal palace]] in Poitiers, originally [[Merovingian art and architecture|Merovingian]] but now being rebuilt in the [[Angevin Style]].{{efn|This included building the hall, that formed part of the Palais de Justice until 2019{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}}}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=324–325}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}}

Blanche and Louis were married on 23 May 1200. She bore him 12 children, one of whom was the future [[Louis IX of France]], ensuring that Eleanor's descendants would be future rulers of France.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=326}} John visited Eleanor at Fontevault in the early summer, hearing she was unwell. Amongst the advice she gave him was to secure the loyalty of her vassals, should she die, and in particular Hugh of Lusignan. John arrived at Lusignan Castle on 5 July, where he encountered the thirteen-year-old [[Isabelle of Angouleme]] and sought her hand in marriage from her parents, while breaking off negotiations with the Portuguese court. However, Isabelle was already betrothed to Hugh, whom he had dispatched to England. While there were potential political advantages to such an alliance, under the circumstances this was a mistake that would soon have serious consequences.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=326–327}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}}

The marriage between John and Isabelle took place in secret in Bordeaux on 24 August. They then proceeded to England, where she was crowned queen at Westminster Abbey on 8 October 1200. King John ignored the Lusignans' protests over the betrayal, whereupon they rose in rebellion in early 1201. Eleanor, though in ill health, once more intervened to restore peace in February and March, summoning her grandson Arthur as an intermediary with King Philip. But John continued to seek vengeance on the Lusignans, and conflict simmered throughout 1201.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=328–331}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}}

On 28 April 1202, freed from some of his other commitments, Philip summoned John to his court, and upon his refusal declared him a traitor and in lieu of his lands. John's position became more perilous when Philip betrothed his daughter Marie to the fifteen-year-old Arthur in July, and declared him to be the rightful lord of the Angevin possessions. Under Philip's orders, Arthur proceeded to Poitou to seize his new inheritance.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=332–333}} This prompted Eleanor to set out for Poitiers from Fontevrault, but on the way found herself besieged by Arthur and Hugh in [[Mirebeau]] Castle, near the Angevin border. She refused demands to yield up control of the fortress and urgently summoned John to aid her.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=332–333}} John received the news on 30 July and reached Mirebeau on 1 August where he found that the defences were already breached, but was able to lift the siege, release Eleanor and take both Arthur and the Lusignans into his custody. Arthur was last seen entering [[Falaise Castle]] in Normandy as a prisoner on 10 August. Eleanor had demanded a promise of clemency for Arthur, but little was heard of him for some time, despite an attempt to free him in the autumn of 1202. On her return to Fontevrault, Eleanor took the veil as a nun.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=333–335}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}}

By the end of 1202, rumours were circulating about Arthur's death,{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=336}} but John had the youth brought before him in January 1203 at Falaise, asking him to switch his allegiance from Philip. Instead, Arthur demanded that John grant to him all his possessions, according to Philip's declaration. Arthur's threats were sufficient for some of the King's advisers to suggest he be eliminated, as a danger to the security of the realm. Rumours of his assassination persisted and subsequent events have been the matter of speculation, other than that he was transferred to Rouen on 8 March, and in April his gaoler announced he was relinquishing his role, which is the last record of his existence.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=336–338}} John was commonly blamed for Arthur's disappearance, and found himself increasingly isolated over the spring of 1203, providing an opportunity for Philip, who progressively annexed Normandy throughout the rest of the year, John leaving for England to muster support on 6 December.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=339–342}} The French and Breton conquest of Normandy continued in early 1204, with most of the significant strongholds captured by the end of March.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}} It is unclear if Eleanor was aware of the progressive destruction of the empire she and Henry II had ruled, and which she had fought to preserve for her sons. One source from Fontevrault suggests that she had become unaware of her surroundings during the last few months although this is either contradicted or not mentioned by other contemporary accounts.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=342}}