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{{Short description|Queen of France (1137–52) and England (1154–89); Duchess of Aquitaine (1137–1204)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Eleanor
| image        = Church of Fontevraud Abbey Eleanor of Aquitaine effigy.jpg
| alt          = Eleanor's tomb effigy
| caption      = [[Tomb effigy]] at [[Fontevraud Abbey]]
| succession   = [[Duchess of Aquitaine]]
| reign        = 9 April 1137&nbsp;– 1 April 1204
| predecessor  = [[William X, Duke of Aquitaine|William X]]
| regent       = {{plain list|
*[[Louis VII of France|Louis]] (1137–1152)
*[[Henry II of England|Henry]] (1152–1189)
*[[Richard I of England|Richard]] (1189–1199)
*[[John, King of England|John]] (1199–1204)}}
| reg-type     = Co-rulers
| successor    = [[John, King of England|John]]
| succession1  = [[Queen consort of France|Queen consort of the Franks]]
| reign1       = 1 August 1137&nbsp;– 21 March 1152
| reign-type1  = Tenure
| coronation1  = 25 December 1137
| cor-type1    = [[Coronation of the French monarch|Coronation]]
| succession2  = [[Queen consort of England]]
| reign2       = 19 December 1154&nbsp;– 6 July 1189
| reign-type2  = Tenure
| spouses      = {{indented plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Louis VII of France]]|1137|1152|end=annulled}}
* {{marriage|[[Henry II of England]]|1152|1189|end=died}}
}}
| issue        = {{indented plainlist|
* [[Marie of France, Countess of Champagne|Marie, Countess of Champagne]]
* [[Alix of France|Alix, Countess of Blois]]
* [[William IX, Count of Poitiers]]
* [[Henry the Young King]]
* [[Matilda, Duchess of Saxony]]
* [[Richard I, King of England]]
* [[Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany]]
* [[Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile|Eleanor, Queen of Castile]]
* [[Joan, Queen of Sicily]]
* [[John, King of England]]
}}
| issue-link   = #Issue
| house        = [[Ramnulfids]]
| father       = [[William X, Duke of Aquitaine]]
| mother       = [[Aénor de Châtellerault]]
| birth_date   = {{circa|1124}}
| birth_place  = [[Bordeaux]], [[Duchy of Aquitaine|Aquitaine]]
| death_date   = 1 April 1204 (aged ~80)
| death_place  = [[Fontevraud Abbey]],{{sfn|Brown|2003|p=17}} [[County of Anjou|Anjou]]
| burial_date  = 
| burial_place = Fontevraud Abbey, [[Fontevraud]]
}}

'''Eleanor of Aquitaine''' ({{langx|fr|link=no|Aliénor d'Aquitaine}} or {{lang|fr|Éléonore d'Aquitaine}}; {{langx|oc|Alienòr d'Aquitània}} {{IPA|oc|aljeˈnɔɾ dakiˈtanjɔ|}}; {{langx|la|Helienordis}}, {{lang|la|Alienorde}} or {{lang|la|Alianor}};{{efn|For Helienordis, see ''Ego Helienordis, Francorum regina, et Willelmi ducis Aquitanici filia'' - I Eleanor, Queen of the Franks, and daughter of William Duke of Aquitaine. Letter of 28 December 1140,{{sfn|Chadwick|2021a}} also ''Ego Helienordis, Dei gratia humilis Francorum regina'' (1151).{{sfn|Grasilier|1871|p=36}} The spelling of Eleanor's name varies widely in the Latin chronicles, for instance Alienorde in the Chroniques de Touraine, but Alianor in Gervase of Canterbury.}} {{circa|1124}} – 1 April 1204) was [[duchess of Aquitaine]] from 1137 to 1204, [[queen of France]] from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King [[Louis VII]], and [[List of English royal consorts|queen of England]] from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King [[Henry II of England|Henry II]]. As the [[reigning duchess]] of Aquitaine, she ruled jointly with her husbands and two of her sons, Kings [[Richard I]] and [[John of England]]. As the heiress of the [[House of Poitiers]], which controlled much of southwestern France, she was one of the wealthiest and most powerful people in Western Europe during the [[High Middle Ages]].

The eldest child of Duke [[William X of Aquitaine]] and [[Aénor de Châtellerault]], Eleanor became duchess upon her father's death in 1137. Later that year, she married Louis, son of King [[Louis VI of France]]. Shortly afterwards, Eleanor's father-in-law died and her husband became king, making her [[queen consort]]. Louis VII and Eleanor had two daughters, [[Marie of France, Countess of Champagne|Marie]] and [[Alix of France|Alix]]. During the [[Second Crusade]], Eleanor accompanied Louis to the [[Holy Land]]. Pope [[Eugene III]] rejected an initial request in 1149 for an [[annulment]] of the marriage on grounds of [[consanguinity]]. In 1152, after fifteen years of marriage, Eleanor had not borne a male heir, and the annulment was granted. Their daughters were declared legitimate, custody was awarded to Louis, and Eleanor's lands were restored to her.

In the same year, Eleanor married Henry, the [[duke of Normandy]]. In 1154, Henry and Eleanor became king and queen of England. The couple had five sons and three daughters, but eventually became estranged. Henry imprisoned Eleanor for supporting the [[1173 revolt]] against him by their sons [[Young Henry]], Richard and [[Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany|Geoffrey]]. She was not released until 1189, when Henry II died and Richard I ascended the throne. As [[queen dowager]], Eleanor acted as [[regent]] during Richard's long absences from England and France. On Richard's death in 1199, she successfully campaigned for his younger brother John to succeed him. After continuing turmoil between the French and English kings and the successive loss of the lands she and Henry II had once ruled over, she died in 1204 and was buried in [[Fontevraud Abbey]] in France.
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== Sources ==
[[File:France 1154-en.svg|thumb|France, Aquitaine and Poitiers in 1154 with the expansion of the [[House of Plantagenet|Plantagenet]] lands|alt=map of France in 1154 with its various domains, including the Duchy of Aquitaine]]
There is a scarcity of primary sources on Eleanor's life.{{sfn|Duby|1997|p=7}} There are no contemporary biographies, and modern biographies are largely drawn from [[annals]] and [[chronicle]]s, generally written by clerics associated with the royal courts. There are very few surviving records from Aquitaine and she is barely mentioned in records of the French court,{{sfn|Evans|2018|p=105}} and appears to have been actively erased from memory.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=Introduction}}{{sfn|Parsons|Wheeler|2003a}}{{sfn|Sullivan|2023|pp=3–4}} Consequently, accounts of Eleanor appear largely as a peripheral figure in chronicles of the men around her.{{sfn|Evans|2014|p=48}} Important secular sources from England and Wales include [[Roger of Howden]], [[Walter Map]], [[Ralph de Diceto]], [[Gerald of Wales]] and [[Ralph Niger]]. While some were relatively neutral, the writings of Map and Gerald were largely satirical polemics, while Niger's criticisms are mainly directed at Eleanor's second husband, [[Henry II of England]], rather than Eleanor herself. Among the chroniclers are also clerical sources, including [[Gervase of Canterbury]],{{sfn|Canterbury|2012}}{{sfn|Canterbury|2012a}} Ralph of Coggeshall, [[Richard of Devizes]],{{sfn|Devizes|1838}} [[William of Newburgh]]{{sfn|Newburgh|1988}} and [[Ranulf Higden]]. The latter were mainly influenced by their revulsion at the murder of [[Thomas Becket]] in 1170. Although Richard of Devizes admired Eleanor's perseverance in supporting her son [[Richard I of England|Richard]], all of them expressed negative views about women in power and hinted at some darker attributes that eventually led to a "Black Legend" that became associated with her.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=Introduction}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=347–353}}{{sfn|Evans|2014|pp=19–44}} Twentieth-century writers such as [[Amy Kelly]] and [[Marion Meade]] would create an opposite myth that pervaded many subsequent accounts, of a feminist heroine, referred to as the "Golden Myth",{{sfn|Evans|2014|p=59}} while in the French literature, similar treatment is seen in the work of [[Régine Pernoud]].{{efn|Two types of legend characterise her legacy,{{sfn|Evans|2014|pp=3, 16}} usually referred to as the "Black Legend" ({{lang|fr|la légende noire}}){{sfn|Aurell|2005}}{{sfn|Woodacre|2015}}{{sfn|Turner|2008}} and the "Golden Myth" ({{lang|fr|mythe doré}}). See, for example [[Jacques Le Goff]] {{lang|fr|"a été à la fois victime d’une legende noire et bénéficiaire d’un mythe doré"}} (has been both the victim of a black legend and the beneficiary of a golden myth){{sfn|Le Goff|Armengaud|Aurell|2004}}{{sfn|Evans|2014|pp=166–168}}}}{{sfn|Evans|2014|pp=62–64}}{{sfn|Le Goff|Armengaud|Aurell|2004}} More recent scholarship has sought to correct both of these characterisations.{{sfn|Evans|2014|p=67}}

In the absence of reliable contemporary accounts, legend and speculation have frequently been resorted to;{{sfn|Wheeler|2013}}{{sfn|Sullivan|2023}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=Introduction}} "rarely in the course of historical endeavor has so much been written, over so many centuries, about one woman of whom we know so little".{{sfn|Parsons|Wheeler|2003|p=xiii}}

== Childhood and adolescence  (1124–1137) ==

=== Family origins and education ===

Eleanor was descended on her father's side from a long line of [[dukes of Aquitaine]], dating back to the 10th century, who in turn succeeded the [[Carolingian]] monarchs of the [[Kingdom of Aquitaine]]. Twelfth-century [[Duchy of Aquitaine|Aquitaine]] was one of the wealthiest and most powerful [[vassal states]] within France at that time. The French kings ruled over a relatively small area around the [[Île-de-France]] to the north-west, and the rulers of the surrounding [[duchies]] ({{lang|fr|duché}}''s'') and counties ({{lang|fr|comté}}''s'') gave only nominal [[allegiance]] to the French crown.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 1}}{{sfn|Vones-Liebenstein|2016|pp=152–153}}

While little is known of Eleanor's early life or education, many biographers have speculated from what is known of aristocratic households of the era.{{sfn|Huneycutt|2003|p=115}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 1}} Her year of birth is not known precisely, and the first mention of her occurs in July 1129.{{efn|Few families kept records of their children's birth and the dating of a new year was also inconsistent.{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=28}}}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=27}} Tradition places her birth on one of her parents' visit to Bordeaux, likely at her father's nearby castle at [[:fr:Château Belin|Belin]]. Other authors suggest [[Poitiers]], [[:fr:Palais de l'Ombrière|Ombrière Palace]], [[Bordeaux]], or [[Nieul-sur-l'Autise]].{{sfn|Brown|2003|p=1}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=13}} While the date of her birth was once given as 1122{{sfn|Owen|1996|p=3}} or 1124, the latter is now generally accepted.{{sfn|Brown|2003|p=1}}{{sfn|Lewis|2021|loc=cap 1}} A late 13th-century genealogy of her family listing her as 13 years old at her father's death in the spring of 1137 provides the best evidence that Eleanor was born in 1124.{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=28}} However, some chronicles mention a fidelity oath of lords of [[Aquitaine]] on the occasion of Eleanor's fourteenth birthday in 1136. Her parents are unlikely to have married before 1121.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=13}} Her age at her death is thus stated as 80{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=28}} or 82.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=13}}
Eleanor was the oldest of three children born to Duke [[William X of Aquitaine]] and his wife, [[Aenor de Châtellerault]]. Her father was the son of Duke [[William IX of Aquitaine]] and Countess [[Philippa of Toulouse]]. Her mother was the daughter of Viscount [[Aimery I of Châtellerault]] and [[Dangereuse de l'Isle Bouchard]]. Dangereuse was also William IX's longtime [[mistress (lover)|mistress]], and she and William IX then arranged for their respective children to be married to each other. Eleanor had two siblings, [[Petronilla of Aquitaine|Aélith]] and Aigret.{{efn|The existence of an illegitimate half-brother named Joscelin has been discredited.{{sfn|Chadwick|2013}} Another half-brother, William, has also been claimed without evidence.}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 1}}

Eleanor was named for her mother Aenor and baptised as ''Aliénor'' from the [[Latin]] ''alia Ænor'', which means ''the other Aenor''.{{sfn|du Breuil|1657|p=304}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=13}} It became ''Eléanor'' in the ''[[langues d'oïl]]'' of northern France and ''Eleanor'' in English,{{sfn|Meade|1991 |p=18}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 1}}{{sfn|Brown|2003|p=5}} but the exact spelling was never fixed in her lifetime.{{efn|Suger spells Eleanor's name Aanor, others Alienor, or occasionally Helnienordis.}}{{sfn|Laube|1984|p=25}}

Little, if anything, is known of Eleanor's education.{{sfn|Huneycutt|2003|p=115}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 1}} Eleanor's mother died in 1130, when she was only six, and her younger brother also died in that year.{{efn|Biographers have argued that her father would have wanted her to have a good education, which might have included subjects such as arithmetic, astronomy, history and music as well as domestic skills, sports,{{sfn|Meade|1991 |loc=cap 1}} riding, hawking, and hunting.{{sfn|Horton|Simmons|2007}}}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=16–17}} The only contemporary record of her education comes from [[Bertran de Born]], the [[troubadour]], who states that she read the poetry of her native tongue.{{sfn|Born|1986||loc=cited in {{harvnb|Weir|2012|p=37}}}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 1}} Although the language of Bordeaux and Poitiers was [[Poitevin dialect|Poitevin]], a northern French (''[[langue d'oïl]]'') dialect, Eleanor was soon exposed to [[Occitan language|Occitan]] (''langue d'oc''), the southern dialect and language of the poets and courtiers at the ducal court.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 1}}{{efn|Biographers have suggested that she would also have been taught to read and speak [[Latin]], and to be acquainted with literature.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 1}}}} With the death of her brother, she became the [[heir presumptive]] to her father's domains.{{sfn|Pernoud|1967|p=15}}{{sfn|Chambers|1941}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 1}}

=== Inheritance (1137) ===

In 1137, William X left Poitiers for Bordeaux and took his daughters with him. Upon reaching Bordeaux, he left them at l'Ombrière Castle{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 1}} in the charge of his loyal [[vassal]] and the local archbishop, [[Geoffrey of Louroux]].{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 2}}{{sfn|Lewis|2021|loc=cap 1}}{{sfn|Herdam|Smallwood|2020}} William then set out for the [[Santiago de Compostela Cathedral#History|Shrine of Saint James of Compostela]] in the company of other [[pilgrim]]s. However, he died on [[Good Friday]] of that year (9{{nbsp}}April).{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 1}}

Eleanor, aged 13, then became the duchess of Aquitaine, and thus one of the richest and most eligible heiresses in Europe.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=5,19}} Since kidnapping an heiress was seen as a viable option for obtaining a title and lands,{{sfn|Dunn|2013}} when William X knew that he was dying, he named King [[Louis VI of France]] as Eleanor's guardian.{{sfn|Firnhaber-Baker|2024|p=91}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=20}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 2}} William requested that Louis take care of both Eleanor and the lands, and find her a suitable husband.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=20}} However, until a husband was found, the King had the legal right to her lands. William also insisted to his companions that his death be kept a secret until Louis was informed; the men were to journey as quickly as possible from Saint James of Compostela across the [[Pyrenees]] to notify Archbishop Geoffrey, then to Paris to inform the King.{{efn|The authenticity of William X's alleged will, setting out these supposed conditions, is dubious at best.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 2}} [[Abbot Suger]] is the main source for these events.}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=20}}

Louis VI, who was in poor health, recognised an opportunity to realise a long-standing ambition to enlarge his dominions by the acquisition of Aquitaine.{{sfn|Firnhaber-Baker|2024|p=91}}{{sfn|Turner |2009|loc=cap 2}} His eldest surviving son, [[Louis VII of France|Louis]], had originally been destined for monastic life, but had become the [[heir apparent]] when the King's eldest son, [[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Philip]], died after being thrown from his horse in 1131.{{sfn|Swabey|2004|p=108}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=22}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 2}} Louis VI realised the dangers of not swiftly settling the succession of the Aquitainian duchy, while a marriage between his son and Eleanor would add the considerable resources of Aquitaine to the [[Capetian]] holdings. Thus, he spent little time in dispatching the young Louis, accompanied by a large retinue, some 500 knights, along with Abbot [[Suger of Saint-Denis]], Bishop [[:fr:Geoffroy de Lèves|Geoffrey II of Chartres]], and Counts [[Theobald II of Champagne]] and [[Raoul I of Vermandois]] to Bordeaux to secure the marriage.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 2}}

== Queen of France (1137–1152) ==
{{Gallery |title=Wedding of Louis and Eleanor (14th C)|width=180 | height=170 |align=right |footer=''(Manuscript illuminations: On far right, departure for the crusade)''|File:EleonoraAkviLudvik7.jpg|Chantilly Bibliotheque|File:Louis vii and alienor.jpg|Chronique de France|alt2=14th century depictions of marriage of Louis and Eleanor}}
[[File:Vase de cristal d'Aliénor.jpg|thumb|[[Eleanor of Aquitaine vase|Eleanor's rock crystal vase]], which she gave Louis as a wedding gift<br>[[Louvre Museum]]|alt=The vase had belonged to Eleanor's grandfather, William IX of Aquitaine. Louis later donated it to the Abbey of Saint-Denis.]]

=== Marriage ===

Relatively little is known from the time that Eleanor was queen of France.{{sfn|Evans|2018|p=105}} On 25 July 1137, Archbishop Geoffrey of Bordeaux oversaw her wedding to Louis in the [[Bordeaux Cathedral|Cathedral of Saint-André]] in Bordeaux. Immediately after the wedding, the couple were enthroned as duke and duchess of Aquitaine.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=24}} It was agreed that the duchy would remain independent of France until Eleanor's oldest son became both king of France and duke of Aquitaine.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=22}} As a wedding present she gave Louis [[Eleanor of Aquitaine vase|a rock crystal vase]].{{efn|The rock crystal vase originally belonged to Eleanor's grandfather, [[William IX of Aquitaine]]. Louis donated [[:fr:Vase de cristal d'Aliénor|Eleanor's vase]] to [[Suger]], who in turn offered it to the [[Basilica of St Denis]]. Later it came into the possession the [[Louvre]]{{sfn|''Louvre''|2023}} museum in Paris.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=}}{{sfn|Swabey|2004|p=105}}{{sfn|Kelly|1978}} This vase is the only object connected with Eleanor that still survives.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=25}}}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=25}}

From Bordeaux, the couple proceeded to Poitiers, arriving on 1 August, where after a week of festivities they were invested as count and countess of Poitou on 8 August.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=25}} Louis's tenure as count of Poitou and duke of Aquitaine and Gascony lasted only a few days. On their way to Paris, a messenger arrived with the news that Louis VI had died on 1 August and therefore they were now king and queen of France.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=26}} Louis had already been [[coronation|crowned]] in the Capetian fashion in 1131{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=22}} and on Christmas Day 1137, Eleanor was crowned queen at Bourges.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=35}}

Eleanor was not popular with some members of the court, including Abbot Suger and Louis's mother [[Adelaide of Maurienne]], who left the court shortly thereafter and remarried. Some courtiers made unfavourable reference to memories of [[Constance of Arles]], third wife of [[Robert II of France]] and ancestor of both Louis and Eleanor. Constance had had a reputation for being indiscreet in both dress and language.{{efn|"[Adelaide] perhaps [based] her preconceptions on another southerner, Constance of Provence&nbsp;... tales of her allegedly immodest dress and language still continued to circulate among the sober Franks."{{sfn|Meade|1991}}}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=22–23}} Eleanor's conduct was repeatedly criticised by church elders, particularly [[Bernard of Clairvaux]]{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=33}} and Suger, as indecorous. Modifications were made to the austere [[Palais de la Cité|Cité Palace]] in Paris for Eleanor's sake{{sfn|Swabey|2004|p=33}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=27–35}} and she was joined by her sister Aélith, who became known there as Petronilla.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 2}}

=== Claiming Toulouse (1141) ===

Eleanor was descended from the [[counts of Toulouse]] through her grandmother, Countess Philippa. Philippa was the sole child of Count [[William IV of Toulouse]], but following her father's death in 1093, Philippa's uncle [[Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse|Raymond IV]] ({{reign|1094|1105}}) asserted a right to the title. Philippa then persuaded her husband, Duke William IX of Aquitaine, to enforce her right, a struggle that lasted nearly 30 years, finally ending in 1123 with Raymond IV's son, [[Alfonso Jordan]] ({{reign|1112|1148}}).{{sfn|Turner|2009|pp=17–18}} During this time, control of Toulouse continually changed hands between William IX and Raymond IV's children.{{sfn|Graham-Leigh|2005|pp=92–93}} Philippa's claim was passed on to Eleanor's father then to Eleanor herself. Louis attempted to enforce her claim by marching on Toulouse, arriving at the walls on 21 June 1141. Although he laid siege to the city, he was unable to subjugate it and withdrew, after accepting the homage of Count Alfonso.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 2}} Despite this setback, Eleanor continued to press her claims, with further expeditions in 1159 and throughout her life.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 4}}

=== Conflict with the church ===

Louis soon came into conflict with the church and Pope [[Innocent II]] (1130–1143). In 1140 he intervened in the election to the [[Episcopal see|see]] of Poitiers on finding that a new bishop, Grimoald, had been elected and consecrated without his consent. This was despite the fact that his father had granted the [[ecclesiastical province]] of Bordeaux the right to do so and that he himself had approved this. Louis then attempted to prohibit Grimoald from entering the city, thus drawing both Innocent II and Bernard of Clairvaux into the dispute. Innocent issued an order to overrule the royal edict but Grimoald died, ending the dispute. The ecclesiastical authorities were aware of the unsuccessful attempt of both William IX and William X of Aquitaine to interfere in church matters. However, the Poitiers affair was soon followed by other attempts by Louis to exert his authority.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 2}}

The most consequential of these occurred when the [[archbishopric of Bourges]] became vacant in 1141. Louis put forward as a candidate his chancellor, Cadurc, while vetoing the one suitable candidate, [[Pierre de la Chatre]], a monk who was promptly elected by the [[Canon (priest)|canons]] of [[Bourges Cathedral|Bourges]] and [[consecrated]] by Pope Innocent in Rome. Louis bolted the gates of Bourges against the new archbishop on his return. The Pope, recalling similar attempts by Eleanor's father to exile supporters of Innocent from Poitou and replace them with priests loyal to himself, may have blamed Eleanor for this,{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=38}} but stated that Louis was only "a foolish schoolboy" and should be taught not to meddle in such matters. Outraged, Louis swore upon relics that so long as he lived Pierre should never enter Bourges. An [[interdict]] was thereupon imposed upon the royal household and lands, and Theobald II of Champagne granted Pierre refuge, further annoying the King.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=38–39}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 2}}{{sfn|Evergates|2016|p=110}}

Louis had been in a situation of increasing conflict with Theobald of Champagne,{{sfn|Evergates|2016|p=110}} and the Bourges affair, together with a crisis in Theobald's family, brought this to a head. In 1125 Theobald's sister [[Eleanor of Champagne|Eleanor]] had married Raoul I of Vermandois, but Raoul had been forming a liaison with Petronilla, the Queen's sister. Raoul eventually deserted his wife, seeking an annulment of their marriage on grounds of [[consanguinity]],{{efn|The church forbade divorce, but grounds of consanguinity allowed a marriage to be annulled as if it had never happened. While consanguinity was common among the aristocracy, who had limited marital options, it was rarely proposed as an impediment to marriage. Instead, it provided a convenient route for them to escape unsatisfactory marriages.{{sfn|Bouchard|1981}}{{sfn|Bouchard|2003}}}} to which Louis acquiesced, finding three bishops who agreed that the marriage was invalid and then in 1142 officiated at the wedding of Petronilla and Raoul.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=39}} Both Theobald, who had taken his sister under protection, and Bernard of Clairvaux protested to Pope Innocent, who convened a council, voided both Raoul's annulment from Eleanor of Champagne and his marriage to Petronilla, [[excommunicated]] one bishop and suspended the other two. Furthermore, Raoul was ordered to return to his first wife. Upon his refusal, he and Petronilla were excommunicated and their lands placed under interdiction.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=39}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 2}}

Eleanor's assumed role in these affairs led to the first appearance of the black legend that would be associated with her for centuries. Women, even queens, were not expected to concern themselves with such matters, and that therefore she might represent darker powers. Rumours began to associate her with mythical figures such as [[Melusine]].{{sfn|Newman|2023}} Things took a more salacious turn when it was suggested she was having an affair with Count [[Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=52–53}}

Louis rejected the [[papal legate]]'s decision and ordered an invasion of [[County of Champagne|Champagne]], in a war that would last two years (1142–44) and ended with the occupation of Champagne by the royal army. For a year the royal army laid waste to the Champagne countryside, but since Theobald showed no signs of backing down, Louis took personal charge of the assault in 1143, which focused on the siege of the town of [[Vitry-le-François|Vitry]]. More than a thousand people sought refuge in the cathedral, which caught fire, burning alive everyone inside. Horrified at the carnage, Louis returned to Paris, seeking to make peace with Theobald. In return, and with Innocent's support, he demanded Raoul renounce Petronilla and the interdiction on Raoul and Petronilla was duly lifted, while Louis ordered a retreat. When Raoul refused the King's demands, the royal forces once more invaded Champagne.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=39–41}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 2}}

Public opinion was turning against the war and in particular Bernard of Clairvaux was very critical, while Suger advised settling the issues. Innocent II died in September 1143 and was succeeded by [[Celestine II]] (1143–1144), who lifted the interdiction in an offer of conciliation, at Bernard's suggestion and Louis became more open to negotiation. It was about this time that questions of consanguinity were first raised about Louis and Eleanor's marriage, since he had opposed a number of other marriages on these grounds, including that of Raoul of Vermandois and Eleanor of Champagne. Consequently, a number of negotiations took place over the winter of 1143–1144.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=41–42}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 2}} Finally, Suger hosted a meeting at his newly built [[Basilica of Saint-Denis|monastic church at Saint-Denis]] during a [[feast day]] on 22 April 1144, at which Bernard persuaded Eleanor that her efforts on behalf of her sister were hopeless, and peace was restored, although the couple continued to refuse to separate, and they remained excommunicated till 1148 when Raoul's first marriage was once again invalidated and his second marriage validated. Also the Saint-Denis agreement included Louis withdrawing his opposition to the archbishop of Bourges. The discussion between Eleanor and Bernard also included reference to her apparent infertility (she had had one [[miscarriage]] in 1138{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=31}}{{sfn|Harris-Stoertz|2012}}), and a suggestion that she might be rewarded for her concessions with a child.{{efn|Bernard said to Eleanor, "My child, seek those things which make for peace. Cease to stir up the king against the Church, and urge upon him a better course of action. If you will promise to do this, I in return promise to entreat the merciful Lord to grant you offspring."{{sfn|Migne|1841–1865|loc=cited in {{harvnb|Weir|2012|p=44}}}} }} In April 1145, Eleanor gave birth to a daughter, [[Marie of France, Countess of Champagne|Marie]].{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 2}} On Sunday, 11 June 1144, the King and Queen attended the dedication of Saint-Denis, at which time Louis donated Eleanor's crystal vase.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=32–33}}

=== Second Crusade (1145–1149) ===
{{see also|Second Crusade}}

==== Taking the Cross (1145–1147) ====
[[File:LouisVIIatVezelay.jpg|thumb|Louis VII taking the cross, by [[Sébastien Mamerot]], {{c.|1490}}|alt=Illustration of Louis taking of the cross at Vezelay]]
[[File:Deuxième croisade-it.svg|lang=en|thumb|Route of the Second Crusade|alt=map showing the route the Second Crusade took]]
Louis remained obsessed over the massacre at Vitry and considered a [[pilgrimage]] to the [[Holy Land]], but events overtook this desire. The [[First Crusade]] (1096–1099) had succeeded in capturing the Holy Land from the Turks and establishing a system of four (largely [[Franks|Frankish]]) [[crusader states]] to administer the region, known as the Outremer.{{efn|[[:wikt:Outremer|Outremer]]: Literally "overseas"}} But this was threatened, when on 24 December 1144, [[Imad al-Din Zengi|Zengi]] and the [[Saracen]] Turks [[Siege of Edessa (1144)|captured Edessa]], capital of one of the crusader states, making the adjacent [[Principality of Antioch]], [[County of Tripoli]] and [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] vulnerable.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=45}} Of these, Antioch was the most vulnerable, and of particular concern since the [[prince of Antioch]] was [[Raymond of Poitiers]], Eleanor's uncle. On 1 December Pope [[Eugene III]] issued a [[papal bull|bull]] requesting that Louis and all faithful French Christians mount a [[crusade]] to rescue the remaining States. Louis and Eleanor were at Bourges when the message arrived, and Louis responded enthusiastically on Christmas Day that he would lead a crusade. Noting a lack of enthusiasm among the French nobility, he postponed further action till Easter 1146.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=47–48}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}{{sfn|Owen|1996|p=21}} Final planning took place at Saint-Denis over Easter that year, at which Pope Eugene attended. Louis delegated administration of his kingdom to Eugene, who appointed Abbot Suger and Raoul of Vermandois as co-[[regent]]s.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}

Eleanor also formally [[:wikt:take the cross|took the cross]] during Bernard's sermon, which meant leaving her daughter behind. Eleanor recruited some women of the Aquitainian nobility for the campaign as well as some 300 other women who volunteered to help.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=49}} It was not unusual for women to take part in crusades. From Louis's perspective, there were advantages in including her. As regent to an absent monarch, she could have created problems for Suger, Louis's choice as his administrator, and he needed the support of the Aquitainian nobility. Furthermore, the crusade was ostensibly to come to the aid of her uncle.{{sfn|Owen|1996|pp=21–22}} The presence of women was not without its critics, particularly among clerics, though this may have been influenced by hindsight, given that William of Newburgh's account was written well after the actual crusade.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=49–51}} Eleanor's taking the cross provided the next opportunity for her detractors to construct her legend, with claims that she and her ladies set off for the crusades as [[Amazons|Amazonian]] warriors.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=49–51}}

==== Road to Ephesus (1147) ====

On 11 June 25,000 to 50,000 crusaders and [[pilgrim]]s gathered at Saint-Denis and began their march, first to [[Metz]] and then crossing the Rhine at [[Worms, Germany|Worms]], and pressing on to [[Regensburg]] and the [[Danube river]]. There they were met by envoys from Byzantine Emperor [[Manuel Komnenos]] ({{r.|1143|1180}}),{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=55–56}} and followed the river via [[Klosterneuburg]] and through Hungary, reaching the [[Eastern Empire]] by mid-August and then, crossing the Danube, to [[Adrianople]] and finally [[Constantinople]], five days later, on 4 October 1147.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=56–57}}

In Constantinople, the French crusaders were obliged to await the arrival of those of their forces that were travelling by sea. While there they received the hospitality of the Emperor, Louis and Eleanor staying in the [[Philopation]] palace just outside the city walls. Meanwhile, the German crusaders had gone ahead and crossed the [[Bosphorus]] into [[Asia Minor]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=57–59}} Once all their forces were gathered together, the French crossed into Asia on 15 October and proceeded south to their first stop at [[Nicaea]]. Continuing south down the [[Aegean sea|Aegean]] coast, they discovered that the Germans had suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Turks, at the battle of [[Battle of Dorylaeum (1147)|Dorylaeum]]. The French, together with the remnants of the Germans continued south on the safer coastal route to [[Ephesus]], via [[Pergamus]] and [[Smyrna]], which they reached on 20 December. After camping at Ephesus, most of the Germans left for Constantinople.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=59–60}}

==== Ephesus to Jerusalem (1148–1149) ====
[[File:RaymondOfPoitiersWelcomingLouisVIIinAntioch.JPG|thumb|Crusaders welcomed at Antioch (Marmerot)|alt=Illustration of the crusaders being welcomed at Antioch, by Marmerot]]
In January 1148, Louis decided to travel inland towards [[Laodicea on the Lycus|Laodicea]] in [[Phrygia]], to reach [[Antalya]] on the south coast and thus Antioch more quickly. They reached Laodicea on 6 January and then their route took them across the mountains. On the day of their crossing of [[Mount Cadmus]], Louis took charge of the rear of the column, where the unarmed pilgrims and the baggage trains were, while the [[vanguard]] was commanded by the Aquitainian [[Geoffrey de Rancon]] and instructed to set camp on the plateau before the next pass. They reached the summit of Cadmus, one of the highest in their path, but Rancon, in concert with Louis's uncle [[Amadeus III of Savoy]], chose to continue on through the pass to the next valley.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=60–61}}{{sfn|Marvin|2019}} Accordingly, when the main part of the column arrived, and approached the pass, separated from both the vanguard and rearguard, they were ambushed by the Turkish forces. In the ensuing [[Battle of Mount Cadmus]], the Turks inflicted great losses on the French, while Louis barely escaped.{{sfn|Berry|1948|pp=118–119}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}

The chronicler [[William of Tyre]], writing between 1170 and 1184 and thus perhaps too long after the event to be considered historically accurate, placed the blame for this disaster firmly on the amount of baggage being carried, much of it reputedly belonging to Eleanor and her ladies, and the presence of non-combatants.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}} Louis was a weak and ineffectual military leader with no skill for maintaining troop discipline or morale, or of making informed and logical tactical decisions.{{sfn|Marvin|2019}}{{sfn|Phillips|2003|p=91}} Official blame for the disaster was placed on Geoffrey de Rancon, who had made the decision to continue. Since Geoffrey was Eleanor's vassal, many believed that it was she who had been ultimately responsible for the change in plan, and thus the massacre. This suspicion of responsibility did nothing for her popularity in [[Christendom]]. She was also blamed for the size of the baggage train and the fact that her Aquitanian soldiers had marched at the front and thus were not involved in the fight. The survivors reached Antalya on 20 January.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}{{sfn|Marvin|2019}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=61–62}}

[[File:2nd Crusade council at Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|[[Council of Acre]]: Kings [[Conrad III of Germany]], [[Louis VII of France]], and [[Baldwin III of Jerusalem]]|alt=Illustration showing the kings at the Council of Acre]]
[[File:Siege of Damascus, second crusade.jpg|thumb|[[Siege of Damascus (1148)|Siege of Damascus]]|alt=Illustration showing the siege of Damascus in 1148]]
In Antalya, the crusaders found there was a limited number of ships available, and those that were required more money than they were willing to pay. Consequently, the royal party sailed from the port with a relatively small group of followers, arriving in Antioch on 19 March, well behind schedule. The remainder attempted to complete the journey with great hardship and much loss, only about half of them completing the journey.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=62–63}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}

While the crusaders were initially welcomed, tensions grew between them and Raymond. Raymond's agenda was to attack [[Aleppo]] and regain control of Edessa, and hence gain some security, while Louis was determined to press on to Jerusalem, despite the original papal decree being to recapture Edessa.{{efn|The crusade had been prompted by the [[Siege of Edessa (1144)|siege and subsequent capture]] of the crusader state of Edessa in 1144 by the Turkish ruler [[Imad al-Din Zengi|Zengi]].}} Louis was not keen to fight in northern Syria, and his forces were badly depleted. Furthermore, he had a personal agenda to journey in pilgrimage to [[Jerusalem]].{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=62–63}}

Eleanor's loyalty to her uncle created conflict between her and Louis.{{sfn|Chambers|1941}} Eventually the French, now only a tenth of their original strength, left Antioch abruptly on 28 March, despite Eleanor's protests and attempts to remain with Raymond. These conflicts once again led to the question of consanguinity being raised.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=63–67}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}{{sfn|Hodgson|2007|pp=131–134}} According to [[John of Salisbury]], it was Eleanor who prompted this.{{sfn|Chibnall|1986|pp=52–53}} The crusaders reached Jerusalem in May, entering by the [[Jaffa Gate]], where Queen [[Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem|Melisende]] and King [[Baldwin III of Jerusalem|Baldwin III]] greeted them. A [[Council of Acre|conference]] was then held at [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] on 24 June, to discuss strategic plans. This resulted in the disastrous [[siege of Damascus (1148)|siege of Damascus]] on 24 July. The crusaders' forced withdrawal after only four days effectively ended the crusade and many of the survivors started making plans to return, but Louis vowed to celebrate Easter 1149 in the Holy Land, despite Suger's pleas.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=67–70}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}

The sojourn in Antioch, the conflict between the rulers and the resulting rift between the royal couple led to chroniclers, such as John of Salisbury and William of Tyre, hinting at an adulterous and incestuous affair between Eleanor and Raymond. Such an affair would become an enduring part of her legend, which in some versions also depicted her as having an affair with a Saracen leader. Contemporary accounts suggest it was her attention to political affairs that was considered the greatest stain on her character.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=65–66}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}}{{sfn|Crawford|2012}}

==== 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 Eugene invited them to stay at his palace at [[Tusculum]], south of Rome, where they arrived on 9 October. Eugene 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 Eugene, 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}}

=== Annulment (1152) ===

In the summer of 1150, Eleanor gave birth to a second daughter, [[Alix of France|Alix]].{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 3}} The lack of a male heir was unprecedented in the Capetian line,{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=73}} Eleanor was now twenty-six and had been married for thirteen years. Not only was the likelihood of a son being born to secure the succession seen as remote, but the lack of an heir was perceived as an omen. Suger had been a strong advocate for the political advantages of the marriage between Louis and Eleanor. When he died on 13 January 1151, the balance changed since Bernard of Clairvaux was a critic of the marriage's consanguinity.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=84}} A number of nobles and courtiers also advised the King to dissolve the marriage.{{sfn|Pacaut|1964|pp=60–61}} Later that year, Count [[Henry II of England|Henry of Anjou]] appeared at the court in Paris to pay homage to Louis as the new [[duke of Normandy]]. Chroniclers such as Gerald of Wales, William of Newburgh and Walter Map later implied that something happened between Henry and Eleanor, eleven years his senior, that contributed to the dissolution of her marriage with Louis.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=85}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 4}}

By this stage, her reputation badly damaged, Eleanor's influence at court was waning.{{sfn|Facinger|2008}} Any such dissolution would require a complex political realignment, separating the Aquitanian and Capetian possessions and jurisdictions, and in the autumn of 1151 the couple made a tour of the duchy during which much of the French presence, such as garrisons, was replaced with Eleanor's people.{{sfn|Flori|2004|p=80}} On 11 March 1152, at the royal castle of [[Beaugency]] on the Loire, near [[Orléans]], [[:fr:Hughes de Toucy|Hugues de Toucy]], [[archbishop of Sens]] and primate of France,{{efn|The title of the archbishop of Sens was [[primate of the Gauls]] (''primat des Gaules et de Germanie'').}} presided over a [[synod]] to consider the matter. Louis and Eleanor were both present, as were Archbishops [[Samson of Reims]], Geoffrey of Bordeaux{{efn|Archbishop [[Geoffroy Babion|Geoffrey of Bordeaux]] had been the celebrant at their wedding in 1137.{{sfn|Torigny|1964|p=164}}}} and [[Hugh of Amiens|Hugh of Rouen]] and many other bishops and nobility. Samson of Reims acted for Eleanor, who did not contest the action.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=87}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 4}}

On 21 March, the four archbishops, with the approval of Pope Eugene, granted an annulment on grounds of consanguinity within the fourth degree; Eleanor was Louis's third cousin once removed, and they shared common ancestry through Robert II of France and his wife Constance of Arles.{{efn|King Robert and Queen Constance were Eleanor's third great-grandparents and Louis's second great-grandparents.}} Their two daughters were, however, declared legitimate.{{sfn|Berman|2009|p=228}} Custody of their daughters was awarded to Louis, as both custom and law decreed.{{efn|The two children were rapidly affianced by their father and sent away.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 4}}}} Louis assured Archbishop Samson that Eleanor's lands would be restored to her.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=87–88}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 4}}

While Eleanor stated that the reason for the annulment was "for reasons of kinship with my Lord, Louis", the event fueled speculation as to her behaviour and added to the growing legend. Equally without evidence are accounts of a distraught discarded wife.{{sfn|Bouchet|1557|pp=79–80}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=87}}

== Remarriage and family (1152–1154) ==
Once again a single woman with possessions, Eleanor was at risk of abduction and forced marriage. This ''rapuit et abduxit'' was a common practice regarding heiresses, even in her own family.{{sfn|Sullivan|2023|p=37}} From Beaugency, she travelled south towards her court in Poitiers. On her route she narrowly evaded two kidnapping attempts. First, Count [[Theobald V of Blois]] attempted to capture Eleanor on the night of 21 March as she passed through [[Blois]], but she escaped by taking a boat down the [[Loire]] to [[Tours]].{{sfn|Sullivan|2023|p=38}} Theobald later married her daughter Alix,{{sfn|Berman|2018|p=75}} while his brother Count [[Henry I of Champagne]] married Alix's older sister, Marie.{{sfn|McCash|1979|p=705}} [[Geoffrey, Count of Nantes|Geoffrey of Anjou]] lay in wait for Eleanor at [[Port-de-Piles]], but she was warned at Tours of the plot and changed her route,{{sfn|Sullivan|2023|p=38}} arriving safely by boat at Poitiers.{{sfn|Salmon|2012|p=135}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 4}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=89}}

As soon as she arrived in Poitiers, just before Easter, Eleanor sent envoys to Geoffrey of Anjou's older brother, Duke Henry of Normandy, asking him to come at once to marry her.{{sfn|Canterbury|2012|p=149}} Many authors conclude that this fulfilled a prior arrangement made at his earlier visit to the French court. While providing security for her Aquitaine lands, the choice of Henry also made political sense as [[County of Anjou|Anjou]] lay on the northern border of Aquitaine, thus protecting it and enlarging her joint jurisdiction. She then set about revoking all acts and [[charters]] of Louis relating to Aquitaine, and replacing them with her own.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=89}} The message reached Henry at [[Lisieux]] on 6 April. Henry arrived in Poitiers in mid May and on 18 May 1152 ([[Whit Sunday]]), eight weeks after her annulment, Eleanor married the much younger Henry in a quiet private ceremony at [[Poitiers Cathedral]], thereby transferring her Aquitaine lands from Louis to Henry.{{sfn|Meade|1991|p=150}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 4}}{{sfn|Owen|1996|p=32}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=90}} The wedding was described as being "without the pomp and ceremony that befitted their rank".{{efn|Translation is probably by Weir. Newburgh gives "''pactum conjugale inierunt, minus quidem solemnitur ratione personarum''"{{sfn|Newburgh|1856|p=85}} ("united by the conjugal tie, which was solemnized not very splendidly, in proportion to their rank").}}{{sfn|Newburgh|1988|loc=Bk 1 cap 31:2}}{{sfn|Sullivan|2023|p=36}} They had kept the arrangements secret, for fear that Louis, who regarded the growing power of Henry and the [[Angevin Empire|Angevins]] with anxiety, would prevent it.{{efn|By custom, vassals were supposed to request permission to marry from their overlords.}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=90}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 4}}

Eleanor was related to Henry even more closely than she had been to Louis: they were cousins to the third degree through their common ancestor [[Ermengarde of Anjou, Duchess of Burgundy|Ermengarde of Anjou]] (wife of Duke [[Robert I of Burgundy]] and Count [[Geoffrey II of Gâtinais]]), and they were also descended from King Robert II of France.{{efn|A marriage between Henry and Eleanor's daughter Marie had earlier been declared impossible due to their status as third cousins once removed.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=52}}}}{{sfn|Bouchard|2003}} Her remarriage to Henry provided the next chapter of the legend of her scandalous behaviour, it being implied that she had a previous illicit relationship with him.{{efn|Innuendos about Eleanor's sexuality formed part of contemporary views on women, power and its sexualisation.{{sfn|Pappano|2003}}}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 4}}

When Louis discovered Eleanor had married his archrival, and knowing Henry was also in line for succession to the throne of England, he was furious and immediately made preparations for war.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=95–96}} He also refused to give up the title of duke of Aquitaine, which he had acquired through marriage to Eleanor and was now Henry's by the same right, for if Eleanor bore a male heir, his daughters would be disinherited. His subsequent invasion of Normandy marked the beginning of an Angevin-Capetian conflict that would last more than fifty years.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 4}}

Eleanor now exercised independent power in her court and within her hereditary domains, striking new seals for her charters, both as duchess of Aquitaine and countess of Poitou, but also with the added titles of duchess of the Normans and countess of the Angevins.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=92}} Within a month, Henry departed with the intention of pursuing his claim to the throne of England{{efn|Henry's claim to the English throne was through his mother, [[Empress Matilda|Matilda]], daughter and heir of [[Henry I of England]]. On the death of her father in 1135, Matilda's succession was challenged by her cousin [[Stephen of Blois]], leading to a civil war that became known as [[the Anarchy]] (1135–1153).}} but now had to deal with Louis's invasion of Normandy, which he easily repelled within six weeks,{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=97}} signing a truce, so that by the autumn of that year he was able to return to Aquitaine. To commemorate their marriage, Henry and Eleanor had a stained glass window installed at Poitiers Cathedral, in which they are represented, [[donor portrait|kneeling as donors]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=94–95}} By late 1152, the couple moved to Rouen in Normandy and in January 1153 Henry finally set sail for England to challenge the claim of his cousin [[Stephen of Blois]], who then held the throne. He did not return till March 1154, leaving the now pregnant Eleanor with his mother, [[Empress Matilda|Matilda]], and his youngest brother, [[William FitzEmpress|William]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=97}} On 17 August 1153, Henry and Eleanor's first child, [[William IX, Count of Poitiers|William]], was born, most likely at [[Angers]].{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 4}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=100}}

In England, Henry had finally fought King Stephen to a truce, and at the [[Treaty of Winchester]] in November 1153, it was agreed that Henry would be Stephen's heir and successor, and this was ratified at Westminster at Christmas.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=100}} Upon Henry's return to his French domains, Eleanor again became pregnant. Meanwhile, Louis VII remarried, became reconciled with Henry and relinquished the title of duke of Aquitaine.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=101}}

== Queen of England (1154–1189) ==
[[File:Henry II of England.jpg|thumb|[[Henry II of England]], drawn by [[Matthew Paris]]]]
[[File:France 12thC.jpg|thumb|France 1154–1184 and the [[Angevin Empire]]]]

=== 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, 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 [[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, 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) ====

Louis VII had remarried in 1154 to [[Constance of Castile]], 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. He travelled to France in August to negotiate the terms with Louis and take the infant Marguerite into his care. He would remain away for over four years.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=147–148}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}} Eleanor soon gave birth to a fourth son, [[Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany|Geoffrey]], on 23 September 1158,{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=149}} and shortly afterwards she rejoined Henry in France. In 1159, she and Henry made a further unsuccessful attempt at enforcing her claims to Toulouse through her grandmother, thereby alienating Louis again, since Count [[Raymond V 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 Count [[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 until 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}} Queen Constance had died that year, providing Louis with two daughters but no male heir, and he promptly arranged a third marriage to [[Adela of Champagne]]. 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 and Eleanor's marriage had been annulled for consanguinity, the marriage between their children was also problematic. Further complicating this was the fact that Queen Adela was also related to Louis.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}}}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=151–152}} Eleanor remained in France and in September 1161 gave birth to a daughter, [[Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile|Eleanor]], at [[Domfront, Orne|Domfront]], Normandy.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 5}}{{efn|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. In his ''History of Great Britain'' (1611), [[John Speed]] states that Eleanor had a son named Philip, born sometime between 1158 and 1162, who 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 a 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]]. 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 Duke [[Conan IV 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]]. Henry's affair had become known by late 1166{{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|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 Christmas 1167, which they spent 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 [[duke of Saxony]], [[Henry the Lion]], 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, King Louis and Queen Adela 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, the King, joined by Princes Henry and Richard, met with Louis VII at Montmirail, Maine. In the resulting treaty, Henry II divided his domains between his sons and betrothed Richard to Louis' daughter [[Alys of France, Countess of Vexin|Alys]].{{efn|Richard's prior betrothal with the [[House of Barcelona|Aragonese royal family]] 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 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, the prince was crowned on 14 June 1170, after which he was called Henry the Young King.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=179–181}} While Eleanor and 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 [[Thomas 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 Marguerite and son-in-law Henry to Paris, where he encouraged Young Henry'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, Countess 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}}

=== Revolt and imprisonment (1173–1189) ===
==== Revolt and arrest (1173–1174) ====

From 21 to 28 February 1173, Henry and Eleanor were together at [[Montferrand (district of Clermont-Ferrand)|Montferrat]] for the betrothal of Prince John to [[Humbert III, Count of Savoy#Family|Alice of Maurienne]], who died shortly thereafter. The occasion was marred by open conflict between the two Henrys over the delegation of powers. From Montferrat, the royal entourage moved to [[Limoges]], where matters worsened.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 8}} The Henrys then headed north in March to Chinon, where they arrived on the 5th. In the morning, Henry II discovered his son had escaped his custody and travelled to Paris. Louis VII then informed Henry II that he was now supporting his son as the new reigning monarch. This was the beginning of the [[Revolt of 1173–1174]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=198–200}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 8}}

Later chroniclers assigned much of the blame to Eleanor, adding to her deepening reputation and leading to much speculation regarding motive, despite lack of evidence, although they carefully added "so it was said" to their accounts. Other evidence implicates Louis VII, Young Henry's father-in-law.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 8}} From Paris, William of Newburgh recounts, "the younger Henry, devising evil against his father from every side by the advice of the French king, went secretly into Aquitaine where his two youthful brothers, Richard and Geoffrey, were living with their mother, and with her connivance, so it is said, he incited them to join him."{{sfn|Newburgh|1988|loc=[https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/williamofnewburgh-two.asp#7 Book II cap. 27]}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=200}} Roger of Hoveden gives a somewhat different account, stating that Eleanor sent the younger sons to France and their older brother "to join with him against their father the King."{{sfn|Hoveden|1853|loc=cited in {{harvnb|Weir|2012|p=200, note 12}}}} Young Henry and his brothers then returned to Paris in the spring and Eleanor encouraged her vassals to support her sons.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=201}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 8}}

Later, in April, Eleanor too would set out to travel to Paris to join her sons. But she was seized on the road to Chartres and taken to Henry II in Rouen.{{efn|Other accounts place Eleanor's flight to Paris after war broke out and as Henry II's forces approached Poitou, at a later date, in November 1173. The major source for her flight is Gervase of Canterbury.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 8}}}} The King did not announce the arrest publicly but had her confined, and for the next year the Queen's whereabouts were unknown.{{efn|The most likely site of Eleanor's imprisonment is Chinon Castle.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 8}}}} Meanwhile, Louis held court in Paris, where the French nobles swore allegiance to Young Henry.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=202–203}} Of Henry II's sons, only seven-year-old John remained with his father. Hostilities commenced in May, with the joined forces of Young Henry and Louis VII invading Normandy, although neither side prevailed during 1173.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=203–204}} After a brief winter truce, Henry II entered Poitiers in May 1174, and took his daughter Joanna together with other noble ladies back to his stronghold in Normandy.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=206}} On either 7 or 8 July 1174, Henry II, facing imminent invasion of England, took ship and sailed with Eleanor, John, Joanna and the other ladies from [[Barfleur]] to Southampton, from where Eleanor was taken to an unknown place of confinement.{{efn|Eleanor may have been initially confined at either [[Winchester Castle]] or [[Old Sarum|Sarum Castle]], Salisbury. Turner favours the Salisbury site.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 8}}}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=206–207}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 8}}

==== Imprisonment (1173–1189) ====

While Henry II was ultimately victorious and made some concessions to his sons at the Treaty of [[Montlouis-sur-Loire|Montlouis]] on 30 September 1174,{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=209–210}} Eleanor was confined to various degrees for the rest of Henry's life in various locations in England, about which there is very little information, although [[pipe rolls]] refer to [[Ludgershall Castle]] in Wiltshire, to Buckinghamshire and houses in [[Berkshire]] and [[Nottinghamshire]].{{efn|About four miles from [[Shrewsbury]], close by [[Haughmond Abbey]] is a site known as  "Queen Eleanor's Bower", though there is no known connection with Eleanor of Aquitaine.{{sfn|Historic England|2012}}}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=211}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=caps 8, 9}} Gerald of Wales states that Henry considered having his marriage annulled on the grounds of consanguinity during 1175, requesting a visit from a [[papal legate]] to discuss the matter and meeting with Cardinal [[Pietro Pierleoni]] at Winchester on 1 November. Pierleoni dissuaded him from this course. In early 1176, he tried again, by persuading Eleanor to become a nun at Fontevrault. She then requested the archbishop of Rouen to intervene and he supported her refusal, prompting Henry to once again attempt to seek papal approval,{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=215–216}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 9}} which was denied.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=221}}

Meanwhile, Henry continued using his children to forge alliances. In the summer of 1176, Eleanor was at Winchester with Joanna, then eleven. Joanna was sent to Sicily on 27 August, as soon as plans for her marriage to William II were concluded, the marriage taking place on 13 February 1177.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 9}} On 28 September 1176, John was betrothed to his cousin [[Isabella of Gloucester]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=218, 220}} In September 1177, Princess Eleanor left for Castile and was married to King [[Alfonso VIII]] in [[Burgos]],{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=221}} while Geoffrey was married to Constance of Brittany in July 1181.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=224}}

While Eleanor remained confined, she was not strictly a prisoner, but rather in a form of "[[house arrest]]", although stripped of her revenues. She enjoyed some greater freedoms from 1177 onwards and particularly after 1184, and would witness the deaths of three of her children (Henry, Matilda and Geoffrey), but very little information exists about these years.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 9}} During her imprisonment, Eleanor became more and more distant from her sons, since Henry II could not afford having her in communication with them, and possibly plotting against him.{{sfn|du Breuil|1657|p=443}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 9}} This was especially so for Richard, her heir in Aquitaine, who had always been her favourite.{{sfn|Boyle|2006|p=4, 18, 22}} She did not have the opportunity to see her sons very often during her imprisonment, though she was released for special occasions such as Easter 1176.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 9}}

[[Rosamund Clifford]] died in 1176 or 1177 at [[Godstow]], Oxfordshire. Henry erected a tomb in the abbey and gave gifts to the abbey in her memory. Her death would much later lead to myths concerning Eleanor's putative involvement{{efn|The alleged murder of Rosamund by Eleanor is depicted in the 1858 portrait of Eleanor by [[Frederick Sandys]].}} that grew more elaborate over the centuries, and for a long time were accepted as established facts, further building her Black Legend, despite virtually no contemporary evidence to support this.{{sfn|Chambers|1941}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=165–166, 218–220}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 9}}

Some chroniclers, including Gerald of Wales, Ralph Niger, Roger of Hoveden and Ranulf Higden state that Henry then began an affair with the sixteen-year-old Alys of France, a matter complicated by the fact that she was betrothed to his son Richard and was also the daughter of Louis VII, who became alarmed on hearing this news. In the meantime, Henry delayed the marriage, which Richard was now resisting.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=220–221}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 9}}

The years of Eleanor's confinement were marked by almost constant warfare, as her sons fought against rebellious vassals (especially in Aquitaine), among each other and with their father. The situation became further complicated after 1180, with the death of Louis VII and the succession of his son Philip II. Philip was even more determined than his father to regain the French lands of Henry II and his sons. He sought to exploit their familial conflicts.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 9}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=221–230}}

During one of these campaigns, Eleanor's son Henry died of dysentery on 11 June 1183, at [[Martel, Lot|Martel]], at age twenty-eight. His dying wishes included a plea for his mother to be set free and that his wife Marguerite be provided for.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=225–226}} Henry II sent the [[archdeacon of Wells]], Thomas Agnell, to Eleanor at Sarum to inform her of her son's death. Agnell later described how she told him she had a premonition in a dream. In 1193, she related to Pope [[Celestine III]] how much she was tortured by her memories of her son. Young Henry's death changed the family dynamics, leaving Richard as the new heir.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=229}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 9}}

As a result of Young Henry's death and his wish for Marguerite's lands to be protected, Henry II found himself in conflict with Philip II of France, Marguerite's half-brother.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=229, 231}} Philip claimed that certain properties in Normandy and England belonged to Marguerite, but Henry insisted that they had once belonged to Eleanor and would revert to her upon her son's death.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=229}} It was therefore politically expedient that Eleanor be seen in the disputed territories and Henry summoned her to Normandy in late summer 1183. This marked the beginning of a loosening of the restrictions on her. Roger of Hovenden states that the King commanded she "be freed and that she make a progress about her dowerlands".{{sfn|Hoveden|1867|p=1: 305}} Her income also improved. Geoffroy du Brueil states that she remained in Normandy for about six months.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=231–232}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 9}}

Young Henry's death necessitated a renegotiation of the treaty of Montmirail and the contentious question of Richard's betrothal to Alys, resulting in a further meeting of the English and French kings at [[Gisors]], Normandy on 6 December 1183, at which time Henry revoked much of the land concessions he had made earlier.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=232–235}} Eleanor returned to England in early 1184,{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=235}} where her daughter Matilda and son-in-law Henry (now in exile) were able to stay with her at Winchester and then [[Berkhamsted]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=236}} On 30 November at Westminster, Eleanor and Henry presided over another unsuccessful attempt to bring peace with their warring sons and settle their inheritance, and the family spent Christmas at Windsor.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=236–237}} In early 1185, they journeyed to Normandy, where a further family council took place in May. She would remain in Normandy for nearly a year, the royal couple returning to Southampton from Barfleur England on 27 April 1186, spending the summer together at Winchester, though her whereabouts are largely unknown from then till 1189. However, even in Aquitainian affairs, it was clear she had little freedom to act, stating that her acts were "with the assent and at the will of her lord Henry, King of England, and of Richard, Geoffrey and John, her sons".{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=238–240}} The family situation changed further when Geoffrey died in Paris on 18 or 19 August 1186, leaving only Richard and John as heirs but conflict between them and with their father continued over their inheritance, and Richard made yet another attempt at adding Toulouse to the Aquitaine domain, bringing Henry and Philip into direct conflict, leading to twenty-seven years of intermittent war. This time Richard and Philip combined their forces against an ailing Henry, forcing him to relinquish much of his French possessions.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=241}} After John joined this alliance against his father, Henry's health deteriorated further and he died at Chinon on 6 July 1189, aged fifty-six.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=245–246}} At around this time, Eleanor also received news of Matilda's death.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=240}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 9}}

Over the last few years Eleanor had often travelled with her husband and was sometimes associated with him in the government of the realm, but still had a custodian. Henry's death ended a marriage which has been described as tumultuous and Eleanor's long years of imprisonment.{{sfn|Barreiros|2016}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=Introduction}}

== Widow and queen mother (1189–1204) ==

=== Richard I (1189–1199) ===
==== Release from prison and regency (1189) ====
[[File:Fontevraud3.jpg|Fontevraud Abbey|thumb|alt=aerial view of Fontevraud Abbey]]
Upon the death of Henry II on 6 July 1189, Richard I was the undisputed heir. One of his first acts as king was to send William Marshal to England with orders to release the sixty-five-year-old Eleanor from prison; he found upon his arrival that her custodians had already released her, whereupon she assumed the powers of regent, bestowed upon her by Richard,{{efn|''Statuendi quae vellet in regno''{{sfn|Wilkinson|1944}}}} who was still in France.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 9}} Eleanor then rode to Westminster and received the oaths of fealty from the lords and prelates on behalf of the new king. She ruled England in Richard's name, now signing herself "Eleanor, by the grace of God,{{efn|"By the grace of God" was a title first used by Henry II in 1172.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}}}} Queen of England", and reversed many of Henry II's acts.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=248–250}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}}

==== Third Crusade and journey to Italy (1189–1191) ====

On 13 August 1189, Richard sailed from Barfleur to [[Portsmouth]] and was received with enthusiasm, proceeding from there to Winchester to meet Eleanor.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=250}} At this time, Eleanor's two surviving sons were unmarried, raising questions about succession. However, on 29 August, Prince John married his cousin Isabella, to whom he had been betrothed in 1176.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=252}} On 3 September Richard was crowned at Westminster Abbey, with Eleanor and John in attendance.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=252–253}} Richard was preoccupied with a long planned participation in the [[Third Crusade]], and on his first absence from the kingdom in November on a pilgrimage, appointed Eleanor regent. On his return he made more formal arrangements, prior to his more prolonged departure for the crusade on 12 December, appointing as custodians his justiciar [[Hugh de Puiset]] together with [[William de Longchamp]] as ''summi justifiarii''.{{efn|''In regimine regni''{{sfn|Wilkinson|1944}}}}{{sfn|Wilkinson|1944}} Although Eleanor had no formal appointment in England during this time, they deferred to her authority.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=254–255}} On 2 February 1190, Eleanor joined Richard at the Chateau of [[Bures-en-Bray|Bures]], Normandy, and a family conclave was held at [[Nonancourt]] with John in attendance at which arrangements for the administration of England in the King's absence were finalised.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=256}}{{sfn|Wilkinson|1944}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}}

Meanwhile, although John had married, the question of succession still remained, and in particular the problem of Richard's betrothed, Alys, who was Philip II's half-sister and with whom Henry II had had an affair. It was during the spring of 1190 that negotiations began with the [[Navarre]]se [[House of Jiménez]] regarding [[Berengaria of Navarre|Berengaria]], daughter of King [[Sancho VI of Navarre]], though such an alliance would require the approval of Philip in breaking Richard's betrothal to Alys. Such an alliance would serve the purpose of stabilising matters in Gascony.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=257–258}} However, Richard and Philip finally departed on their crusade on 4 July 1190.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=258–259}} Once Richard had set off, Eleanor sent John to England while she travelled to Navarre, meeting Berengaria and Sancho at [[Pamplona]]. From there, she escorted Berengaria to Sicily, where Richard had arrived at [[Messina]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=260–261}} In Messina, Richard found that his sister Joanna, widowed since November 1189, was being held prisoner. He was also in conflict with Philip, partly over the matter of Alys,{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=261–262}} as a result of which Eleanor's ship was refused landing at Messina and had to proceed to [[Brindisi]]. By March 1191, Richard had secured Joanna's release, and joined Eleanor and Berengaria at [[Reggio Calabria|Reggio]]. The King then placed Berengaria in Joanna's care. Richard confronted Philip with the matter of Alys' relationship with Henry II as the reason for breaking the betrothal, and Philip promptly departed for the Holy Land prior to the arrival of Eleanor in Messina.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=263–265}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}}

By the time Eleanor had reached Sicily, stories of misrule and conflict in England between Longchamp and John had emerged. [[Walter de Coutances]], archbishop of Rouen, was appointed to reestablish royal authority in England, and he and Eleanor began their return journey after only four days, departing on 2 April 1191 for [[Salerno]]. From there they travelled to Rome, arriving on the 14th to meet with the new pope, Celestine III, to obtain his approval of appointing Walter de Coutances over William de Longchamp, who also served as a papal legate.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=265–266}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}}

On 10 April 1191, Richard, Berengaria and Joanna left Sicily, with the women on a separate ship, bound for [[Crusader states|Outremer]], but storms diverted them to Cyprus, where Richard and Berengaria were married on 12 May at [[Limasol]], and Berengaria was crowned.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=266–267}} They then sailed to the Holy Land on 5 June, arriving at [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] on the 8th, which Richard captured. Philip abandoned the Crusade on 2 July and returned to France, but in the meantime Richard had found himself in conflict with Duke [[Leopold V, Duke of Austria|Leopold V of Austria]], an event which would have serious consequences for him later.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=267–268}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}}

==== Normandy and the struggle for power (1191–1192) ====

Once Eleanor reached Rouen, where she arrived on 24 June 1191, she was able to direct affairs in England better,{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=268}} although she spent the winter of 1191–1192 in France.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}} Eleanor's new role softened the criticisms she had accumulated. As regent, she demonstrated the qualities of a benevolent and statesmanlike ruler, with Richard of Devizes describing her as "incomparable"{{efn|''Regina Alienor, femina incomparibilis''{{sfn|Devizes|1838|p=25}}}} and she began using the phrase ''teste me ipsa'' (as my own witness) on official documents.{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}} In England, while Coutance tried to restore order, Longchamp was eventually deposed and Prince John began to consolidate power, claiming he was the heir presumptive. Coutance was appointed head of a regency council and Longchamp fled to France, attempting unsuccessfully to recruit Eleanor to his cause.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=268–271}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}} Her position became more complicated with Philip II's return from the Holy Land in late 1191, who not only attempted to undermine Richard's reputation but demanded the return of Alys, still in Eleanor's care. In early 1192 Philip recruited John to his cause, offering him lands and Alys, prompting Eleanor's return to England on 11 February to prevent John's invasion of Normandy,{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=273–274}} but she spent much of that year dealing with ecclesiastical disputes and successfully curbing the ambitions of Longchamp and John.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=274–276}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}}

==== Raising a ransom and restoration of Richard I (1192–1194) ====

In the Holy Land, Richard made little progress in his quest to capture Jerusalem, and by late 1192 was forced to arrange a truce with [[Saladin]], and sent Joanna and Berengaria back to Sicily in September, departing from Acre himself on 9 October. His whereabouts were unknown till January 1193 when Eleanor learned that he had been taken prisoner by Duke Leopold, whom he had slighted on his arrival in Acre.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=276–278}} Richard had travelled north from [[Trieste]] through Hungary, but when he crossed into Austria he was recognised, apprehended and taken to [[Dürnstein Castle]]. Leopold informed [[Emperor Henry VI]], who wrote to Philip II of France. Philip supported this turn of events. Eleanor only became aware of what had happened through Coutances' spies in France, but immediately assumed control of the government. Prince John, with Philip's support, became emboldened once more in claiming the throne.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=279–281}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}} Leopold handed over his prisoner to the Emperor in February, and he was moved to the castle of [[Trifels]], while Eleanor unsuccessfully sought the intervention of the Pope.{{efn|Eleanor's three letters to the Pope{{sfn|Stapleton|2012}} have been cited at length, including her description of being wasted away by grief ''(consumptis carnibus''). ''Aleonora, Angliae Regina, Papae opem miserabiliter implorat pro liberatione Regis Anglorum Richardi filii sui'' AD 1193 A.4. R.1. ff.{{sfn|Rymer|1707|pp=I. 23–25}}}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=283–287}}{{sfn|Aquitaine|1193}}}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=282–287}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}} Eventually a truce was concluded with John in April,{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=289}} but Eleanor also received a demand from the Emperor for 100,000 silver marks{{efn|The [[ransom]] was roughly equivalent to twice the annual revenue of the whole of England. Turner gives a higher figure of 150,000,{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}} which was negotiated later in June.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=294}}}} and the provision of hostages for Richard's release. At the same time she received the first letter from him since his capture, urging her to accept the terms, and informing her that his conditions had much improved and that he had been transferred to [[Hagenau]].{{efn|There is no evidence to support the popular legend that Richard's location was "discovered" by a troubadour named [[Blondel de Nesle|Blondel]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=281}}}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=291–292}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}}

Eleanor and her council immediately set about trying to raise the ransom and arrange the hostages, a task to which Beregnaria, now in Poitou. contributed, largely through taxation of all of Richard's territories and subjects.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=292–294}} The first installment of 100,000 marks was delivered in October and the balance was raised by December. Having agreed to a date for Richard's release on 17 January 1194, Eleanor and Coutances set off for Germany in December 1193, arriving at [[Speyer]] by the agreed day. There she discovered that Philip and John had outbid her in return for keeping Richard in custody. Further negotiations and offers, including an annual tribute, led to him being released on 4 February.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=295–296}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}} They immediately began their return, via [[Cologne]], eventually arriving in [[Antwerp]] where they boarded the ''Trenchemer'' in the [[Scheldt]], to avoid the French, landing in [[Sandwich, Kent|Sandwich]] on 12 March. Richard and Eleanor then made a triumphal entry into London on 23 March 1194.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=297–299}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}}

==== Return to France and retirement (1194–1199) ====

Eleanor and Richard's stay in England was relatively brief. Richard departed from [[Portsmouth]] on 12 May 1194, feeling the need to defend his French possessions from Philip. Arriving in Barflueur, neither Richard nor Eleanor would return to England.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=299}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}} There, they effected a reconciliation with John that would last through the rest of Richard's reign, leaving the latter free to defend his territory against Philip, while Eleanor, now seventy-two, retired to Fontevrault and there is very little information available about her for the next few years, though she made the abbey her principal residence for the rest of her life.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=300–301}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}} The marriage of her daughter Joanna to [[Raymond VI of Toulouse]] in October 1196 finally ended Eleanor's dynastic claims on Toulouse, which now passed to Joanna.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=305}} Richard was in a state of almost perpetual war with Philip following his return to Normandy in 1194, and finally succumbed to a wound on 6 April 1199 at the age of forty-one, with Eleanor at his side.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=310–311}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 10}}

Initially, prior to arriving in England, Richard delegated authority to Eleanor ''statuendi quae vellet in regno'', though this was not repeated. During Richard's subsequent prolonged absences, royal authority in England was represented by a succession of [[chief justiciars]]. On Longchamp's dismissal in 1191, government moved to a more conciliar mode (''magnum concilium'' and ''communitas regni'') under Coutance.{{sfn|Wilkinson|1944}}

=== King John (1199–1204) ===

Richard and Berengaria had no children, and when he died, one of the first things Eleanor did was to warn John to flee from Brittany, where he was with his nephew Duke [[Arthur I 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 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}} Philip II was quick to exploit the possibility of an Angevin succession war, proclaiming the twelve-year-old Arthur as the new king of England. Arthur 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, 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. John arrived in England on 25 May 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 the succession, so he had his marriage annulled in 1199. 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, until 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]], 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 one of her vassals, [[Hugh IX of Lusignan]], kidnapped her just south of Poitiers. Hugh demanded she cede him the [[County of La Marche]], which one of his ancestors had previously sold to Henry II. She acceded 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, of whom her mother chose the younger, [[Blanche of Castile|Blanche]]. The English queen remained in Castile until 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 John, while Eleanor once more returned to Fontevrault. While there she undertook a major reconstruction of her [[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. They had 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 [[Isabella of Angoulême]] and sought her hand in marriage from her parents, while breaking off negotiations with the Portuguese court. However, Isabella 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 Isabella 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. 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 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 of France, Duchess of Brabant|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 at some point during the last few months of her life.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=342}}

== Death and interment (1204) ==
[[File:Gisant alienor d aquitaine et henri2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Tomb effigies]] of Eleanor and Henry II at [[Fontevraud Abbey]] in central France|alt=Henry's tomb appears behind Eleanor's.]] 
Eleanor died at Fontevraud{{efn|Some chroniclers suggest Eleanor died at Poitiers.}} on either 31 March or 1 April 1204{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=342}} and was entombed in the crypt of the abbey between Richard I and Henry II.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=343}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|loc=cap 11}} Eleanor's tomb lies under a painted stone ''gisant'' (effigy) of the Queen, wearing a crown and with an open book in her hands. The tomb is considered one of the finest of those few that survive from this period.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=343}} During the [[French Revolution]], the abbey was sacked and the tombs vandalised, while the human remains were [[exhumation|exhumed]] and scattered and have never been located.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=343}}

== Appearance ==

Contemporary sources praise Eleanor's beauty. Even in an era when ladies of the nobility were excessively [[eulogise]]d and praised, their praise of her was undoubtedly sincere, though probably based on hearsay,{{sfn|Dobson|1912}} while in some cases, the reference is only implied. The medieval German songs known as ''[[Carmina Burana]]'' praise "England's Queen". [[Benoit de Sainte-Maure]] wrote of the "Queen of Beauty and largesse" in the ''[[Roman de Troie]]'',{{sfn|Sainte-More|1912}} while [[Philippe de Thaun]] wrote "God save Lady Eleanor, Queen, who is the arbiter of honour, wit and beauty".{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=125}} When she was young, she was described as ''perpulchra''—more than beautiful.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=17–18}} When she was around 30, [[Bernard de Ventadour]], a noted troubadour, called her "gracious, lovely, the embodiment of charm", extolling her "lovely eyes and noble countenance" and declaring that she was "one meet to crown the state of any king".{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=98}}{{sfn|Elvins|2006}} William of Newburgh emphasised the charms of her person, and even in her old age Richard of Devizes described her as beautiful, while [[Matthew Paris]], writing in the 13th{{nbsp}}century, recalled her "admirable beauty", a common practice at the time, and "a woman of wonderful appearance, more beautiful than moral".{{sfn|Boyd|2011|pp=25-27}} Richard of Devizes was similarly exuberant, but not all were in agreement. William of Tyre dismissed her as "''uxorem quae una erat de fatuis mulieribus''".{{efn|A wife who was of the foolish women}}{{sfn|Dobson|1912}} The [[History of William the Marshal]] describes her as ''avenante, vaillante, courtoise''.{{sfn|Meyer|2023|loc=(cited in {{harvnb|Kelly|1978|p=10)|loc=[https://archive.org/details/lhistoiredeguill03meyeuoft/page/28/mode/2up?view=theater p. 28]}}}}{{sfn|Dobson|1912}}
{{multiple image |header=Depictions of Eleanor of Aquitaine |align=center |direction=  |total_width=800 |float= 
|image1=Eleanor and Henry.jpg|caption1=12th century capital carving ascribed to Eleanor and Henry{{efn|Langon Chapel, Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum, wrongly attributed to Eleanor and Henry for a long time, but actually a common feature of [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] architectural carving.{{sfn|''The Metropolitan Museum of Art''|2024}}}}|alt1=Carved heads thought for a long time to represent Eleanor and Henry, but now thought to be anonymous figures |width1={{#expr: (1 *3961  /3519) round 0}}
|image2=Donor portrait - A noble lady kneeling - Psalter of Eleanor of Aquitaine (ca. 1185) - KB 76 F 13, folium 028v (cropped).jpg |caption2=12th-century donor portrait<br>[[Psalter]], [[Royal Library of the Netherlands]]{{sfn|Cockerill|2019|pp=339–340}} |alt2=Twelfth century donor portrait of Eleanor in her later years |width2={{#expr: (1 *3000  /4273) round 0}}
|image3=Eleanor-of-Aquitaine-Poitiers-Cathedral-Window.jpg |caption3=Stained glass window, Poitiers Cathedral, said to represent Eleanor{{sfn|Weir|2021|pp=26,94,95}} |alt3=Stained glass window allegedly portraying Eleanor in a crucifixion scene |width3={{#expr: (1 *850 /368) round 0}} 
|image4=Chasse royale, fresque de la chapelle Sainte-Radegonde.JPG |caption4=[[Mural]], [[Chapelle Sainte-Radegonde]], Chinon. The figure on left of central group had been alleged to be Eleanor.{{sfn| Kleinmann|Garcia|Cloulas|Kenaan-Kedar|1999}}{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=305–308}}{{sfn|Cockerill|2019|pp=308–309}} |alt4=Mural from a chapel at Chinon, said to represent Eleanor on horseback |width4={{#expr: (1 *1500/820) round 0}} 
|image5=Codexmanesse63r.png|caption5=Queen from 14th century [[Codex Manesse]]{{efn|The Codex Manesse queen has frequently and erroneously been attributed as Eleanor.}} |alt5=Figure of a standing queen, often wrongly used to illustrate articles about Eleanor|width5={{#expr: (1 *343/833) round 0}} 
}}  <!-- Uses height/width -->
No one left a detailed description of Eleanor. For instance, the colour of her hair and eyes are unknown. Such details were of little interest to contemporary chroniclers, with portraiture of the time making no attempt at realism, while descriptions were largely rhetorical.{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=95, 116}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=10}}{{sfn|Evans|2014|p=150}} However, many biographers have attempted to describe her, and [[Elizabeth Chadwick]] dismisses all these as fantasy or based on misinformation.{{efn|For example, [[Marion Meade]] bases her description on a letter from Bernard of Clairvaux. Yet the actual letter refers only to queens in general "The ornaments of a queen" and makes no mention of Eleanor.{{sfn|Evans|2014|p=149}}}}{{sfn|Chadwick|2013a}}{{sfn|Evans|2014|p=149}} The effigy on her tomb (almost certainly not a true portrait) shows a tall and large-boned woman with brown skin.{{sfn|Dobson|1912}} Her seal of {{circa|1152}} shows a woman with a slender figure, but these were impersonal images intended to convey authority.{{sfn|Weir|2012|p=343}}{{sfn|Evans|2014|pp=150–151}}

== Legacy ==
[[File:EleanorAkvitanie1068.jpg|Seal of Eleanor displaying her style (in Latin) as "Eleanor by the Grace of God, Queen of the English, Duchess of the Normans"{{sfn|Jasperse|2020|pp=50-52}}{{sfn|Brown|2003|pp=20–27}}|thumb|upright|alt=Seal of Queen Eleanor with her portrait and style inscribed in Latin]]
Eleanor's descendants ruled various realms, and her grandchildren included Kings [[Henry III of England]], [[Henry I of Castile]], [[Richard of Germany]], and [[Henry II, Count of Champagne|Henry of Jerusalem]], Queens [[Berengaria of Castile]] and [[Blanche of Castile|Blanche of France]], and [[Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=344–345}}{{sfn|Turner|Heiser|2000|pp=256-257}}{{sfn|Seel|2012|at=Figure 1}}{{sfn|Martínez Diez|2007|pp=46–53}}{{sfn|Benton|1961|p=554}} In England, the rule of her husband Henry's House of Plantagenet ended in 1485, with the death of [[Richard III]].{{sfn|Weir|2012|pp=344–345}}{{sfn|''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''|2004}}

Eleanor's life has inspired a large canon of literature, reflected in popular culture. This has varied considerably from scholarly research to romantic fictionalised history. Nicholas Vincent writes that this includes "the very worst historical writing devoted to the European Middle Ages" and concludes that "the Eleanor of history has been overshadowed by an Eleanor of wishful-thinking and make-believe".{{sfn|Vincent|2006|p=17}} Legends about her started during her lifetime and rapidly grew, and much of it appears in the [[chronicle]]s of the late twelfth century which constitute almost all that is known of her.{{sfn|Duby|1997|p=7}} Most of these paint her in an unfavourable light, yet none are actually first hand accounts.{{sfn|Duby|1997|p=8}} Many of the accounts of her life are composed "so distant in time and place" from the events as to have little credence,{{sfn|Houts|2016|p=20}} and chroniclers were more concerned with their messages than an accurate setting out of facts.{{sfn|Hahn|2012|p=7}} These messages were often laden with ideology{{sfn|Spiegel|1993|p=5}} that in Eleanor's case was largely negative.{{sfn|McCracken|2003}} The aspects of her life most valued by modern romanticisation were those her contemporary commentators found most unacceptable in her position. Most of these were clerics, like William of Tyre, John of Salisbury, [[Mathew Paris]], [[Helinand de Froidment]] and [[Aubri des Trois Fontaines]] and based their assessments on "the common talk of the day".{{sfn|Fawtier|2021|p=6}} In this way, gossip and rumour, often prefaced by ''ut dicibatur'' (as it was said){{sfn|Newman|2023}} became included in the records of the times and then into later histories and biographies.{{sfn|Barber|2005}} Among modern biographies, one of the first by [[Amy Kelly]] (1950),{{sfn|Kelly|1978}} while relying on literary sources but not historical records{{sfn|Richardson|1959}} is "legend focussed" and highly romanticised in a way that cannot be substantiated.{{sfn|Akeroyd|2017|p=18}}{{sfn|Ramsey|2012|p=48}}{{sfn|Parsons|Wheeler|2003a|p=xvi}} In the absence of much reliable information about Eleanor herself, biographers have largely focused on the people around her and the political and cultural events of her time.{{sfn|Dobson|1912}}

=== Art ===
{{Gallery |title=Eleanor of Aquitaine in art|width=250 |height=170 |align=center |footer= |Saint-Bernard prêchant la 2e croisade, à Vézelay, en 1146.jpg|''Saint Bernard preaching the Second Crusade''<br>[[Emile Signol]], 1839<br>[[Chateau de Versailles]]|Queen Eleanor (Frederick Sandys, 1858).jpg|''[[Queen Eleanor (painting)|Queen Eleanor]]''<br> [[Frederick Sandys]], 1858<br> [[National Museum Cardiff]]{{Sfn|''National Museum Cardiff''|2023}}|Edward Burne-Jones - Fair Rosamund and Queen Eleanor - Google Art Project.jpg|''Fair Rosamund and Queen Eleanor''<br>[[Edward Burne-Jones]], 1861<br>[[Yale Centre for British Art]]{{sfn|''Yale Centre for British Art''|2024}}|alt2=Nineteenth century depictions of Queen Eleanor, planning to murder Rosamund Clifford, by Frederick Sandys and Edward Burne-Jones}}
[[File:EleonoraAkvitt vitraz.jpg|thumb|upright|Eleanor issuing charter to Poitiers in 1199, by Steinhal (Town hall, late 19th c.)|alt=Stained glass window from the late nineteenth-century showing Eleanor issuing a charter to the City of Poitiers in 1199]]
Images of Eleanor are common throughout history but since there are none from her lifetime, these are purely speculative. Some romanesque carvings, such as those at the Cloisters in New York and Chartres{{sfn|Kelly|1978|p=xi}} and Bordeaux cathedrals, have been attributed to her but these cannot be substantiated,{{sfn|''The Metropolitan Museum of Art''|2024}}{{sfn|Boyd|2011|pp=25-27}}{{sfn|Turner|2009|p=10}} while completely erroneous claims from medieval art have frequently been used to illustrate articles and books about her, such as a queen from the 14th-century [[Codex Manesse]].{{efn|The Codex Manesse image was used as the cover of some editions of Alison Weir's biography.}}{{sfn|Chadwick|2016}}{{sfn|Evans|2014|pp=151–152}} The stained glass window in Poitiers Cathedral with a donor portrait of Eleanor is not original but a nineteenth-century restoration by [[:fr:Adolph Steinheil|Adolphe Steinheil]].{{sfn|Evans|2014|pp=152–153}} Two of the commonest claims have been the fresco in the chapel of at [[St. Radegonde]] at Chinon{{sfn|Cockerill|2019|pp=308–309}}{{sfn|Evans|2014|pp=151–152}} and a donor portrait of a kneeling woman in a twelfth-century [[psalter]], which has led to it becoming known as the Eleanor Psalter.{{sfn|Cockerill|2019|p=340}}

In France, the [[Salles des Croisades]] at Versailles, opened in 1843, showed two 1839 paintings including Eleanor - ''St Bernard preaching the second crusade in the presence of King Louis VII and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine'' by [[Emile Signol]], and ''King Louis VII takes the Oriflamme'' by [[Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse]]. In both, Eleanor is depicted in prayer.{{efn|A third painting from the Salles des Croisades, by [[Franz Winterhalter]], entitled ''Eleanor de Guyenne prend la croix avex les dames de sa cour'', from 1839 was subsequently removed and has been lost.{{sfn|Evans|2014|p=156}}}}{{sfn|Evans|2014|pp=155–156}} In contrast, British paintings including [[Frederick Sandys]]'s ''[[Queen Eleanor (painting)|Queen Eleanor]]'' (1858){{Sfn|''National Museum Cardiff''|2023}} and [[Edward Burne-Jones|Burne-Jones]]'s ''Fair Rosamund and Queen Eleanor'' (1861 and 1862), depict her as a melodramatic murderess, coincident with the popularity of the Fair Rosamond story, which in itself led to a series of art works. In the twentieth century, similar works appeared by Herbert Sidney (1905), [[Evelyn de Morgan]] (1905), [[John William Waterhouse]] (1916) and [[Frank Cadogan Cowper]] (1920).{{efn|A possible exception to the Rosamund theme is [[Edmund Blair Leighton]]'s painting ''The Accolade'' (1900) in which Eleanor is seen as an authority figure. However, there is doubt as to whether the queen actually is Eleanor.{{sfn|''Baker Street Gallery''|2024}} Despite the lack of evidence, it appears as a book cover (''Le Lit d'Alienor''), as do many other dubious portraits{{sfn|Evans|2014|p=158}}}}{{sfn|Evans|2014|pp=157–158}}
[[Judy Chicago]]'s installation ''[[The Dinner Party]]'' (1979) features a place setting for Eleanor.{{sfn|''Brooklyn Museum''|2024}} She was also commemorated on a French €0.50 postage stamp in 2004, the 800th anniversary of her death.{{sfn|''French Philately''|2004}}{{sfn|Evans|2014|pp=149–164}}

=== Fiction and poetry ===
Fictionalised accounts of Eleanor include [[Jean Plaidy]]'s 1987 autobiographical ''The Courts of Love''.{{sfn|Plaidy|1987}} [[Norah Lofts]] also wrote a fictionalized biography of her in 1955, including some romanticized episodes—starting off with the young Eleanor planning to elope with a young knight, who is killed out of hand by her guardian, in order to facilitate her marriage to the King's son.{{sfn|Lofts|2010}} [[Kristiana Gregory]] wrote a fictionalised diary, ''Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine'' (''[[The Royal Diaries]]'' series, 2002).{{sfn|Gregory|2002}}

Eleanor also features in the works of many historical novelists. These include ''[[The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' (1883) by [[Howard Pyle]] as Queen Catherine{{sfn|Pyle|2013}} and [[F. Marion Crawford]]'s novel of the second crusade ''Via Crucis'' (1899).{{sfn|Crawford|2010}}{{sfn|Siberry|2016}} She is the subject of ''A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver'', a 1973 children's novel by [[E. L. Konigsburg]],{{sfn|Konigsburg|1973}} and [[Margaret Ball (writer)|Margaret Ball]]'s ''Duchess of Aquitaine'' (2006).{{sfn|Ball|2006}}

In [[Sharon Kay Penman]]'s Plantagenet novels, she figures prominently in ''[[When Christ and His Saints Slept]]'' (1995), ''[[Time and Chance (Penman novel)|Time and Chance]]'' (2002), and ''[[Devil's Brood]]'' (2008). In Penman's historical Justin de Quincy mysteries, Eleanor, as Richard's regent, sends squire Justin de Quincy on various missions, often an investigation of a situation involving Prince John. The four published mysteries are the ''Queen's Man'' (1996), ''Cruel as the Grave'' (1998), ''Dragon's Lair'' (2003), and ''Prince of Darkness'' (2005).{{sfn|Penman|2011}} Other novels include [[Elizabeth Chadwick]]'s Eleanor trilogy ''The Summer Queen'' (2013), ''The Winter Crown'' (2014), and ''The Autumn Throne'' (2016).{{sfn|Chadwick|2021}} [[Ariana Franklin]] features Eleanor in her Adelia Aguilar twelfth-century mysteries.{{sfn|Franklin|2009}}{{sfn|Franklin|2022}}{{sfn|McDermott|2021}} She is also a character in ''[[Matrix (Groff novel)|Matrix]]'' by [[Lauren Groff]] (2021).{{sfn|Groff|2021}}

Eleanor is an allegorical figure in [[Ezra Pound]]'s ''[[Cantos]]''.{{sfn|Terrell|1993}}

=== Drama, film, radio and television ===
[[File:Hep-lion.jpg|thumb|[[Katharine Hepburn]] as Eleanor of Aquitaine in ''[[The Lion in Winter (1968 film)|The Lion in Winter]]'' (1968), a role for which she won the [[Academy Award]]]]

Eleanor is a character in [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Life and Death of King John]]''.{{sfn|Shakespeare|2008}} Una Venning played the role in the ''[[Sunday Night Theatre]]'' television version of this in 1952{{sfn|Brooke|2014a}} and [[Mary Morris]] in the [[BBC Shakespeare]] version (1984).{{sfn|Brooke|2014b}}

Eleanor has featured in a number of screen versions of the ''[[Ivanhoe]]'' and ''[[Robin Hood]]'' stories. She has been played by [[Martita Hunt]] in ''[[The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men]]'' (1952), [[Jill Esmond]] in ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' (1955–1960), [[Phyllis Neilson-Terry]] in ''[[Ivanhoe (1958 TV series)|Ivanhoe]]'' (1958), [[Yvonne Mitchell]] in ''[[The Legend of Robin Hood (TV series)|The Legend of Robin Hood]]'' (1975), [[Siân Phillips]] in ''[[Ivanhoe (1997 TV series)|Ivanhoe]]'' (1997), Tusse Silberg in ''[[The New Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' (1997), [[Lynda Bellingham]] in ''[[Robin Hood (2006 TV series)|Robin Hood]]'' (2006), [[Eileen Atkins]] in ''[[Robin Hood (2010 film)|Robin Hood]]'' (2010) and most recently by [[Connie Nielsen]] in ''[[Robin Hood (2025 TV series)|Robin Hood]]'' (2025).

Eleanor was played by [[Mary Clare]] in ''[[Becket (1923 film)|Becket]]'' (1923), and by [[Pamela Brown (actress)|Pamela Brown]] in the 1964 ''[[Becket (1964 film)|Becket]]''. She and Henry II are the main characters in [[James Goldman]]'s 1966 play ''[[The Lion in Winter]]''{{efn|The play deals with the difficult relationship between the monarchs and the struggle of their three sons Richard, Geoffrey, and John for their father's favour and the succession. The role was created on Broadway by [[Rosemary Harris]].{{sfn|''Playbill''|1966}}}} and Katharine Hepburn played Eleanor in the 1968 film ''[[The Lion in Winter (1968 film)|The Lion in Winter]]''.{{efn|Hepburn won the third of her four [[Academy Awards for Best Actress]] in 1969 for ''The Lion in Winter''. She also won the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role]]{{sfn|''Oscars''}} and was nominated for the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama]].{{sfn| ''Golden Globe Awards''}} [[Peter O'Toole]] played Henry II in both ''The Lion in Winter'' and ''Becket''.}} [[Glenn Close]] and [[Patrick Stewart]] played Eleanor and Henry in the [[The Lion in Winter (2003 film)|2003 version]].{{sfn|''TV Guide''|2024}}

Eleanor was played by [[Prudence Hyman]] in ''[[Richard the Lionheart (TV series)|Richard the Lionheart]]'' (1962), twice by [[Jane Lapotaire]] in ''[[The Devil's Crown]]'' (1978) and again in [[Mike Walker (radio dramatist)|Mike Walker]]'s [[BBC Radio 4]] series ''[[Plantagenet (radio plays)|Plantagenet]]'' (2010). In the 2014 film ''Richard the Lionheart: Rebellion'', Eleanor is played by [[Debbie Rochon]]. In the BBC Radio 4 ''Eleanor Rising'' Rose Basista plays Eleanor and Joel MacCormack plays Louis (2020–2022).{{sfn|''BBC Radio 4''|2024}} These and other dramatic accounts have helped to perpetuate the Golden Myth image of Eleanor.{{sfn|Tolhurst|2020}}

=== Music ===
Eleanor of Aquitaine is thought to be the ''chunegin von Engellant'' (Queen of England) mentioned in the 12th century poem "''Were diu werlt alle min''," in [[Carl Orff]]'s ''[[Carmina Burana (Orff)|Carmina Burana]]''.{{sfn|Norman|1963}}{{sfn|Betts|2018}} [[Queen Eleanor's Confession]], a traditional 17th century [[Child Ballad]], is a fictional account.{{sfn|Carney|1984}} Eleanor (as Eleonora di Guienna) appeared in [[Gaetano Donizetti]]'s opera ''[[Rosmonda d'Inghilterra]]'' (1834). ''[[Flower and Hawk]]'' is a monodrama for soprano and orchestra, written by American composer [[Carlisle Floyd]] in 1972, in which Eleanor relives memories of her time as queen.

== Genealogy ==
'''Sources:'''{{sfn|Turner|2009}}{{sfn|Lewis|2021}}{{sfn|Boyd|2011}}{{sfn|Meade|1991}}{{sfn|Weir|2012}}{{sfn|Richardson|2011}}{{sfn|Dunbabin|2000}}{{sfn|Pernoud|1967}}{{sfn|Pernoud|1975}}{{sfn|Bouchard|1981}}{{sfn|Flori|2004}}{{sfn|Graham-Leigh|2005}}

=== Ancestors ===
{{chart top|'''<big>Eleanor of Aquitaine's ancestors</big>'''<br>'''Notes:'''<br> Dashed lines indicate non-marital union<br>Dotted lines indicate marriage<br>Coloured boxes indicate line of consanguinity between Eleanor and Louis|collapsed=yes}}
{{tree chart/start|align=center; style=font-size:65%; line-height: 120%; margin:1em;}}

{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ro2 |v| CoA |Ro2=[[Robert II of France]]<br>{{circa|972–1031}}|CoA=[[Constance of Arles]]<br>{{circa|986–1032}}}}<!-- Gen 5: Great Great Great Grandparents -->
{{tree chart| | | | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|^|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| }}

{{tree chart| AnK |y|HenI | | PoT |y| AlM | | RoM |y| MaM | | WiV |y| AgB | |RobI |y| ErA | | ArB |y| ABo | | EoB |y| TcT | | | HuC |y| GeR | | AiT |y| AMa |AnK=[[Anne of Kiev]]<br>{{circa|1030–1075}}|HenI=[[Henry I of France]]<br>1008–1060|PoT=[[Pons of Toulouse]]<br>1019–1060|AlM=[[Almodis of La Marche]]<br>{{circa|1020}}–1071|RoM=[[Robert of Mortain]]<br>{{circa|1031}}–1095|MaM=Matilda of Montgomery<br>d. 1085|WiV=[[William V of Aquitaine]]<br>969–1030|AgB=[[Agnes of Burgundy, Duchess of Aquitaine|Agnes of Burgundy]]<br>{{circa|995}}–1068|RobI=[[Robert I of Burgundy]]<br>1011–1076|ErA=[[Ermengarde of Anjou, Duchess of Burgundy|Ermengarde of Anjou]]<br>{{circa|1018–1076}}|ArB=Archimbaud Borel<br>1019–1083|ABo=Amabilis of l'Isle Bouchard<br>1023–1084|EoB=Eon of Blaison<br>1028–|TcT=Tcheletis of Trèves<br>1028–|HuC=Hugues I of Châtellerault<br>1008–1075|GeR=Gerberga Rochefoucauld<br>{{circa|1030}}–1058–|AiT=Aimery of Thouars<br>{{circa|1017}}–1093|AMa=Auremgarde Mauleon<br>1017–1069|boxstyle_HenI=background-color:#ccf;|boxstyle_RobI=background:aqua;}} <!-- Gen 4: Great Great Grandparents -->
{{tree chart| | | |!| | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart| | |PhiI | | | | | | Wi6 |~|~|y|~|~| Emm | | | | | | Wi8 |~|~|y|~|~|Hil | | | | | | Bar |~|~|y|~|~| Ger | | | | | | | Bos |~|~|y|~|~| Ale |PhiI=[[Philip I of France]]<br>c.1052–1108|Wi8=[[William VIII of Aquitaine]]<br>1025–1086 |Hil=[[Hildegarde of Burgundy]]<br>1056–1104|Wi6=[[William IV of Toulouse]]<br>1040–1094|Emm=Emma of Mortain<br>1058–1080|Bar=Bartholomew of l'Isle Bouchard<br>1049–1097|Ger=Gerberge of Blaison<br>1053 – {{circa|1082}}|Bos=Boson II of Châtellerault<br>{{circa|1050–1092}}|Ale=Aleanor of Thouars<br>{{circa|1055–1093}}|boxstyle_PhiI=background-color:#ccf;|boxstyle_Hil=background:aqua;}}<!-- Gen 3: Great Grandparents -->
{{tree chart| | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart| | |Lou6 | | | | | | | | | | Phi |~|~|~|~|~|~|y|~|~|~|~|~|~|Wi9 |~| |~| |~| |~| |~| |~| |~| DaB |~|~|~|~|~|~|y|~|~|~|~|~|~|~| AiC |Lou6=[[Louis VI of France]]<br>1081–1137|Wi9=[[William IX of Aquitaine]]<br>1071–1126 |Phi=[[Philippa of Toulouse]]<br>1073–1118|AiC=[[Aimery I of Châtellerault]]<br>1075–1151|DaB=[[Dangereuse of l'Isle Bouchard]]<br>1079–1151|boxstyle_Lou6=background-color:#ccf;|boxstyle_Wi9=background:aqua;}}<!-- Gen 2 -->
{{tree chart| | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart| | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |WiX |~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|y|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~| AeC |WiX=[[William X of Aquitaine]]<br>1099–1137 |AeC=[[Aénor of Châtellerault]]<br>1103–1130|boxstyle_WiX=background:aqua;}}<!-- Gen 1: Parents -->
{{tree chart| | | |!| | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|(| }}

{{tree chart| | |Lou7 |~|~|~|~|~|~|ElA |~|~|~|~|~|~| He2 | | | | | | | Ael | | | | | | | Aig |ElA='''Eleanor of Aquitaine<br>1124–1204'''|Lou7=''m.(1) 1137–1152''<br>[[Louis VII of France]]<br>1120–1180|He2=''m.(2) 1152''<br>[[Henry II of England]]<br>1133–1189|Ael=[[Aélith of Aquitaine]]<br>1125–1151|Aig=Aigret of Aquitaine<br>1126–1130|boxstyle_Lou7=background-color:#ccf|boxstyle_ElA=background-color: #fcc;border: 1px dashed #000; border-radius: 0.5em;border: 3px solid #000;}} <!-- Proband -->

{{tree chart/end}}
{{chart bottom}}

=== Consanguinity ===
{{chart top|align=left|'''<big>Consanguinity of [[Capetian]] and [[Angevin Empire|Angevin]] lines</big>'''<br>'''Note:''' Coloured boxes indicate lines of descent from Robert of France and Constance of Arles|collapsed=yes}}
{{tree chart/start|align=center; style=font-size:65%; line-height: 120%; margin:1em;}}

{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | |RC|v|CA|RC=[[Robert II of France]]<br>{{circa|972–1031}}|CA=[[Constance of Arles]]<br>{{circa|986–1032}}}}<!-- Gen 1: Great Great Great Grandparents -->
{{tree chart| |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| }}

{{tree chart|HI | | | | | | | | | | |AF| | | | | | | | | | | | |RB|HI=[[Henry I of France]]<br>1008–1060|AF=[[Adela of France]]<br>1009–1079|RB=[[Robert I of Burgundy]]<br>1011–1076|boxstyle_HI=background-color:#ccf;|boxstyle_AF=background:aqua}}<!-- 2 -->
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|^|-|-|.| }}

{{tree chart|PI | | | | | | | | | | |MF| | | | | | | | | |CB| | | |HB|PI=[[Philip I of France]]<br>1052–1108|MF=[[Matilda of Flanders]]<br>{{circa|1031}}–1083|CB=[[Constance of Burgundy]]<br>1046–1093|HB=[[Hildegarde of Burgundy]]<br>{{circa|1056}}–1104|boxstyle_PI=background-color:#ccf;|boxstyle_MF=background:aqua|boxstyle_CB=background:orange|boxstyle_HB= background-color: #fcc}}<!-- 3 -->
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart|LVI| | | | | | | | | | |HI| | | | | | | | | |ULC| | | |WIX|LVI=[[Louis VI of France]]<br>{{circa|1081}}–1137|HI=[[Henry I of England]]<br>{{circa|1068}}–1135|ULC=[[Urraca of León and Castile]]<br>{{circa|1080}}–1126|WIX=[[William IX of Aquitaine]]<br>1071–1126 |boxstyle_LVI=background-color:#ccf;|boxstyle_HI=background:aqua|boxstyle_ULC=background:orange|boxstyle_WIX= background-color: #fcc}}<!-- 4 -->
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |EM| | | | | | | | | |AVII | | | |WX|EM=[[Empress Matilda]]<br>{{circa|1102}}–1167||AVII=[[Alfonso VII of León and Castile]]<br>1105–1157|WX=[[William X of Aquitaine]]<br>1099–1137|boxstyle_EM=background:aqua|boxstyle_AVII=background:orange|boxstyle_WX= background-color: #fcc}}<!-- 5 -->
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart|LVII |~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|!|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|!|~|~|~|~|EA|LVII=m.(1) 1137–1152<br> [[Louis VII of France]]<br>1120–1180<br>m.(2) 1154–1160|EA=m.(1) 1137–1152<br>'''Eleanor of Aquitaine'''<br>1124–1204<br>m.(2) 1152|boxstyle_EA=background-color: #fcc;border: 1px dashed #000; border-radius: 0.5em;border: 3px solid #000;|boxstyle_LVII=background-color:#ccf;}}<!-- 6a-->
{{tree chart| |:| | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart| |:| | | | | | | | | | | |HII|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|!|~|~|~|~|~|J|HII=m. 1152<br>[[Henry II of England]]<br>1133–1189|boxstyle_HII=background:aqua;}}<!-- 6b-->
{{tree chart| |:| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart| |L|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|CC|CC=m. 1154–1160<br>[[Constance of Castile]]<br>{{circa|1136}}–1160 |boxstyle_CC=background:orange}}<!-- 6c -->

{{tree chart/end}}
{{chart bottom}}
{{clear}}

=== Family relationships ===
{{chart top|align=left|<big>'''Eleanor's relatives'''</big>|collapsed=yes}}
{{tree chart/start|align=center; style=font-size:65%; line-height: 120%; margin:1em;}}

{{tree chart| POT |y| ALM ||POT=[[Pons of Toulouse]]<br>1019–1060|ALM=[[Almodis of La Marche]]<br>{{circa|1020}}–1071 }}
{{tree chart| |,|-|^|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| }}

{{tree chart| WI6 |y| EMM | | | | | | | | | | | | RYT |WI6=[[William IV of Toulouse]]<br>1040–1094|EMM=Emma of Mortain<br>1058–1080|RYT=[[Raymond IV of Toulouse]]<br>1041–1105}}
{{tree chart| | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| }}

{{tree chart| | | PHT |~|~|~|~|y|~|~| WIX | | BET | | ALJ | | WIC |WIX=[[William IX of Aquitaine]]<br>1071–1126 |PHT=[[Philippa of Toulouse]]<br>1073–1118|BET=[[Bertrand of Toulouse]]<br>died 1112|ALJ=[[Alfonso Jordan of Toulouse]]<br>1103–1148|WIC=[[William the Conqueror]]<br>{{c.|1028}}–1087}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | |)|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| | | |,|-|-|-|^|-|.| }}

{{tree chart| | | HUM | | | | WLX |y| ALC | | RPO | | HEI | | | | ADL |y| STE |HUM=[[Humbert II of Savoy]]<br>1065–1103|WLX=[[William X of Aquitaine]]<br>1099–1137 |ALC=[[Aénor of Châtellerault]]<br>1103–1130|RPO=[[Raymond of Poitiers]]<br>{{c.|1105}}–1149|HEI=[[Henry I of England]]<br>{{circa|1068}}–1135|STE=[[Stephen, Count of Blois|Stephen of Blois]]<br>{{c.|1045}}–1102|ADL=[[Adela of Normandy]]<br>{{c.|1067}}–1137}}<!-- Gen 1: Parents -->
{{tree chart| |,|-|^|-|.| | | |!| |!| | | | | | | | | |!| | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| }}

{{tree chart| AMS | | ADE |y| LVI |!| | | | | | | | | MAT | | TEO | | STE | | |!|AMS=[[Amadeus III of Savoy]]<br>1095–1148|ADE=[[Adelaide of Maurienne|Adelaide of Savoy]]<br>1092–1154|LVI=[[Louis VI of France]]<br>{{circa|1081}}–1137|MAT=[[Empress Matilda]]<br>{{circa|1102}}–1167|TEO=[[Theobald II of Champagne]]<br>1090–1152|STE=[[Stephen of England]]<br>{{c.|1045}}–1102}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | |!| | | |)|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|!|-|-|-|.| | | | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart| | | | | | | VII |~|ELA|~|~|~|~|~|~|~| HII | | AEL |~| RAV |~| ECH |ELA='''Eleanor of Aquitaine<br>1124–1204'''|VII=m.(1){{nbsp}}1137–1152<br>[[Louis VII of France]]<br>1120–1180|HII=m.(2){{nbsp}}1152<br>[[Henry II of England]]<br>1133–1189|AEL=[[Aélith of Aquitaine]]<br>(Petronilla)<br>1125 – {{circa|1151}}<br>m.{{nbsp}}1142–1151|RAV=m.(1){{nbsp}}1125–1140<br>[[Raoul I of Vermandois]]<br>{{circa|1085}}–1152<br>m.(2){{nbsp}}1142–1151|ECH=[[Eleanor of Champagne]]<br>1102–1147<br>m.{{nbsp}}1125–1140|boxstyle_ELA=background-color: #fcc;border: 1px dashed #000; border-radius: 0.5em;border: 3px solid #000;}} <!-- Proband -->

{{tree chart/end}}
{{chart bottom}}
{{clear}}

=== Issue ===
Eleanor had ten children, and outlived eight of them.
[[File:The Children of Henry II.jpg|thumb|centre|450px|Children of Eleanor and Henry, with modern captions|alt=Medieval family tree with modern titles]]
{| border="1" style="margin:auto;"cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"
|- style="background:#ccc;"
!Name!!Birth!!Death!! style="width:40%;"|Marriage(s)
|- style="background:#d5d5d5;"
!colspan=4|By [[Louis VII of France]] (married 12 July 1137, annulled 21 March 1152)
|-
|[[Marie of France, Countess of Champagne|Marie, Countess of Champagne]]||1145||11 March 1198||married [[Henry I, Count of Champagne]]; had issue, including [[Marie of Champagne|Marie, Latin Empress]]
|-
|[[Alix of France|Alix, Countess of Blois]]||1150||1198||married [[Theobald V, Count of Blois]]; had issue
|-
! colspan="4" style="background:#d5d5d5;"|By [[Henry II of England]] (married 18 May 1152, widowed 6 July 1189)
|-
|[[William IX, Count of Poitiers]]||17 August 1153||April 1156|| died in early childhood
|-
|[[Henry the Young King]]||28 February 1155||11 June 1183|| married [[Margaret of France, Queen of Hungary|Margaret of France]]; no surviving issue.
|-
|[[Matilda, Duchess of Saxony|Matilda, Duchess of Saxony and Bavaria]]||June 1156||13 July 1189|| married [[Henry the Lion]], [[Rulers of Saxony|Duke of Saxony and Bavaria]]; had issue, including [[Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor]]
|-
|[[Richard I of England]]||8 September 1157||6 April 1199|| married [[Berengaria of Navarre]]; no issue
|-
|[[Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany]]||23 September 1158||19 August 1186|| married [[Constance, Duchess of Brittany]]; had issue
|-
|[[Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile|Eleanor, Queen of Castile]]||13 October 1162||31 October 1214|| married [[Alfonso VIII of Castile]]; had issue, including [[Henry I, King of Castile]], [[Berengaria of Castile|Berengaria, Queen Regnant of Castile and Queen of León]], [[Urraca of Castile, Queen of Portugal|Urraca, Queen of Portugal]], [[Blanche of Castile|Blanche, Queen of France]], [[Eleanor of Castile (died 1244)|Eleanor, Queen of Aragon]]
|-
|[[Joan, Queen of Sicily]]||October 1165||4 September 1199|| married 1) [[William II of Sicily]] 2) [[Raymond VI of Toulouse]]; had issue
|-
|[[John, King of England]]||24 December 1166||19 October 1216|| married 1) [[Isabella, Countess of Gloucester]] 2) [[Isabella, Countess of Angoulême]]; had issue, including [[Henry III, King of England]], [[Richard, King of the Romans]], [[Joan of England, Queen of Scotland|Joan, Queen of Scotland]], [[Isabella of England|Isabella, Holy Roman Empress]]
|}

== See also ==
* [[House of Plantagenet]]
* [[Angevin Empire]]
* [[Capetians]]
* [[House of Capet]]
* [[Grandmother of Europe]], sobriquet of Eleanor of Aquitaine and others
* [[List of longest-reigning monarchs]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== Citations ==
=== Footnotes ===
{{Reflist|20em}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|40em}}

==== Books ====
* {{Cite book |last=Aurell|first=Martin|author-link=:fr:martin Aurell|editor1-last= Allirot|editor1-first= Anne-Hélène |editor2-last=Lecuppre |editor2-first=Gilles |display-editors=etal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I89nQgAACAAJ |title=Royautés imaginaires, XIIe–XVIe siècles: actes du colloque organisé par le Centre de recherche d'histoire sociale et culturelle (CHSCO) de l'Université de Paris X-Nanterre, 26 et 27 septembre 2003 |date=2005 |isbn=978-2-503-51916-6 |publisher=[[Brepols]]|location=[[Turnhout]]|language=fr|chapter=Aux origines de la légende noire d’Aliénor d’Aquitaine|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/4254396|pages=89–102 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Aurell |first=Martin |author-mask=1|title=The Plantagenet Empire, 1154–1224 |trans-title=L’Empire des Plantagenêts (1154–1224)|date=2007 |orig-date=20003 Paris, Perrin|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis Group]] |isbn=978-1-138-14994-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7WL7vQAACAAJ |translator=[[David Crouch (historian)|David Crouch]]}}{{link note|note=Excepts available [https://www.amazon.com/Plantagenet-Empire-1154-1224-Martin-Aurell/dp/0582784395/ref=kwrp_li_std_nodl here]}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Barber|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Barber|editor-last1=Bull |editor-first=Marcus Graham |editor-last2=Léglu |editor-first2=Catherine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TXjvB0034DkC |title=The World of Eleanor of Aquitaine: Literature and Society in Southern France Between the Eleventh and Thirteenth Centuries |date=2005 |publisher=[[Boydell Press]] |location=Woodbridge|isbn=978-1-84383-114-3|chapter=Eleanor of Aquitaine and the media|pages=13–27 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Berman |first=Constance Hoffman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zq9TDwAAQBAJ |title=The White Nuns: Cistercian Abbeys for Women in Medieval France |date=2018 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0812250107}}
* {{Cite book |last=Berman |first=Harold J. |author-link=Harold J. Berman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9-8fIBVgCQYC |title=Law and Revolution, the Formation of the Western Legal Tradition |date=2009 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-674-02085-6}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Black |editor-first=Joseph |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JjpgBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA389 |title=The Medieval Period|chapter=Love and marriage in medieval Britain: Andreas Capellanus, The Art of Courtly Love |date=2015 |orig-date=2006|series=The Broadview Anthology of British Literature |publisher=[[Broadview Press|Broadview]] |isbn=978-1-77048-554-9 |location=Peterborough, Ontario |display-editors=etal|volume=1|edition=3rd|pages=389–391}}
* {{Cite book |last=Boyle |first=David |author-link=David Boyle (author)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OmTXRmkEhUoC |title=Blondel's Song: The capture, Imprisonment and Ransom of Richard the Lionheart |date=2006 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] Limited |location=London|isbn=978-0-14-190142-8 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Phillips|first=Jonathan|editor1-last=Bull |editor1-first=Marcus Graham | editor2-last=Housley |editor2-first=Norman |editor-link2=Norman Housley|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pW8IBBvUxIwC |title=The Experience of Crusading|date=2003 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-81168-2 |volume=1. Western Approaches|chapter=Odo of Deuil's ''De profectione Ludovici VII in Orientem'' as a source for the second crusade|pages=80–95}}
* {{Cite book |last=Dunbabin |first=Jean |author-link=Jean Dunbabin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oVBt7MClqnoC |title=France in the Making 843–1180 |date=2000 |orig-year=1985|edition=2nd|publisher=[[OUP]] |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-158830-3 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Dunn |first=Caroline |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dD9-9YCQBywC |title=Stolen Women in Medieval England: Rape, Abduction, and Adultery, 1100–1500 |date=2013 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-107-01700-9 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Elvins |first=Mark Turnham |author-link=Mark Elvins|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UOdZ7u0MphIC |title=Gospel Chivalry: Franciscan Romanticism |date=2006 |publisher=Gracewing |location=Leominster|isbn=978-0-85244-664-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fawtier |first=Robert  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1MCtzgEACAAJ |title=The Capetian Kings of France: Monarchy & Nation, 987–1328 |trans-title=Les Capétiens et la France 1941|date=2021 |orig-date=1960 Macmillan|publisher=Creative Media Partners, LLC |location=London|isbn=978-1-01-516610-3 |translator=L Butler & R J Adam}}{{link note|note=Available [https://archive.org/details/capetankingsoffr0000robe here] at [[Internet Archive]]}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Firnhaber-Baker |first=Justine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MebUEAAAQBAJ |title=House of Lilies: The Dynasty That Made Medieval France |date=2024|publisher=[[Basic Books]] |isbn=978-1-5416-0477-3 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Evergates|first=Theodore|editor-last=Gervers |editor-first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V-MYDAAAQBAJ |title=The Second Crusade and the Cistercians |date=2016 |orig-date=1992|publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |location=New York|isbn=978-1-137-06864-4|chapter=Louis VII and the Counts of Champagne |pages=109–108}}
* {{Cite book |last=Facinger|first=Marion|editor-last1=Dahood |editor-first=Roger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6LosAQAAIAAJ |title=Studies in Medieval and Renaissance History |editor-last2=Medine |editor-first2=Peter E. |date=2008 |orig-date=1996|publisher=[[Augustan Reprint Society|AMS Press]] |location=Los Angeles|isbn=978-0-404-64555-7 |volume=5|chapter=A study of medieval queenship: Capetian France 987–1237|pages=1–48}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gillingham |first=John |author-link=John Gillingham|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Q4lh8KLi1YC |title=Richard I |date=2002 |orig-date=1999|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|location=New Haven| isbn=978-0-300-09404-6 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Graham-Leigh |first=Elaine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eTEj0T6u7zUC |title=The Southern French Nobility and the Albigensian Crusade |date=2005 |publisher=[[Boydell Press]] |location=[[Woodbridge, Suffolk|Woodbridge]]|isbn=978-1-84383-129-7 }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Herdam|first1=Ayaal|last2=Smallwood|first2=David J|editor-last1=Gilleir |editor-first1=Anke |editor-last2=Defurne |editor-first2=Aude|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kh0MEAAAQBAJ |title=Strategic Imaginations: Women and the Gender of Sovereignty in European Culture  |date=2020 |publisher=[[Leuven University Press]] |location=Leuven|isbn=978-94-6270-247-9 |chapter=The Queen from the South: Eleanor of Aquitaine as a Political Strategist and Lawmaker
|pages=159–180|chapter-url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/258/edited_volume/chapter/2761980}}{{link note|note=Available [https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/258/oa_edited_volume/book/80817 here] at [[Project Muse]]}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Hahn |first=Scott |author-link=Scott Hahn|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f3P6RvHGOxEC |title=The Kingdom of God as Liturgical Empire: A Theological Commentary on 1-2 Chronicles |date=2012 |publisher=[[Baker Books]] |location=[[Grand Rapids]]|isbn=978-0-8010-3947-8 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Tolhurst|first=Fiona|editor-last=Harty |editor-first=Kevin J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kunaDwAAQBAJ |title=Medieval Women on Film: Essays on Gender, Cinema and History |date=2020 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]] |location=[[Jefferson, North Carolina]]|isbn=978-1-4766-3900-0 |chapter=Catty Queen Consort, Lioness in Winter and Loyal Quen Mother: Images of Eleanor of Aquitaine in film|pages=163–181}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hodgson |first=Natasha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nyxOvwStQ8sC |title=Women, Crusading and the Holy Land in Historical Narrative |date=2007 |publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer|Boydell]] |location=Woodbridge|isbn=978-1-84383-332-1}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Horton |first1=Ros |last2=Simmons |first2=Sally| title=Women Who Changed the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wUnzwAEACAAJ|date=2007 |publisher=Quercus |isbn=978-1-84724-026-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Houts |first=Elisabeth Van |author-link=Elisabeth Maria Cornelia van Houts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lkm_DAAAQBAJ |title=Memory and Gender in Medieval Europe, 900–1200 |date=2016 |orig-date=1999 Macmillan|publisher = [[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |isbn=978-1-349-27515-1 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Jasperse |first=Jitske |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mxJ0zwEACAAJ |title=Medieval Women, Material Culture, and Power: Matilda Plantagenet and Her Sisters |date=2020 |publisher=Arc Humanities Press |isbn=978-1-64189-146-2 }}{{link note|note=Available [https://muse.jhu.edu/book/73946 here] at [[Project Muse]]}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Dan |author-link=Dan Jones (writer)|title=The Plantagenets: The Kings who made England |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=81QmG4p8u8kC|date=2013 |publisher=[[William Collins (publisher)|William Collins]] |isbn=978-0-00-721394-8 |location=London }}{{link note|note=Searchable [https://archive.org/details/plantagenetsking0000jone here] at [[Internet Archive]]}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Martínez Diez |first=Gonzalo |title=Alfonso VIII, rey de Castilla y Toledo (1158–1214) |date=2007 |publisher=Ediciones Trea |location=Gijón |isbn=978-84-9704-327-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pacaut |first=Marcel |author-link=:fr:Marcel Pacaut|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dOlnAAAAMAAJ |title=Louis VII et son royaume |date=1964 |publisher=S.E.V.P.E.N. |location=Paris|language=fr}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pernoud |first=Régine |author-link=Regine Pernoud|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xZM-AQAAIAAJ |title=Blanche of Castile |trans-title=La Reine Blanche|date=1975 |orig-date=1972 Albin Michel|translator=Henry Noel|publisher=[[Coward, McCann & Geoghegan]] |location=New York|isbn=978-0-698-10595-9 |language=en}}{{link note|note=Available [https://archive.org/details/blancheofcastile00pern here] at [[Internet Archive]]}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Richardson |first=Douglas |author-link=Douglas Richardson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kjme027UeagC |title=Plantagenet ancestry : a study in colonial and medieval families |date=2011 |publisher= Douglas Richardson |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-4499-6631-7}}{{link note|note=Available [http://archive.org/details/plantagenetances0000rich here] at [[Internet Archive]]}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Seel |first=Graham E. |date=2012 |title=King John: An Underrated King |publisher=London: Anthem Press |isbn=978-0-8572-8518-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Siberry |first=Elizabeth |title=The New Crusaders: Images of the Crusades in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pHS-DgAAQBAJ|date=2016 |isbn=978-1-351-88519-5|publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon}}
* {{Cite book |last=Spiegel |first=Gabrielle M. |author-link=Gabrielle Spiegel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yrDm4h0JEU8C |title=Romancing the Past: The Rise of Vernacular Prose Historiography in Thirteenth-Century France |date=1993 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |location=Berkeley|isbn=978-0-520-91556-5 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Terrell |first=Carroll F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Eok0KBk63z4C |title=A Companion to The Cantos of Ezra Pound |date=1993 |orig-date=1980|publisher=[[University of California Press]] |location=Berkeley|isbn=978-0-520-08287-8 }}{{link note|note=Available at [[ResearchGate]] or [https://archive.org/details/companiontocanto0000terr/page/n7/mode/2up searchable] at [[Internet Archive]] }} 
* {{Cite book |last1=Turner |first1=Ralph V. |last2=Heiser |first2=Richard |title=The Reign of Richard Lionheart, Ruler of the Angevin Empire, 1189–1199 |date=2000 |place=Harlow |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0-5822-5659-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Vincent|first=Nicholas|editor-last1=Aurell |editor-first1=Martin |editor-last2=Tonnerre |editor-first2=Noël-Yves|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_mBnAAAAMAAJ |title=Plantagenêts et Capétiens, confrontations et héritages  |date=2006 |publisher=[[Brepols]] |location=[[Turnhout]], Belgium|isbn=978-2-503-52290-6 |language=fr|chapter=Patronage, Politics and Piety in the charters of Eleanor of Aquitaine|pages=17–60}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Doran |editor1-first=John |editor2-last=Smith |editor2-first=Damian J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l6ZTDAAAQBAJ |title=Pope Innocent II (1130–43): The World vs the City  |date=2016|publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=[[Abingdon-on-Thames|Abingdon]]|isbn=978-1-317-07831-9|last=Vones-Liebenstein|first=Ursula |chapter=From Aquitaine to Provence: The struggle for influence during the schism of 1130|pages=152–171}}

===== Historical sources =====

* {{Cite book |editor-last=Berry |editor-first=Virginia Gingerick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dzw5mAEACAAJ |title=Odo of Deuil: De Profectione Ludovici VII in Orientem |date=1948 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] }}{{link note|note=see [[Odo of Deuil]]}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bouchet |first=Jean |author-link=:fr:Jean Bouchet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=989TAAAAcAAJ |title=Les Annales d'Aquitaine. Faicts & gestes en sommaire des Roys de France, & d'Angleterre, & pais de Naples & de Milan: reueuës & corrigées par l'Autheur mesmes: iusques en l'an mil cinq cens cinquante & sept  |date=1557 |publisher= Enguilbert de Marnef |location=Poitiers|language=fr}}
* {{Cite book |last=du Breuil |first=Geoffroy |author-link=Geoffroy du Breuil |editor-last=Labbé |editor-first=Philippe |editor-link=Philippe Labbe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IeVVAAAAcAAJ |title=Nova Bibliotheca manuscriptorum librorum |date=1657 |publisher=Cramoisy |location=Paris|language=la|volume=II|chapter=Chronica Gaufredi coenobitae monasterii D. Martialis Lemovicensis, ac prioris Vosiensis coenobii|pages=279–342}}{{link note|note=Also known as Geoffroi de Vigeois}}
* {{Cite book |last=Born|first=Bertran de|author-link=Bertran de Born |editor-last1=Paden|editor-first1=William D|editor-last2=Sankovitch|editor-first2=Tilde|editor-last3=Stäblein|editor-first3=Patricia H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jC3JVwTDHekC |title=The Poems of the Troubadour Bertran de Born |date=1986 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |location=Berkeley|isbn=978-0-520-04297-1 }}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Chibnall |editor-first=Marjorie |editor-link=Marjorie Chibnall|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KbdkwAEACAAJ |title=The Historia pontificalis of John of Salisbury |date=1986 |publisher=[[Clarendon Press]] |location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-822275-0 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Canterbury |first=Gervase of |author-link=Gervase of Canterbury|editor-last=Stubbs|editor-first=William|editor-link=William Stubbs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-wcSldGVJEsC |title=The Historical Works of Gervase of Canterbury |date=2012 |orig-date=1879|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-108-05159-0 |volume=1|language=la}}
*  {{Cite book |last=Canterbury |first=Gervase of |author-mask=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=krJkREK0It0C |title=The Historical Works of Gervase of Canterbury |date=2012a |orig-date=1880 |isbn=978-1-108-05160-6 |volume=2|publisher=Cambridge University Press |language=la}}
* {{Cite book |last= Capellanus|first= Andreas|author-link=Andreas Capellanus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3FLusNnbiF8C |title=The Art of Courtly Love |date=1960 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-07305-9 |translator=John Jay Parry|language=la}}
* {{Cite book |last=Devizes |first=Richard of |author-link=Richard of Devizes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N2RF6O6xbgMC |title=Chronicon Ricardi Divisiensis de rebus gestis Ricardi Primi, regis Angliae |date=1838 |publisher=Sumptibus Societatis |location=London|editor-last=Stevenson|editor-first=Joseph|editor-link=Joseph Stevenson|language=la}}{{link note|note=Also available [https://archive.org/details/chroniconricard00stevgoog/page/n8/mode/2up here] at [[Internet Archive]]}} 
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Grasilier |editor-first=Th. Abbé |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HSsEU896wcoC |title=Cartulaires inédits de la Saintonge |date=1871 |volume=2|publisher=L. Clouzot |location=[[Niort]]|language=la, fr}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hoveden |first=Roger of |author-link=Roger of Hoveden|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sTEIAAAAQAAJ |title=The Annals of Roger de Hoveden: Comprising the History of England and of Other Countries of Europe from A.D. 732 to A.D. 1201 |date=1853 |publisher=[[Henry George Bohn|H.G. Bohn]] |location=London|translator=[[Henry Thomas Riley|Henry T Riley]]}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hoveden |first=Roger of|editor-last=Stubbs|editor-first=William|editor-link=William Stubbs|author-mask=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UKBEAQAAMAAJ |title=Gesta regis Henrici Secundi Benedicti abbatis: The chronicle of the reigns of Henry II. and Richard I.A.D. 1169–1192; known commonly under the name of Benedict of Peterborough |date=1867 |publisher=[[Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer]] |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Meyer |editor-first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KzfqEAAAQBAJ |title=L'histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal: Comte de Striguil et de Pembroke, régent d'Angleterre |date=2023 |orig-date=1882 (1226)|publisher=BoD – [[Books on Demand]] |isbn=978-3-385-01225-7 |language=fr}}{{link note|note=See also [[Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal]]}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Migne |editor-first=Jacques-Paul |editor-link=Jacques Paul Migne|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=im_YAAAAMAAJ |title=Patrologia Latina, Cursus Completus, Series Latina |date=1841–1865 |publisher=Garnier |location=Paris|language=la}}{{link note|note=see Patrologia Latina}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Walsh|editor1-first=P J|editor2-last=Kennedy|editor2-first=M J|last=Newburgh |first=William of |author-link=William of Newburgh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NLNBwgEACAAJ |title=The history of English affairs |trans-title=Historia rerum Anglicarum|date=1988 |publisher=Aris|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-85668-305-3 }}{{link note|note=Available at [https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/williamofnewburgh-intro.asp Fordham University: ''Internet Medieval Sourcebook'']. For MS, see [https://parker.stanford.edu/parker/catalog/gy884xh4155 Corpus Christi MS 262], and online by [https://books.google.com/books?id=t4rxT1gKvNYC Cambridge University Press, ed. R Howlett]}}
** {{Cite book |last=Newburgh |first=William of |editor-last=Hamilton|editor-first=Hans Claude|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xEhQAAAAcAAJ |title=Historia rerum anglicarum |date=1856 |publisher=Sumptibus Societatis |location=London|language=la}}
* {{cite book  |editor-last= Salmon|editor-first=Andre|title=Recueil de Chroniques de Touraine  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_3pXlAEACAAJ| date=2012 |orig-date=1854|publisher=[[Hachette Livre]] |location=Tours|isbn=978-2-01-276621-1 |language=fr, la}}{{link note|note =Available  [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k36177w here] at [[Bibliotheque nationale de France]]}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Rymer |editor-first=Thomas |editor-link=Thomas Rymer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nqHLZSI0J08C |title=FOEDERA, Conventiones, Literae, Et Cujuscunque Generis ACTA PUBLICA, INTER REGES ANGLIAE, Et Alios quosvis IMPERATORES, REGES, PONTIFICES, PRINCIPES, vel COMMUNITATES, AB Ineunte SAECULO DUODECIMO, viz. ab Anno 1101, ad nostra usque Tempora, Habita aut Tractata; Ex Autographis, infra Secretiores ARCHIVORUM REGIORUM Thesaurarias, per multa Saecula reconditis, fideliter Exscripta. In Lucem missa de Mandato REGINAE. Accurante Ejusdem Serenissimae REGINAE Historiographo |date=1707 |publisher=Per A. & J. Churchill |location=London|language=la}}{{link note|note=Also available [https://archive.org/details/fderaconventione01ryme/page/n5/mode/2up?ref=ol here] at [[Internet Archive]]}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Sainte-More |first=Benoît de |author-link=Benoit de Sainte-Maure|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3wvrAAAAMAAJ |title=Le roman de Troie: Introduction |date=1912 |orig-date=1155–1160|publisher=[[Firmin-Didot]] et cie |location=Paris|language=fr}}
* {{Cite book |last=Torigny|first=Robert de|author-link=Robert of Torigny|editor-last=Howlett |editor-first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iW8jAQAAMAAJ |title=Chronicles of the reigns of Stephen, Henry II and Richard I: The chronicle of Robert of Torigni, abbot of the monastery of St. Michael-in-peril-of-the-sea |date=1964 |orig-date=1889|publisher=[[Longman]] |language=la}}{{link note|note=[https://books.google.com/books?id=VD3XTkLMP8cC 1889 edition]}}

===== Biography (chronological) =====

* {{Cite book |last=Kelly |first=Amy |author-link=Amy Kelly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qts7Heh3_sMC |title=Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings |date=1978 |orig-date=1950 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-674-24254-8 }}{{link note|note=Available [https://archive.org/details/eleanorofaquitai0000unse_m7u0/mode/2up here] at [[Internet Archive]]}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Pernoud |first=Régine |author-link=Regine Pernoud|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nk9nAAAAMAAJ |title=Eleanor of Aquitaine |trans-title=Aliénor d'Aquitaine|date=1967 |orig-date=1966 Albin Michel|publisher=[[HarperCollins|Collins]]|location=London|translator=Peter Wiles}} {{link note|note=Available [https://archive.org/details/eleanorofaquitai0000regi here] at [[Internet Archive]]}}
* {{Cite book |last=Meade |first=Marion |author-link=Marion Meade|title=Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ihzvEQuyDQIC|date=1991|orig-date=1977 |publisher=[[Penguin Books|Penguin]] |location=New York|isbn=978-0-8015-2231-4 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Brooks |first=Polly Schoyer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zc0K2KfOhREC |title=Queen Eleanor: Independent Spirit of the Medieval World |date=1983 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin]]|location=Boston |isbn=978-0-397-31994-7}}{{link note|note=For young readers}}
* {{Cite book |last=Laube |first=Daniela |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1FnAAAAMAAJ |title=Zehn Kapitel zur Geschichte der Eleonore von Aquitanien |date=1984 |publisher=[[Peter Lang (publisher)|Peter Lang]] |location=Bern|isbn=978-3-261-03476-2 |language=de}}
* {{Cite book |last=Owen |first= Douglas David Roy  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EgAb3pb_Ca4C |title=Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen and Legend |date=1996 |orig-date=1993 |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell|Blackwell]] |location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-631-20101-4 }} {{link note|note=Searchable [https://archive.org/details/eleanorofaquitai0000owen_j3b3 here] at [[Internet Archive]]}} 
* {{cite book |last=Duby |first=George |title=Women of the Twelfth Century, Volume 1: Eleanor of Aquitaine and Six Others |author-link=Georges Duby |trans-title=Dames du XIIe siècle (Tome 1) – Héloïse, Aliénor, Iseut et quelques autres|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |date=1997 |orig-date=1995 Gallimard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TBW7LwHP0NoC |isbn=978-0-226-16780-0|chapter= 1. E1eanor|pages=5–21|translator=Jean Birrell}} {{link note|note=1. [https://books.google.com/books?id=na8dAAAAQBAJ Original French version]}}
* {{Cite book |last=Weir |first=Alison |author-link=Alison Weir|title=Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GtToRDyWXJcC  |publisher=[[Random House Publishing Group]]|location=New York|date=2012|orig-date=1999 
|isbn= 978-0-307-83185-9 }} {{link note|note=Searchable  [https://archive.org/details/eleanorofaquitai00weir here] at [[Internet Archive]]. Also published under the title ''Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the wrath of God, Queen of England''}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last1=Parsons |editor-first1=John C.| editor-last2=Wheeler |editor-first2=Bonnie| title=Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5rAYDAAAQBAJ|date=2003 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|location=New York |isbn=978-1-137-05262-9|orig-date=2002}}{{link note|note=Available [https://archive.org/details/eleanorofaquitai0000unse_e0n9 here] at [[Internet Archive]]}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Aurell|editor-first=Martin|editor-link=:fr:Martin Aurell|title= Aliénor d'Aquitaine|url=http://opac.regesta-imperii.de/id/796058|date=2004|series=Revue 303; issue 81|language=fr}}
* {{Cite book |last=Boyd |first=Douglas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMYSDQAAQBAJ |title=April Queen: Eleanor of Aquitaine |date=2011 |orig-date=2004 Sutton Publishing|publisher=[[The History Press|The History Pres]]s |location=[[Stroud]]|isbn=978-0-7524-7304-8 }}{{link note|note=Available [https://archive.org/details/eleanoraprilquee0000boyd/mode/2up here] at [[Internet Archive]]}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Flori |first=Jean |author-link=Jean Flori|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=31FnAAAAMAAJ |title=Aliénor d'Aquitaine: la reine insoumise |trans-title=Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen and rebel|date=2004 |publisher=Payot |location=Paris|isbn=978-2-228-89829-4 |language=fr|translator=O Classe}} {{link note|note=Searchable in Spanish [https://books.google.com/books?id=K6YlEAAAQBAJ here] or in English [https://books.google.com/books?id=LOwLAQAAMAAJ here] on Google Books (Edinburgh University Press 2007}}
* {{Cite book |last=Swabey |first=Ffiona |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kDLx1-vH2voC |title=Eleanor of Aquitaine, Courtly Love, and the Troubadours |date=2004 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|location=[[Westport, CT]]|series=Greenwood Guides to historic events of the Medieval World|isbn=978-0-313-32523-6}} {{link note|note=Searchable [https://archive.org/details/eleanorofaquitai00swab/page/n7/mode/2up here] at [[Internet Archive]]}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Fripp |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ra1Hrfo1-XAC |title=Power of a Woman. Memoirs of a turbulent life: Eleanor of Aquitaine |date=2006 |publisher=Shillingstone Press |isbn=978-0-9780621-6-3 |location=Toronto, Ontario}}
* {{Cite book |last=Turner |first=Ralph V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dVcslrfl1V4C |title=Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France, Queen of England |date=2009 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |location =New Haven, CT|isbn=978-0-300-15989-9}}
** {{Cite journal |last=Wheeler |first=Bonnie |date=April 2013 |title= Ralph V turner: Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France, Queen of England |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23488919 |journal=[[Speculum (journal)|Speculum]] |volume=88 |issue=2 |pages=595–597 |doi=10.1017/S0038713413001085 |issn=0038-7134|type=Review|jstor=23488919}}
* {{Cite book |last=Evans |first=Michael R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0wpCBAAAQBAJ |title=Inventing Eleanor: The Medieval and Post-Medieval Image of Eleanor of Aquitaine |date=2014 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] |location=London|isbn=978-1-4411-4603-8 }}{{link note|note =Full text available [https://ebin.pub/inventing-eleanor-the-medieval-and-post-medieval-image-of-eleanor-of-aquitaine-9781474210768-9781441169006-9781441141354.html here, on Ebin]}}
** {{Cite journal |last=Woodacre|first=Elena|title=Inventing Eleanor: the Medieval and Post-Medieval Image of Eleanor of Aquitaine |url=https://reviews.history.ac.uk/review/1786 |date=June 2015|access-date=28 December 2023 |journal=[[Institute of Historical Research|Reviews in History]]|doi=10.14296/RiH/2014/1786|type=Review |doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite book |last=Evans|first=Michael|editor-last1=Bardot|editor-first=Michael L|editor-last2=Marvin|editor-first2 = Laurence W|editor-link2=Laurence Marvin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=smdjDwAAQBAJ |title=Louis VII and His World |date=2018 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |location=Leiden|series=Later Medieval Europe|isbn=978-90-04-36800-2 |volume=18|chapter=The missing queen? Eleanor of Aquitaine in the early reign of Louis VII|pages=105–113}} [https://brill.com/display/book/9789004368002/BP00009.xml Excerpt]
* {{Cite book |last=Cockerill |first=Sara |author-link=Sara Cockerill|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G1e-DwAAQBAJ |title=Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France and England, Mother of Empires |date=2019 |publisher=[[Amberley Publishing Limited]] |location=[[Stroud]], Gloucstershire|isbn=978-1-4456-4618-3 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Matthew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZVzEAAAQBAJ |title=Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine: Founding an Empire |date=2021 |publisher=[[Amberley Publishing]] Limited |location=[[Stroud]], Gloucstershire|isbn=978-1-4456-7157-4 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Weir |first=Alison |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AqPTDwAAQBAJ |title=Queens of the Crusades: England's Medieval Queens|volume=2: 1154–1291| date=2021 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |location=New York|isbn=978-1-101-96670-9|chapter=Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of Henry II |pages=1–134}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sullivan |first=Karen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t3DEEAAAQBAJ |title=Eleanor of Aquitaine, as It Was Said: Truth and Tales about the Medieval Queen |date=2023 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-82584-7 }}
** {{Cite news |last=Newman |first=Barbara |author-link=Barbara Newman|date=2 November 2023 |title=She was of the devil's race |url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n21/barbara-newman/she-was-of-the-devil-s-race |access-date=12 January 2024 |work=[[London Review of Books]]  |volume=45 |issue=21 |issn=0260-9592|type=Review}}

'''Fiction'''
* {{cite book |last=Ball |first=Margaret |author-link=Margaret Ball (writer)|title=Duchess of Aquitaine: A Novel of Eleanor |date=2006 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A5SBsr27sv0C |isbn=978-1-4299-0139-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Crawford |first=F. Marion |author-link=F. Marion Crawford|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jxAIkAEACAAJ |title=Via Crucis: A Romance of the Second Crusade |date=2010 |orig-date=1899|publisher=Creative Media Partners, LLC |location=Sacramento|isbn=978-1-341-26532-7}}{{link note|note=Original edition available [https://books.google.com/books?id=P9UxAQAAMAAJ here] on [[Google Books]]}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gregory |first=Kristiana |author-link=Kristiana Gregory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgl0ePMRSqEC |title=Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine |date=2002 |publisher=[[Scholastic Inc.]] |location=New York|isbn=978-0-439-16484-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Groff |first=Lauren |author-link=Lauren Groff|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g7AeEAAAQBAJ |title=Matrix |date=2021 |publisher=[[Penguin Books|Penguin]] |location=New York|isbn=978-0-698-40513-4 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Konigsburg |first=E. L. |author-link=E. L. Konigsburg|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3MVILIvfzhkC|title=A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver |date=1973|publisher= [[Simon and Schuster]]|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8124-3940-3 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Lofts |first=Norah |author-link=Norah Lofts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=70gY6YFl7ysC |title=Eleanor the Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine |date=2010 |orig-date=1955|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |location= New York|isbn=978-1-4391-5562-2 }}
* {{cite book |last=Plaidy |first=Jean |author-link=Jean Plaidy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6vvqVwXkjpcC |title=The Courts of Love: The Story of Eleanor of Aquitaine |date=1987 |publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group|Crown]] |location=New York|isbn=978-0-307-34707-7 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Pyle |first=Howard |author-link=Howard Pyle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E0V9CgAAQBAJ |title=The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown, in Nottinghamshire |date=2013 |orig-date=1883|publisher=Read Books Ltd |isbn=978-1-4474-9838-4}}{{link note|note=Available [https://archive.org/details/merryadventureso00pylerich/page/n8/mode/1up here] at [[Internet Archive]]}} 
* {{cite book| last          = Shakespeare  | first = William|author-link=William Shakespeare| orig-year     = 1989         | year = 2008| editor1-last  = Braunmuller  | editor1-first = A. R.| title         = The life and death of King John| series        = Oxford World's Classic | location      = New York, NY| publisher     = [[Oxford University Press|Oxford University Pres]]s| isbn          = 978-0-19-953714-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rsIrHTdy_kQC}}

===== Chapters =====

* {{harvc |last=Bouchard |first=Constance Brittain |c=Eleanor's divorce from Louis VII: The uses of consanguinity |pages=223–236 |year=2003 |in=Parsons |in2=Wheeler}}
* {{harvc |last=Brown |first=Elizabeth A R |author-link=Elizabeth A. R. Brown |c=Eleanor of Aquitaine reconsidered: The woman and her seasons |pages=1–54 |year=2003 |in=Parsons |in2=Wheeler}}
* {{harvc |last=Huneycutt |first=Lois L |c=Alianora Regina Anglorum: Eleanor of Aquitaine and her Anglo-Norman predecessors as queens of England |pages=115–132 |year=2003 |in=Parsons |in2=Wheeler}}
* {{harvc |last1=Le Goff |first1=Jacques |author-link=Jacques Le Goff |last2=Armengaud |first2=Jean-Pierre |last3=Aurell |first3=Martin |c=Entretien avec Jacques Le Goff |pages=20–25 |year=2004 |in=Aurell|2004}}
* {{harvc |last=McCracken |first=Peggy |c=Scandalising desire: Eleanor of Aquitaine and the chroniclers |pages=247–265 |year=2003 |in=Parsons |in2=Wheeler}}
* {{harvc |last=Pappano |first=Margaret Aziza |c=Marie de France, Aliénor d'Aquitaine, and the Alien Queen |pages=337–368 |year=2003 |in=Parsons |in2=Wheeler}}
* {{harvc |last1=Parsons|first1=John |last2=Wheeler |first2=Bonnie |c=Prologue |pages=xiii-xxix |year=2003 |in=Parsons |in2=Wheeler |id={{sfnref|Parsons|Wheeler|2003a}}}}

==== Articles and theses ====

* {{Cite journal |last=Benton |first=John F. |title=The Court of Champagne as a Literary Center |journal=Speculum |volume=36 |issue=4 |date=October 1961 |pages=551–591 |doi=10.2307/2856785 |jstor=2856785 |s2cid=161184362 }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Bouchard |first=Constance B. |date=1981 |title=Consanguinity and Noble Marriages in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2846935 |journal=[[Speculum (journal)|Speculum]] |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=268–287 |doi=10.2307/2846935 |issn=0038-7134|jstor=2846935 |pmid=11610836 |s2cid=38717048 }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Broadhurst |first=Karen M. |date=January 1996 |title=Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine: Patrons of Literature in French? |url=https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/10.1484/J.VIATOR.2.301122 |journal=[[Viator (journal)|Viator]]  |volume=27 |pages=53–84 |doi=10.1484/J.VIATOR.2.301122 |issn=0083-5897|url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Carney |first=Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth Carney|date=1984 |title=Fact and Fiction in 'Queen Eleanor's Confession' |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1260200 |journal=[[Folklore (journal)|Folklore]] |volume=95 |issue=2 |pages=167–170 |doi=10.1080/0015587X.1984.9716310 |issn=0015-587X|jstor=1260200}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Chambers |first=Frank McMinn |date=1941 |title=Some Legends Concerning Eleanor of Aquitaine |journal=Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies |publisher=University of Chicago Press |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=459–468 |doi=10.2307/2852844 |jstor=2852844 |s2cid=162522341}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Clogan |first=Paul M. |date=1990 |title=New Directions in Twelfth-Century Courtly Narrative: Le Roman de Thèbes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42583811 |journal=[[Mediaevistik]] |volume=3 |pages=55–70 |issn=0934-7453|jstor=42583811}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Crawford |first=Katherine |author-link=Katherine B. Crawford|date=2012 |title=Revisiting Monarchy: Women and the Prospects for Power |journal=[[Journal of Women's History]] |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=160–171 |doi=10.1353/jowh.2012.0006 |s2cid=144074176}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Dobson |first=Dina Portway |date=1912 |title=Eleanor of Aquitaine |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44990112 |journal=[[History (journal)|History]] |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=201–212 |issn=0018-2648|jstor=44990112}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Harris-Stoertz |first=Fiona |date=2012 |title=Pregnancy and Childbirth in Twelfth-and Thirteenth-Century French and English Law |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41475080 |journal=[[Journal of the History of Sexuality]] |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=263–281 |doi=10.1353/sex.2012.0040 |issn=1043-4070|jstor=41475080|pmid=22606750 |s2cid=27146977 }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Kelly |first=Amy |author-link=Amy Kelly|date=January 1937 |title=Eleanor of Aquitaine and Her Courts of Love |journal=Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies |publisher=University of Chicago Press |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=3–19 |doi=10.2307/2848658 |jstor=2848658 |s2cid=162194965}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Kleinmann |first1=Dorothée |last2=Garcia |first2=Michel |last3=Cloulas |first3=Ivan |last4=Kenaan-Kedar |first4=Nurith |date=1999 |title=Les peintures murales de Sainte-Radegonde de Chinon. À propos d'un article récent |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/ccmed_0007-9731_1999_num_42_168_2766 |journal=Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale |volume=42 |issue=168 |pages=397–399 |doi=10.3406/ccmed.1999.2766}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Marvin |first=Laurence W. |author-link=Laurence Marvin|date=2019 |title=King Louis Vii of France Fails to Lead: Disaster on the Second Crusade |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48637203 |journal=Medieval Warfare |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=38–43 |issn=2211-5129|jstor=48637203}}
* {{Cite journal |last=McCash |first=June Hall Martin |title=Marie de Champagne and Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Relationship Reexamined |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2850324 |journal=Speculum |volume=54 |issue=4 |date=October 1979 |pages=698–711 |jstor=2850324}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Norman |first=F. |date=April 1963 |title=Eleanor of Poitou in the twelfth-century German lyric |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0483.1963.tb00724.x |journal=German Life and Letters |volume=16 |issue=3–4 |pages=248–255 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-0483.1963.tb00724.x |issn=0016-8777|url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Richardson |first=H. G. |date=1959 |title=The Letters and Charters of Eleanor of Aquitaine |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/558439 |journal=[[The English Historical Review]] |volume=74 |issue=291 |pages=193–213 |doi=10.1093/ehr/LXXIV.291.193 |issn=0013-8266|jstor=558439}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Stapleton |first=Rachel F. |date=November 2012 |title=Motherly Devotion and Fatherly Obligation: Eleanor of Aquitaine's Letters to Pope Celestine III |url=https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1913&context=mff|journal=[[Medieval Feminist Forum]] |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=97–121 |doi=10.17077/1536-8742.1913 |issn=1536-8742|url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Turner |first=Ralph V. |author-mask=1|date=January 2008 |title=Eleanor of Aquitaine, Twelfth-Century English Chroniclers and her 'Black Legend' |url=https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/10.1484/J.NMS.3.427 |journal=Nottingham Medieval Studies  |volume=52 |pages=17–42 |doi=10.1484/J.NMS.3.427 |s2cid=162514613 |issn=0078-2122|url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Wilkinson |first=Bertie |date=1944 |title=The government of England during the absence of Richard I on the Third Crusade |url=https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/api/datastream?publicationPid=uk-ac-man-scw:1m1555&datastreamId=POST-PEER-REVIEW-PUBLISHERS-DOCUMENT.PDF |journal=[[Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, Manchester]] |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=485–509|doi=10.7227/BJRL.28.2.12 }}

'''Theses'''
* {{cite thesis |last=Akeroyd|first= Marissa Naschae|title=Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Grace of God Queen of England  |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/04f5adae8232597d08cfdbfbce8d7afb/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750 |date=December 2017|publisher=Department of History, [[Southeastern Louisiana University]], Hammond |degree=Master}}
* {{cite thesis|last= Barreiros|first=Megane|title=Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Queen and A Mother|url=https://dante.univ-tlse2.fr/access/files/original/a9580bf54e0ff8249d9730374f1029f77e96ef1d.pdf|date=2016|publisher=[[University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès|Université Toulouse]]|degree=Master}}
* {{Cite thesis |last=Ramsey  |first=Shawn D.|title= Deliberative Rhetoric in the Twelfth Century: The Case for Eleanor of Aquitaine, Noblewomen, and the ''Ars Dictaminis''|date=August 2012 |url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1343298630&disposition=inline|publisher=[[Bowling Green State University]], Ohio|degree=PhD}}

==== Encyclopaedias ====

* {{Cite ODNB |date=2004 |id=92701 |title=Monarchs of England (924x7–1707) |ref={{sfnref|''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''|2004}}}}

==== Websites ====

* {{Cite web |date=13 July 2017 |title=Sex & The Citadel: Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Courtly Love Myth  |url=http://www.historyanswers.co.uk/kings-queens/eleanor-of-aquitaine-and-myth-of-courtly-love/ |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=All About History }}
* {{Cite web |author=Eleanor of Aquitaine |title=A letter from Eleanor of Aquitaine (1193) |url=https://epistolae.ctl.columbia.edu/letter/141.html |access-date=18 January 2024 |website=[[Columbia University]] Center for Teaching and Learning. Epistolae: Medieval Women's Latin Letters |date=1193 |ref={{sfnref|Aquitaine|1193}}}}
* {{Cite web |title=The Accolade by Edmund Leighton |url=https://oblivicon.com/art/accolade-edmund-leighton-2/ |date=2024|access-date=9 July 2024|website=Baker Street Gallery |ref={{sfnref|''Baker Street Gallery''|2024}}}}
* {{cite web |title= Eleanor Rising|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000p6dv|website=BBC Radio 4 |date=2024|access-date=10 January 2024 |ref={{sfnref|''BBC Radio 4''|2024}}}}
* {{Cite web |title= Eleanor of Aquitaine |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/eleanor_of_aquitaine.shtml |access-date=16 January 2024 |website=BBC History |date=2014 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Betts|first=Gavin|title=Teach Yourself Complete Latin: Level 4|url=http://www.tylatin.org/index.html|chapter=10: Were diu werlt alle min (Carmina Burana) |chapter-url=http://www.tylatin.org/extras/cb10.html |access-date=14 January 2024 |date=2018|series=[[Teach Yourself]]}}
* {{Cite web |last=Brooke |first=Michael|title=King John On Screen |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1048694/index.html |access-date=31 December 2023 |website=[[BFI]] Screenonline Television|date=2014a }}
* {{Cite web |last=Brooke |first=Michael|title=Life and Death of King John |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/527770/index.html |access-date=31 December 2023 |website=[[BFI]] Screenonline Television|date=2014b }}
* {{Cite web |website=Brooklyn Museum |title=Place Settings |url=https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/place_settings |access-date=18 January 2024 |date=2024 |ref={{sfnref|''Brooklyn Museum''|2024}}}}
* {{Cite web |last=Chadwick |first=Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth Chadwick|date=24 March 2013 |title=Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Brother Who Never Was |url=http://the-history-girls.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/eleanor-of-aquitaine-and-brother-who_24.html |access-date=29 June 2024|website=The History Girls}}
* {{Cite web |last=Chadwick |first=Elizabeth |author-mask=1|date=5 June 2013a |title= The Summer Queen: Behind the scenes 3. On Eleanor of Aquitaine's appearance |url=https://livingthehistoryelizabethchadwick.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-summer-queen-behind-scenes-3-on.html |access-date=3 July 2024 |website=Living the History}}
* {{Cite web |last=Chadwick |first=Elizabeth |author-mask=1|date=24 August 2016 |title= Eleanor of Aquitaine: Going the Distance |url=https://the-history-girls.blogspot.com/2016/08/eleanor-of-aquitaine-going-distance-by.html |access-date=29 June 2024 |website=The History Girls}}
* {{Cite web |last=Chadwick |first=Elizabeth|author-link=Elizabeth Chadwick|author-mask=1|title=Eleanor of Aquitaine Trilogy  |url=https://elizabethchadwick.com/eleanor-of-aquitaine/ |date=2021|access-date=5 January 2024}}
* {{Cite web |last=Chadwick |first=Elizabeth|author-mask=1|title=Finding Petronella |url=https://elizabethchadwick.com/blog/finding-petronella/ |access-date=26 January 2024|date=2021a|website=Living the History}}
* {{Cite web |website=French Philately|title=Eleanor of Aquitaine  |url=https://frenchphilately.com/shop/2004-eleanor-of-aquitaine/ |access-date=16 January 2024|date=2004 |ref={{sfnref|French Philately|2004}}}}
* {{Cite web |website=[[Historic England]] |title=Queen Eleanors Bower  |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=70477&resourceID=19191 |date=2012|access-date=22 May 2024 |ref={{sfnref|''Historic England''|2012}}}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/lion-winter |title=The Lion in Winter |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |date=1968|access-date=25 May 2025 |ref={{sfnref|''Golden Globe Awards''}}}}
* {{Cite web |last= McDermott|first=Kristen|title=Death and the Maiden (Mistress of the Art of Death) |url=https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/death-and-the-maiden-mistress-of-the-art-of-death/ |date=February 2021|access-date=6 January 2024 |website=[[Historical Novel Society]] 95|type=Review}}
* {{cite web |website=Louvre |title=Vase d'Aliénor |date=2023 |url=https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010096614 |access-date=18 January 2024 |ref={{sfnref|''Louvre''|2023}}}}
* {{Cite web |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art|title=Chapel from Notre-Dame-du-Bourg at Langon  |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/479486 |date=2024|access-date=6 January 2024 |ref={{sfnref|''The Metropolitan Museum of Art''|2024}}}}
* {{Cite web |website=National Museum Cardiff |title=Queen Eleanor 1858  |url=https://museum.wales/art/online/?action=show_item&item=1633 |access-date=30 December 2023 |date=2023 |ref={{sfnref|''National Museum Cardiff''|2023}}}}
* {{Cite web |last=|date=14 November 2022 |title=Restauration de l'oeuvre picturale Aliénor d'Aquitaine accordant les franchises communales aux habitants de Niort en 1203 |url=https://www.niortagglo.fr/details-de-lactualite/restauration-de-loeuvre-picturale-alienor-daquitaine-accordant-les-franchises-communales-aux-habitants-de-niort-en-1203/index.html |access-date=10 July 2024 |website=Niortagglo}}
* {{Cite web |website=National Portrait Gallery, London|title=Eleanor of Aquitaine |url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp90678/eleanor-of-aquitaine |access-date=18 January 2024}}
* {{Cite web |title=The 41st Academy Awards |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1969 |access-date=31 December 2023 |website=Oscars |date=1969 |ref={{sfnref|''Oscars''}}}}
* {{Cite web |last=Franklin |first=Ariana |title=The Assassin's Prayer; or, A murderous procession by Ariana Franklin|url=https://penrithcity.spydus.com/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/WPAC/BIBENQ?SETLVL=&BRN=88746 |date=2022|access-date=6 January 2024 |website=Penrith City Library }}
* {{cite book |last=Franklin |first=Ariana |title=The Serpent's Tale |date=3 February 2009 |access-date=6 January 2024 |publisher=[[Penguin Random House]] |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/300249/the-serpents-tale-by-ariana-franklin/}}
* {{Cite web |last=Penman|first=Sharon Kay|author-link=Sharon Kay Penman| title=The Eleanor of Aquitaine Tour 2011: In the footsteps of Eleanor of Aquitaine |url=https://sharonkaypenman.com/about/the-eleanor-of-aquitaine-tour-2011/ |date=2011|access-date=2 January 2024 }}
* {{Cite magazine |date=1966 |title=The Lion in Winter. Ambassador Theatre |url=https://www.playbill.com/production/the-lion-in-winter-ambassador-theatre-vault-0000001017 |access-date=31 December 2023 |magazine=[[Playbill]] |ref={{sfnref|''Playbill''|1966}}}}
* {{Cite magazine |title=The Lion in Winter |magazine=TV Guide |url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-lion-in-winter/2000132125/ |date=2024|access-date=10 January 2024 |ref={{sfnref|''TV Guide''|2024}}}}
* {{Cite web |website=Yale Centre for British Art|title=Fair Rosamund and Queen Eleanor|url=https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:506 |access-date=28 June 2024 |date=2024 |ref={{sfnref|''Yale Centre for British Art''|2024}}}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Eleanor of Aquitaine}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[House of Poitiers]]||1124|1 April|1204}}
{{S-reg|fr}}
{{S-bef
| rows = 2
| before = [[William X of Aquitaine|William X/VIII]]
}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[Duchess of the Aquitainians]]
| years = 9 April 1137&nbsp;– 1 April 1204
| regent1 = [[Louis VII of France]]
| years1 = 1137–1152
| regent2 = [[Henry II of England]]
| years2 = 1152–1189
| regent3 = [[Richard I of England]]
| years3 = 1189–1199
| regent4 = [[John of England]]
| years4 = 1199–1204
}}
{{S-aft
| rows = 2
| after = [[John, King of England|John]]
}}
|-
{{S-ttl
| title = [[Countess of Poitiers]]
| years = 9 April 1137&nbsp;– 1 April 1204
| regent1 = [[Louis VII of France]]
| years1 = 1137–1152
| regent2 = [[Henry II of England]]
| years2 = 1152–1153
| regent3 = [[William IX, Count of Poitiers|William IX]]
| years3 = 1153–1156
| regent4 = [[Richard I of England]]
| years4 = 1169–1199
| regent5 = [[John of England]]
| years5 = 1199–1204
}}
|-
{{S-roy}}
|-
{{S-bef
| before = [[Adelaide of Maurienne]]
}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[Queen consort of the Franks]]
| years = 12 July 1137&nbsp;– March 1152
| alongside = [[Adelaide of Maurienne]] <br />(25 July&nbsp;– 1 August 1137)
}}
{{S-vac|next=[[Constance of Castile]]}}
|-
{{S-vac|last= [[Matilda I of Boulogne]]}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[Queen consort of the English]]
| years = 25 October 1154&nbsp;– 6 July 1189
| alongside = [[Marguerite of France (born 1158)|Margaret of France]] (1172–1183)
}}
{{S-vac|next= [[Berengaria of Navarre]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{French consort}}
{{English consort}}
{{Poitou Counts}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Eleanor of Aquitaine| ]]
[[Category:1120s births]]
[[Category:1204 deaths]]
[[Category:12th-century duchesses regnant]]
[[Category:12th-century English people]]
[[Category:12th-century English women]]
[[Category:12th-century French nobility]]
[[Category:12th-century French women]]
[[Category:12th-century regents]]
[[Category:12th-century women regents]]
[[Category:13th-century duchesses regnant]]
[[Category:13th-century English women]]
[[Category:13th-century French nobility]]
[[Category:13th-century French women]]
[[Category:13th-century queens consort]]
[[Category:12th-century dukes of Aquitaine]]
[[Category:13th-century dukes of Aquitaine]]
[[Category:12th-century English royal consorts]]
[[Category:Annulment]]
[[Category:Burials at Fontevraud Abbey]]
[[Category:Christians of the Second Crusade]]
[[Category:Countesses of Anjou]]
[[Category:Countesses of Maine]]
[[Category:Counts of Poitiers]]
[[Category:Duchesses of Normandy]]
[[Category:Dukes of Gascony]]
[[Category:English queen mothers]]
[[Category:French patrons of literature]]
[[Category:Heads of state and government who were later imprisoned]]
[[Category:Henry II of England]]
[[Category:House of Poitiers]]
[[Category:Medieval letter writers]]
[[Category:People from Aquitaine]]
[[Category:Queens consort of France]]
[[Category:Regents of England]]
[[Category:Remarried queens consort]]
[[Category:Robin Hood characters]]
[[Category:Women in 12th-century warfare]]
[[Category:Women in medieval European warfare]]
[[Category:Women in war in West Asia]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]