Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine: the "Brangelina" of the Middle Ages

In honor of the release of Notorious Royal Marriages by Leslie Carroll and as part of the Historical Fiction Round Table, I am pleased to bring you a creative post written by yours truly!

Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine: the "Brangelina" of the Middle Ages

Henry and Eleanor. Brad and Angelina. Both powerful, both wealthy……and both, most definitely fertile! We’ve yet to see what fate has in store for Brad and Angelina, but we do know that Henry and Eleanor’s story ends a far cry from the passion with which it began. So, how is it that two people, seemingly so right for each other, end up as adversaries?



When Henry and Eleanor met at the French Court in the summer of 1151, it was instant attraction. Eleanor was married to Louis VII, King of France at the time, though the marriage was an unhappy one. For one, Louis was never meant to be king, as the second son he had been trained for the church and when his brother died unexpectedly, he was reluctantly thrust into his new role. Unfortunately for Eleanor, Louis never really got over the earlier teachings that girls had cooties and to lie with them was to sin, so their sex life was pretty much non-existent. The fact that they had 2 daughters together is an amazing feat.

Despite Eleanor being Henry’s senior by 11 years, she was still considered quite beautiful and Henry was just the young stud that Eleanor’s unrequited passion longed for. Only one thing, or person, stood in their way: her husband, King Louis II. After cleverly finagling her way to a divorce from Louis on the pretext of consanguinity (a.k.a. my great-grandmama is your great-grandmama too), she spirits herself away to the duchy of Poitiers (where she was ruler in her own right) and six weeks later she marries Henry.



Like most relationships, this one starts off hot and heavy as passions are high, but eventually cools as the years go on. Affairs of state and the fact that Henry is a known adulterer and chases anyone in a tunic, causes much strife in the marriage. Given that both Henry and Eleanor are of equally strong mind, you can bet there were some pretty heated arguments between these two! Oh to be a fly on the wall!

Henry and Eleanor would go on to have eight children, five sons and three daughters. These charming children were affectionately called The Devil’s Brood and the latter part of Henry’s reign would be monopolized by the battles between members of the family. The “Angevin Curse” would rear its ugly head - pitting father against son and brother against brother. Eleanor, torn between being a wife and a mother, but realizing that her husband was wrong, would turn her support from Henry to her sons. When she was found to have played a part in their sons’ rebellion, Henry was livid. He imprisoned her immediately and that is where she would remain for the next 16 years or so, in various castles throughout England (and only brought out for family holidays). Henry II died in 1189 after being injured during a jousting match and his son, Richard the Lionheart, took the throne, immediately setting his mother free.



Tomb of Eleanor (left) and Henry (right).

In her last years on earth, Eleanor continued to fight for her sons and even served as Queen Regent during King Richard’s Third Crusade. She died in 1204, outliving all but two of her eight children.

The story of Henry and Eleanor is a fascinating one, and it is no wonder why this couple lives on in our minds, thanks to all of the novels, plays and movies written about them. I, for one, can’t get enough!

Let’s just hope that Brangelina’s brood don’t turn out to be quite so dysfunctional!

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In her own witty and sassy style, author Leslie Carroll chronicles the tempestuous relationship of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine in her new book, Notorious Royal Marriages - OUT IN STORES TOMORROW!!!!








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18 comments:

  1. Great creative post Amy! I really enjoyed reading about these two as well.

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  2. Eleanor is one my favorite Queens to read about! Great article, Amy!

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  3. Amy, this is a wonderfully witty post; I found myself laughing out loud several times! I love the way you characterized them as a 12th century Brangelina.

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  4. Awesome post! I loved your comment about Brangelina's brood.

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  5. So much good and bad out of those two, that's for sure!

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  6. I have spotlighted your blog with an award -- I really like historical fiction and your blog!

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  7. I can so see the connections! A great post Amy - I always enjoy your writing style. Another couple I knew nothing about before reading this book!

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  8. I too had no proir knowlege before reading Leslie's books on the pair. Such and interesting woman, loved the post Amy.

    I am down to less than 20 pages on Notorious Royal Marriages.

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  9. I love Eleanor and Henry books, and there are so many coming out in 2010 that I am so excited about!!
    My favorite still is the trilogy by Sharon Kay Penman... I wonder if anyone can top her?

    Thanks for this spotlight post!

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  10. Amy- this is such a wonderful post! I will forever think of Eleanor and Henry as Brangelina from now on! It's sooo them! Thanks:)

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  11. I'm not entirely sure that Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine were the "Brangelina" of their day, but their lives were certainly colorful! There are various views of both Henry and Eleanor, ranging from the worshipful to the disdainful, and viewed in certain ways, any one of these views could be considered "correct". They were both extrememly strong personalities, and neither of them were the type who would back down. I also have a feeling that, had it been "allowed", Eleanor would have been as "promiscuous" as Henry was. Probably it was just as well these things weren't "allowed" for women then. In any case, I think their relationship was basically one of "love/hate" or "can't live with each other, can't live without each other", and this is reflected in the way this royal pair has come down to us today.

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  12. I am also fascinated by these two...especially Eleanor because she was such a strong woman and mother. You did a great job here spotlighting one of my favorite royal marriages and historical events.

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  13. Hi Amy,

    Great post. I'm looking for something new and exciting to read!

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  14. Sounds like an intriguing book! I'd love to join in Thanks for not making it laborious to enter for the drawing too!
    Marie
    zquilts@centurytel.net

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  15. This is such a fun creative post!! I love it, Amy, and I also really enjoyed reading Notorious Royal Marriages and the chapter on Eleanor of Aquitaine and her marriages. I didn't really know too much about her, so it was great to get the jazzed up funny version from Leslie, and this post is the perfect intro to that fascinating chapter profiled in Notorious Royal Marriages. I'm reading The Queen's Pawn later on so I'm glad to have read a nonfiction version first!

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  16. Very creative and entertaining to read!

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  17. What an interesting post. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
    NOTORIOUS ROYAL MARRIAGES sounds like a fun and interesting read.
    librarypat AT comcast DOT net

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  18. How interesting. I look forward to getting the book to learn more about this couple and many others.

    librarypat AT comcast DoT net

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