{"product_id":"eleanor-of-aquitaine-isbn-9780345434876","title":"Eleanor of Aquitaine","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn “evocative” (\u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003e) biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen of England and France, who transcended the mores of society—from the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Last White Rose\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“An alluringly candid portrait of this most public yet elusive of medieval women.”—\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“[Alison Weir] has perfected the art of bringing history to life.”—\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRenowned in her time as the most beautiful woman in Europe, the wife of two kings and the mother of three, Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the great heroines of the Middle Ages. In an era when women were regarded as little more than chattel, Eleanor defied convention as she exercised power in the political sphere and crucial influence over her husbands and sons. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEleanor of Aquitaine lived a long life of many contrasts, of splendor and desolation, power and peril, and in this stunning narrative Weir captures the woman—and the queen—in all her glory. With astonishing historic detail, mesmerizing pageantry, and irresistible accounts of royal scandal and intrigue, Weir paints a vibrant portrait of this truly exceptional woman and provides new insights into her intimate world.“Eleanor of Aquitaine was among the powerful rulers in Europe. . . . In the sweeping pageant of \u003ci\u003eEleanor of Aquitaine\u003c\/i\u003e . . . Weir convincingly debunks some of the more salacious fables about Eleanor’s libertine ways.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Evocative . . . a rich tapestry of a bygone age and a judicious assessment of [Eleanor’s] place within it.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“As delicately textured as a twelfth-century tapestry, royal biographer Weir’s newest book is exhilarating in its color, ambition, and human warmth. [Weir] exhibits a breathtaking grasp of the physical and cultural context of Queen Eleanor’s life . . . Her account parades a sequence of extraordinary characters. . . . Above all, there is the heroine, viewed clear-sightedly in all her intoxicating and imperious irresistibility.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“One of the most fascinating women in not only English history but all of European history . . . The author’s well-written pages—as in her previous books—lead easily to a rich, deep, and accessible understanding of the topic.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Alison Weir . . . paints a vibrant portrait of a truly exceptional woman, and provides new insights into her life.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKoen Pacific\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Weir provides the necessary checks and cautions against believing all we read, whilst enjoyably recording the gossip anyway. A balanced account, with myths, suppositions, and misunderstandings well ventilated.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A fresh biography of a remarkable woman.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eIrish News\u003c\/i\u003e (Belfast)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlison Weir\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eBritain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Six Wives of Henry VIII\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Princes in the Tower\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Wars of the Roses\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Children of Henry VIII\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Life of Elizabeth I\u003c\/i\u003e. She lives outside London with her husband and two children.Chapter 1\u003cbr\u003e “Opulent Aquitaine”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEleanor of Aquitaine was born into a Europe dominated  by feudalism.  In the twelfth century there was no concept of nationhood or patriotism,  and subjects owed loyalty to their ruler, rather than the state. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Europe was split  into principalities called feudatories, each under the rule of a king, duke, or count,  and personal allegiance, or fealty, was what counted. This was expressed in the ceremony  of homage, in which a kneeling vassal would place his hands between those of his  overlord and swear to render him service and obedience.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The most powerful kings  and lords could command obedience and aid from lesser rulers; a breach of fealty  was generally held to be dishonourable, and although some paid mere lip service to  the ideal, the threat of intervention in a dispute by one’s overlord often remained  an effective restraint. On the other hand, an overlord was bound to offer protection,  friendship, and aid to a vassal beset by enemies, so the system had its advantages.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Feudal Europe was essentially a military society. Warfare was the business of kings  and noblemen, and to many it was an elaborate game played by the rules of chivalry,  a knightly code embodying ideals of courage, loyalty, honesty, courtesy, and charity.  These rules were often strictly observed, and any breach of them was regarded with  opprobrium.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Kings and lords might engage in the most bloody conflicts, but once  sieges were broken, castles and territory taken, and a truce signed, it was agreed  to be in everyone’s best interests for good relations to be restored-until the next  conflict broke out. Thus, rulers could be enemies one month, yet swear undying friendship  the next; such was the shifting scene of twelfth-century politics. The real victims  of war were, of course, the peasants and townsfolk, who served as foot soldiers or  were innocent victims of the sacking of towns and villages by mercenaries or the  notoriously violent routiers, ruthless desperadoes whose lives were dedicated to  fighting and plunder. Humble noncombatants often perished in vast numbers at the  whim of their rulers-even that of Eleanor herself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Christianity governed the lives  of everyone in feudal Europe. Belief in the Holy Trinity was universal, and any deviation  from the accepted doctrines of the Catholic Church-such as the heresies of the Cathars  in southern France-was ruthlessly suppressed. Holy Church, presided over by the Pope  in Rome, was the ultimate authority for all spiritual and moral matters, and even  kings were bound by her decrees.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In this martial world dominated by men, women  had little place.  The Church’s teachings might underpin feudal morality, yet when  it came to the practicalities of life, a ruthless pragmatism often came into play.  Kings and noblemen married for political advantage, and women rarely had any say  in how they or their wealth were to be disposed in marriage. Kings would sell off  heiresses or rich widows to the highest bidder, for political or territorial advantage,  and those who resisted were heavily fined.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Young girls of good birth were strictly  reared, often in convents, and married off at fourteen or even earlier to suit their  parents’ or over-lord’s purposes. The betrothal of infants was not uncommon, despite  the Church’s disapproval. It was a father’s duty to bestow his daughters in marriage;  if he was dead, his overlord or the King himself would act for him. Personal choice  was rarely an issue.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Upon marriage, a girl’s property and rights became invested  in her husband, to whom she owed absolute obedience. Every husband had the right  to enforce this duty in whichever way he thought fit-as Eleanor was to find out to  her cost. Wife-beating was common, although the Church did at this time attempt to  restrict the length of the rod that a husband might use.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It is fair to say, however,  that there were women who transcended the mores of society and got away with it:  the evidence suggests that Eleanor of Aquitaine was one such. There were then, as  now, women of strong character who ruled feudal states and kingdoms, as Eleanor did;  who made decisions, ran farms and businesses, fought lawsuits, and even, by sheer  force of personality, dominated their husbands.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It was rare, however, for a woman  to exercise political power. Eleanor of Aquitaine and her mother-in-law the Empress  Matilda were among the few notable exceptions, unique in their time. The fact remained  that the social constraints upon women were so rigidly enforced by both Church and  state that few women ever thought to question them.  Eleanor herself caused ripples  in twelfth-century society because she was a spirited woman who was determined to  do as she pleased.  Eleanor of Aquitaine was heiress to one of the richest domains  in mediaeval Europe. In the twelfth century, the county of Poitou and the duchies  of Aquitaine and Gascony covered a vast region in the south-west of what is now France,  encompassing all the land between the River Loire in the north and the Pyrenees in  the south, and between the Rhône valley and the mountains of the Massif Central in  the east and the Atlantic Ocean in the west.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In those days the kingdom of France  itself was small, being centred mainly upon Paris and the surrounding area, which  was known from the fourteenth century as the Île de France; yet its kings, thanks  to the legacy of the Emperor Charlemagne, who had ruled most of northern Europe in  the eighth century, were overlords of all the feudatories in an area roughly corresponding  to modern France.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Poitou was the most northerly of Eleanor’s feudatories: its northern  border marched with those of Brittany, Anjou, and Touraine, and its chief city was  Poitiers. Perched on a cliff, with impressive ramparts, this was the favourite seat  of its suzerains. To the east was the county of Berry, and to the south the wide  sweep of the duchy of Aquitaine, named “land of waters” after the great rivers that  dissected it: the Garonne, the Charente, the Creuse, the Vienne, the Dordogne, and  the Vézère. The duchy also incorporated the counties of Saintonge, Angoulême, Périgord,  the Limousin, La Marche, and the remote region of the Auvergne. In the south, stretching  to the Pyrenees, was the wine-producing duchy of Gascony, or Guienne, with its bustling  port of Bordeaux, and the Agenais. All these lands comprised Eleanor’s inheritance.   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It was a rich one indeed, wealthier than the domain of its overlord, the King  of France. “Opulent Aquitaine, sweet as nectar thanks to its vineyards dotted about  with forests, overflowing with fruit of every kind, and endowed with a superabundance  of pasture land,” enthused one chronicler, Heriger of Lobbes. Ralph of Diceto wrote  that the duchy “abounds with riches of many kinds, so excelling other parts of the  western world that it is considered by historians one of the most fortunate and prosperous  provinces of Gaul.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The region boasted a temperate climate, and its summers could  be very warm. It was a land of small walled cities, fortified keeps, moated castles,  wealthy monasteries, sleepy villages, and prosperous farms. Its houses were built  with white or yellow walls and red-tiled roofs, as many still are today. To the east  and south, the land was hilly or mountainous, while fertile plains, high tors, and  dense woodland were features of Poitou and Aquitaine, and flat sandy wastes and scrubland  characterised Gascony.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The people of Aquitaine, who were mostly of Romano-Basque  origin, were as diverse as its scenery. In the twelfth century, The Pilgrim’s Book  of Compostela described the Poitevins as handsome, full of life, brave, elegant,  witty, hospitable, and good soldiers and horsemen, and the natives of Saintonge as  uncouth, while the Gascons-although frivolous, garrulous, cynical, and promiscuous-were  as generous as their poverty permitted. In fact, the whole domain was merely a collection  of different lordships and peoples with little in common, apart from their determination  to resist interference by their overlord, the Duke.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Most people in Aquitaine spoke  the langue d’oc, or Provençal, a French dialect that derived from the language spoken  by the Roman invaders centuries before, although there were a number of local patois.  North of the River Loire, and in Poitou, they spoke the langue d’oeil, which to southerners  seemed a different language altogether. Eleanor of Aquitaine probably spoke both  dialects, although it appears that the langue d’oc was her mother tongue.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The Aquitanian  lordships and their castles were controlled by often hostile and frequently feuding  vassals, who paid mere lip service to their ducal overlords and were notorious for  their propensity to rebel and create disorder. These turbulent nobles enjoyed a luxurious  standard of living compared with their unwashed counterparts in northern France,  and each competed with his neighbour to establish in his castle a small but magnificent  court. Renowned for their elegance, their shaven faces and long hair, the Aquitanian  aristocracy were regarded by northerners as soft and idle, whereas in fact they could  be fierce and violent when provoked. Self-interest was the dominant theme in their  relations with their liege lords: successive dukes had consistently failed to subdue  these turbulent lords or establish cohesion within their own domains.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The authority  of the dukes of Aquitaine held good, therefore, only in the immediate vicinities  of Poitiers, their capital, and Bordeaux. Al-though they claimed descent from Charlemagne  and retained his effigy on the coinage of Poitou, they did not have the wealth or  resources to extend their power into the feudal wilderness beyond this region, and  since their military strength depended upon knight service from their unruly vassals,  they could not rely upon this. Consequently, Aquitaine lagged behind northern France  in making political and economic progress.New York Times bestselling author of The Lady Elizabeth [quote]-- Boston Globe","brand":"Ballantine Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300221866213,"sku":"NP9780345434876","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780345434876.jpg?v=1767726134","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/eleanor-of-aquitaine-isbn-9780345434876","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}