Eleanor Plantagenet, Queen of Castille

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_England,_Queen_of_Castile

She was Queen of Castile and Toledo as wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile and was the sixth child and second daughter of Henry II, King of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Eleanor was born in the castle at Domfront, Normandy on 13 October 1162, as the second daughter of Henry II, King of England and his wife Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine. Her half-siblings were Marie and Alix of France, and her full siblings were Henry the Young, Duchess Matilda, King Richard, Duke Geoffrey, Queen Joan and King John.

In 1174, when she was 12 years old, Eleanor married King Alfonso VIII of Castile in Burgos. The couple had been betrothed in 1170, but due to the bride's youth as well as the uproar in Europe regarding her father's suspected involvement in the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket, the wedding was delayed. Her parents' purpose in arranging the marriage was to secure Aquitaine?s border on the Pyrennes, while Alfonso was seeking an ally in his struggles with his uncle, Sancho VI of Navarre. In 1177, this led to Henry overseeing arbitration of the border dispute.

Of all Eleanor of Aquitaine?s daughters, her namesake was the only one who was enabled, by political circumstances, to wield the kind of influence her mother had exercised. In her own marriage treaty, and in the first marriage treaty for her daughter Berengaria, Eleanor was given direct control of many lands, towns, and castles throughout the kingdom. She was almost as powerful as Alfonso, who specified in his will in 1204 that she was to rule alongside their son in the event of his death, including taking responsibility for paying his debts and executing his will. It was she who persuaded him to marry their daughter Berengaria to Alfonso IX of León. Troubadours and sages were regularly present in Alfonso VIII?s court due to Eleanor?s patronage.

Eleanor took particular interest in supporting religious institutions. In 1179, she took responsibility to support and maintain a shrine to St. Thomas Becket in the cathedral of Toledo. She also created and supported the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, which served as a refuge and tomb for her family for generations, and its affiliated hospital.

When Alfonso died, Eleanor was reportedly so devastated with grief that she was unable to preside over the burial. Their eldest daughter Berengaria instead performed these honours. Eleanor then took sick and died only twenty-eight days after her husband, and was buried at Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas.

Eleanor was praised for her beauty and regal nature by the poet Ramón Vidal de Besalú after her death. Her great-grandson Alfonso X referred to her as "noble and much loved."

Eleanor and Alfonso had 11 children:

1. Beregaria, the second wife of King Alfonso IX of León.

2. Sancho died in infancy.

3. Sancha died in infancy.

4. Henry died young.

5. Urraca married Alfonso II of Portugal.

6. Blanche married Louis VIII of France.

7. Ferdinand, heir to the throne, was returning through the San Vicente mountains from a campaign against the Muslims when he contracted a fever and died.

8. Mafalda betrothed in 1204 to Infante Ferdinand of Leon, eldest son of Alfonso IX and stepson of her oldest sister.

9. Eleanor married in Ágreda on 6 February 1221 with James I of Aragon.

10. Constance was a nun at the Cistercian monastery of Santa María la Real at Las Huelgas.

11. Henry was the only surviving son, he succeeded his father in 1214 aged ten under the regency firstly of his mother and later his oldest sister. He was killed when he was struck by a tile falling from a roof.



Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, biography, and photo of tomb:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10783007

Eleanor married Alfonso VIII (El De Las Navas) of Castile, King of Castille and King of Toledo. Alfonso was born 11 Nov 1155, Provincia de Soria Castilla y León, Spain; died 05 Oct 1214, Gutierre-Munoz Provincia de Ávila Castilla y León, Spain; was buried , Monasterio de Santa María la Real de las Huelgas, Burgos, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain. [Group Sheet]

1. Berengaria of Castile, Queen of Castile and Queen of Léon was born ca 1179, Burgos, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain; died 08 Nov 1246, Las Huelgas, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain; was buried , Monasterio de Santa María la Real de las Huelgas, Burgos, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain.

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England

Henry was the son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England. He became actively involved by the age of 14 in his mother's efforts to claim the throne of England, then occupied by Stephen of Blois, and was made Duke of Normandy at 17. He inherited Anjou in 1151 and shortly afterwards married Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose marriage to Louis VII of France had recently been annulled.

He ruled as Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Nantes, King of England (1154?89) and Lord of Ireland; at various times, he also controlled Wales, Scotland and Brittany.

Henry was an energetic and sometimes ruthless ruler, driven by a desire to restore the lands and privileges of his royal grandfather, Henry I. During the early years of the younger Henry's reign he restored the royal administration in England, re-established hegemony over Wales and gained full control over his lands in Anjou, Maine and Touraine.

Henry's desire to reform the relationship with the Church led to conflict with his former friend Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. This controversy lasted for much of the 1160s and resulted in Becket's murder in 1170.

Henry soon came into conflict with Louis VII and the two rulers fought what has been termed a "cold war" over several decades. Henry expanded his empire, often at Louis' expense, taking Brittany and pushing east into central France and south into Toulouse; despite numerous peace conferences and treaties, no lasting agreement was reached. By 1172, he controlled England, large parts of Wales, the eastern half of Ireland and the western half of France, an area that would later come to be called the Angevin Empire.

Henry and Eleanor had eight children. Henry's relationship with his wife Eleanor was complex: Henry trusted Eleanor to manage England for several years after 1154, and was later content for her to govern Aquitaine; indeed, Eleanor was believed to have influence over Henry during much of their marriage. Ultimately, however, their relationship disintegrated and chroniclers and historians have speculated on what ultimately caused Eleanor to abandon Henry to support her older sons in the Great Revolt of 1173-74. Probable explanations include Henry's persistent interference in Aquitaine, his recognition of Raymond of Toulouse in 1173, or his harsh temper. Henry had several long-term mistresses, including Annabel de Balliol and Rosamund Clifford

As the children grew up, tensions over the future inheritance of the empire began to emerge, encouraged by Louis and his son King Philip II. In 1173 Henry's heir apparent, "Young Henry", rebelled in protest; he was joined by his brothers Richard and Geoffrey and by their mother, Eleanor. France, Scotland, Flanders and Boulogne allied themselves with the rebels. The Great Revolt was only defeated by his vigorous military action and talented local commanders, many of them "new men" appointed for their loyalty and administrative skills.

Henry had eight legitimate children by Eleanor, five sons: William, the Young Henry, Richard, Geoffrey and John, and three daughters: Matilda, Eleanor and Joan. Henry also had several illegitimate children; among the most prominent of these were Geoffrey (later Archbishop of York) and William (later Earl of Salisbury). Henry was expected to provide for the future of his legitimate children, either through granting lands to his sons or marrying his daughters well. Henry's family was divided by rivalries and violent hostilities, more so than many other royal families of the day. Various suggestions have been put forward to explain Henry's family's bitter disputes, from their inherited family genetics to the failure of Henry and Eleanor's parenting.

Henry struggled to find ways to satisfy all his sons' desires for land and immediate power. Philip successfully played on Richard's fears that Henry would make John king, and a final rebellion broke out in 1189. Decisively defeated by Philip and Richard and suffering from a bleeding ulcer, Henry retreated to Chinon in Anjou, where he died.

Henry's empire quickly collapsed during the reign of his youngest son John. Many of the changes Henry introduced during his long rule, however, had long-term consequences. Henry's legal changes are generally considered to have laid the basis for the English Common Law, while his intervention in Brittany, Wales and Scotland shaped the development of their societies and governmental systems.



Buried:
Grave location, portrait and tomb effigy:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1951

Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor (daughter of William X of Aquitaine and Aenor de Châtellerault) was born 1122, Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France; died 01 Apr 1204, Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France; was buried , Fontevraud Abbey Fontevraud-l'Abbaye Departement de Maine-et-Loire Pays de la Loire, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine

Eleanor was the oldest of three children of William X, Duke of Aquitaine, whose glittering ducal court was renowned in early 12th-century Europe, and his wife, Aenor de Châtellerault, the daughter of Aimery I, Viscount of Châtellerault. She was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe during the High Middle Ages and a member of the Ramnulfid dynasty of rulers in southwestern France. She inherited the Duchy of Aquitaine from her father, William X, in 1137, and later became queen of France and of England.

By all accounts, Eleanor's father ensured that she had the best possible education. Eleanor came to learn arithmetic, the constellations, and history. She did learn domestic skills such as household management and the needle arts of embroidery, needlepoint, sewing, spinning, and weaving.[3] Eleanor ended up developing skills in conversation, dancing, games such as backgammon, checkers, and chess, playing the harp, and singing. Although her native tongue was Poitevin, she was taught to read and speak Latin, was well versed in music and literature, and schooled in riding, hawking, and hunting. Eleanor was extroverted, lively, intelligent, and strong-willed.

Her four-year-old brother William Aigret and their mother died at the castle of Talmont, on Aquitaine's Atlantic coast. Eleanor became the heir presumptive to her father's domains. The Duchy of Aquitaine was the largest and richest province of France; Poitou (where Eleanor spent most of her childhood) and Aquitaine together were almost one-third the size of modern France.

As Duchess of Aquitaine, Eleanor was the most eligible bride in Europe. Three months after she became duchess, she married King Louis VII of France, son of her guardian, King Louis VI, the Fat. As Queen of France, she participated in the unsuccessful Second Crusade. After the birth of her second daughter Alix, Louis agreed to an annulment given that their union had not produced a son after fifteen years of marriage. Their daughters, Marie and Alix, were declared legitimate and custody was awarded to Louis, while Eleanor's lands were restored to her.

As soon as the annulment was granted, Eleanor became engaged to Henry, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou, who became King Henry II of England in 1154. Henry was her third cousin, and eleven years younger. They married eight weeks after the annulment of Eleanor's first marriage.

Over the next thirteen years, she bore Henry eight children: five sons, three of whom would become kings; and three daughters. However, Henry and Eleanor eventually became estranged. Henry imprisoned her in 1173 for supporting her son Henry's revolt against her husband. She was not released until 6 July 1189, when Henry died and their son ascended the English throne as Richard I.

Now queen dowager, Eleanor acted as regent while Richard went on the Third Crusade, where on his return he was captured and held prisoner. Eleanor lived well into the reign of her youngest son, John. By the time of her death, she had outlived all her children except for John and Eleanor.



Buried:
Grave location and tomb effigy:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6437&ref=acom

Notes:

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Plantagenet,_Count_of_Anjou

He was the Count of Anjou, Touraine, and Maine by inheritance and then Duke of Normandy by conquest and called the Handsome or the Fair (French: le Bel) and Plantagenet. When he married Empress Matilda, the daughter and heiress of Henry I of England, their son, Henry Curtmantle, who succeeded to the English throne as King Henry II and founded the Plantagenet dynasty the name of which was taken from Geoffrey's nickname.

Geoffrey was the elder son of Foulques V d'Anjou and Eremburga de La Flèche, daughter of Elias I of Maine. He was named after his great-grandfather Geoffrey II, Count of Gâtinais. Geoffrey received his nickname from the yellow sprig of broom blossom (genêt is the French name for the planta genista, or broom shrub) he wore in his hat.

Geoffrey and Matilda's marriage was meant to seal a peace between England/Normandy and Anjou. She was eleven years older than Geoffrey, and very proud of her status as empress dowager (as opposed to being a mere countess). Their marriage was a stormy one with frequent long separations, but she bore him three sons and survived him.

Geoffrey and Matilda's children were:

Henry II of England (1133-1189)

Geoffrey, Count of Nantes (1 June 1134 Rouen to 26 July 1158 Nantes) died unmarried and was buried in Nantes

William, Viscount of Dieppe (1136-1164) died unmarried

Geoffrey also had illegitimate children by an unknown mistress (or mistresses).

When King Henry I died in 1135, Matilda at once entered Normandy to claim her inheritance. The border districts submitted to her, but England chose her cousin Stephen of Blois for its king, and Normandy soon followed suit.

In 1139 Matilda landed in England with 140 knights, where she was besieged at Arundel Castle by King Stephen. In the "Anarchy" which ensued, Stephen was captured at Lincoln in February 1141, and imprisoned at Bristol. A council of the English church held at Winchester in April 1141 declared Stephen deposed and proclaimed Matilda "Lady of the English". Stephen was subsequently released from prison and had himself re-crowned on the anniversary of his first coronation.

During 1142 and 1143, Geoffrey secured all of Normandy west and south of the Seine, and, on 14 January 1144, he crossed the Seine and entered Rouen. He assumed the title of Duke of Normandy in the summer of 1144. He also put down three baronial rebellions in Anjou,and the threat of rebellion slowed his progress in Normandy. He could not intervene in England because of this. In 1153 the Treaty of Wallingford stipulated that Stephen should remain King of England for life and that Henry, the son of Geoffrey and Matilda should succeed him.

Geoffrey died suddenly on 7 September 1151. According to John of Marmoutier, Geoffrey was returning from a royal council when he was stricken with fever. He arrived at Château-du-Loir, collapsed on a couch, made bequests of gifts and charities, and died. He was buried at St. Julien's Cathedral in Le Mans France.

Buried:
Grave location, biography, historical portrait, and cathedral photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8143822

Geoffrey married Matilda of England. Matilda (daughter of Henry I (Beauclerc) of England and Matilda of Scotland) was born 07 Feb 1102, Sutton Courtenay, Berkshire, England; died 10 Sep 1167, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried , Abbey of Our Lady of Bec, Normandy, France, reinterred Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen, Rouen, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Matilda

She was also known as Empress Maude and was the daughter of of King Henry I of England and Matilda of Scotland, born around 7 February 1102 at Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire. Her father, Henry, was the youngest son of William the Conqueror, who had invaded England in 1066.

Little is known about Matilda's earliest life, but she probably stayed with her mother, was taught to read, and was educated in religious morals. She moved to Germany as a child when she married the future Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, her first husband. The match was attractive to the Henry as his daughter would be marrying into one of the most prestigious dynasties in Europe, reaffirming his own, slightly questionable, status as the youngest son of a new royal house, and gaining him an ally in dealing with France. They had no children, and when Henry died in 1125, the crown was claimed by Lothair II, one of his political enemies.

Matilda's younger brother, William Adelin, died in 1120, leaving England facing a potential succession crisis. On Henry V's death, Matilda was recalled to Normandy by her father, who arranged for her to marry Geoffrey of Anjou to form an alliance to protect his southern borders. The marriage proved difficult, as the couple did not particularly like each other. There was a further dispute over Matilda's dowry; she was granted various castles in Normandy by Henry, but it was not specified when the couple would actually take possession of them.

Henry I had no further legitimate children and nominated Matilda as his heir, making his court swear an oath of loyalty to her and her successors, but the decision was not popular in the Anglo-Norman court. Henry died in 1135 but Matilda and Geoffrey faced opposition from the Norman barons.

The throne was instead taken by Matilda's cousin Stephen of Blois, who enjoyed the backing of the English Church. Stephen took steps to solidify his new regime, but Matilda crossed to England to take the kingdom by force, supported by her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, and her uncle, King David I of Scotland, while Geoffrey focused on conquering Normandy. Her son, Henry, remained in France.

Matilda's forces captured Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln in 1141, but the Empress's attempt to be crowned at Westminster collapsed in the face of bitter opposition from the London crowds. As a result of this retreat, Matilda was never formally declared Queen of England, and was instead titled the Lady of the English. Robert was captured following the Rout of Winchester in 1141, and Matilda agreed to exchange him for Stephen. Matilda became trapped in Oxford Castle by Stephen's forces that winter, and was forced to escape across the frozen River Isis at night to avoid capture. The war degenerated into a stalemate, with Matilda controlling much of the south-west of England, and Stephen the south-east and the Midlands. Large parts of the rest of the country were in the hands of local, independent barons. This time was called the Anarchy because of the unrest.

Matilda returned to Normandy, now in the hands of her husband, in 1148, leaving her eldest son, Henry, to continue the campaign in England; he eventually succeeded to the throne as Henry II in 1154. She settled her court near Rouen and for the rest of her life concerned herself with the administration of Normandy, acting on Henry's behalf when necessary. Particularly in the early years of her son's reign, she provided political advice.

She worked extensively with the Church, founding Cistercian monasteries, and was known for her piety. She was buried under the high altar at Bec Abbey after her death in 1167. Her tomb's epitaph included the lines "Great by birth, greater by marriage, greatest in her offspring: here lies Matilda, the daughter, wife, and mother of Henry", which became a famous phrase among her contemporaries.

Buried:
Grave location, biography, and cathedral portrait:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8619917

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_X,_Duke_of_Aquitaine

Called the Saint, he was Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, and Count of Poitou (as William VIII) from 1126 to 1137. He was the son of William IX by his second wife, Philippa of Toulouse.

William was born in Toulouse during the brief period when his parents ruled the capital. His birth is recorded in the Chronicle of Saint-Maixent for the year 1099: Willelmo comiti natus est filius, equivoce Guillelmus vocatus ("a son was born to Count William, named William like himself"). Later that same year, much to Philippa's ire, Duke William IX mortgaged Toulouse to Philippa's cousin, Bertrand of Toulouse, and then left on Crusade.

Philippa and her infant son William X were left in Poitiers. When Duke William IX returned from his unsuccessful crusade, he took up with Dangerose, the wife of a vassal, and set aside his rightful wife, Philippa. This caused strain between father and son, until 1121 when William X married Aenor de Châtellerault, a daughter of his father's mistress Dangerose by her first husband, Aimery.

William had three children with Aenor:

Eleanor, who later became heiress to the Duchy;

Petronilla, who married Raoul I of Vermandois;

William Aigret, who died at age 4 in 1130, about the time their mother Aenor de Châtellerault died.

William administered his Aquitaine duchy as both a lover of the arts and a warrior. He became involved in conflicts with Normandy (which he raided in 1136, in alliance with Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou who claimed it in his wife's name) and for France.

Even inside his borders, William faced an alliance of the Lusignans and the Parthenays against him, an issue resolved with total destruction of the enemies.

In 1137 William joined the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, but died during the trip.[1] On his deathbed, he expressed his wish to see king Louis VI of France as protector of his fifteen-year-old daughter Eleanor, and to find her a suitable husband. Louis VI naturally accepted this guardianship and married the heiress of Aquitaine to his own son, Louis VII.


Buried:
Grave location, portrait, and cathedral photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=92622584

William married Aenor de Châtellerault. Aenor (daughter of Aimery I, Vicount de Châtellerault and Amauberge (Dangereuse) de L' Isle Bouchard) was born 1103, Châtellerault, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France; died Mar 1130, Talmont, Charente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes, France; was buried , Abbaye de Nieul-sur-l'Autise Nieul-sur-l'Autise Departement de la Vendée Pays de la Loire, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aenor_de_Ch%C3%A2tellerault

Aenor was a daughter of Viscount Aimery I, Viscount of Châtellerault and his wife, Dangereuse de L' Isle Bouchard (d. 1151). Aenor married William X of Aquitaine, the son of her mother's lover, and had three children with him:

Eleanor of Aquitaine, Duchess of Aquitaine, and wife of both Louis VII of France, and Henry II of England, one of the most powerful women in Europe of her generation.

Petronilla of Aquitaine, wife of Raoul I, Count of Vermandois.

William Aigret (who died at the age of four with his mother at Talmont-sur-Gironde)


Buried:
Grave location and tomb photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=92767318

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_I_of_England

He also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death. Henry was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henry's elder brothers Robert Curthose and William Rufus inherited Normandy and England, respectively, but Henry was left landless.

Henry purchased the County of Cotentin in western Normandy from Robert, but William and Robert deposed him in 1091. Henry gradually rebuilt his power base in the Cotentin and allied himself with William Rufus against Robert. Henry was present when William died in a hunting accident in 1100, and he seized the English throne, promising at his coronation to correct many of William's less popular policies.

Henry married Matilda of Scotland but continued to have a large number of mistresses, by whom he had many illegitimate children. Henry had a considerable sexual appetite and enjoyed a substantial number of sexual partners, resulting in a large number of illegitimate children, at least nine sons and 13 daughters, many of whom he appears to have recognised and supported. It was normal for unmarried Anglo-Norman noblemen to have sexual relations with prostitutes and local women, and kings were also expected to have mistresses. Some of these relationships occurred before Henry was married, but many others took place after his marriage to Matilda. Henry had a wide range of mistresses from a range of backgrounds, and the relationships appear to have been conducted relatively openly. He may have chosen some of his noble mistresses for political purposes, but the evidence to support this theory is limited.

Robert, who invaded in 1101, disputed Henry's control of England; this military campaign ended in a negotiated settlement that confirmed Henry as king. The peace was short-lived, and Henry invaded the Duchy of Normandy in 1105 and 1106, finally defeating Robert at the Battle of Tinchebray. Henry kept Robert imprisoned for the rest of his life. Henry's control of Normandy was challenged by Louis VI of France, Baldwin of Flanders and Fulk of Anjou, who promoted the rival claims of Robert's son, William Clito, and supported a major rebellion in the Duchy between 1116 and 1119. Following Henry's victory at the Battle of Brémule, a favourable peace settlement was agreed with Louis in 1120.

Considered by contemporaries to be a harsh but effective ruler, Henry skilfully manipulated the barons in England and Normandy. In England, he drew on the existing Anglo-Saxon system of justice, local government and taxation, but also strengthened it with additional institutions, including the royal exchequer and itinerant justices. Normandy was also governed through a growing system of justices and an exchequer. Many of the officials who ran Henry's system were "new men" of obscure backgrounds rather than from families of high status, who rose through the ranks as administrators. Henry encouraged ecclesiastical reform, but became embroiled in a serious dispute in 1101 with Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury, which was resolved through a compromise solution in 1105. He supported the Cluniac order and played a major role in the selection of the senior clergy in England and Normandy.

Henry's only legitimate son and heir, William Adelin, drowned in the White Ship disaster of 1120, throwing the royal succession into doubt. Henry took a second wife, Adeliza, in the hope of having another son, but their marriage was childless. In response to this, Henry declared his daughter, Matilda, his heir and married her to Geoffrey of Anjou. The relationship between Henry and the couple became strained, and fighting broke out along the border with Anjou.

The Anglo-Norman barons were gathered together at Westminster on Christmas 1126, where they swore to recognise Matilda and any future legitimate heir she might have. Putting forward a woman as a potential heir in this way was unusual: opposition to Matilda continued to exist within the English court, and Louis of France was vehemently opposed to her candidacy.

Henry died on 1 December 1135 after a week of illness.
Despite his plans for Matilda, the King was succeeded by his nephew, Stephen of Blois, resulting in a period of civil war known as the Anarchy. Lasting between 1135 and 1154, the period was marked by fierce fighting with English barons, rebellious Welsh leaders and Scottish invaders.

Matilda invaded in 1139 with the help of her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester.

Neither side was able to achieve a decisive advantage during the first years of the war; the Empress came to control the south-west of England and much of the Thames Valley, while Stephen remained in control of the south-east. Much of the fighting was attritional in character, comprising sieges, raiding and skirmishing between armies of knights and footsoldiers, many of them mercenaries. In 1141 Stephen was captured following the battle of Lincoln, causing a collapse in his authority over most of the country. However, on the verge of being crowned queen, Empress Matilda was forced to retreat from London by hostile crowds; shortly afterwards, Robert of Gloucester was captured at the rout of Winchester and the two sides agreed to swap their respective captives.

The war dragged on for many more years. Empress Matilda's husband, Geoffrey of Anjou, successfully conquered Normandy, but in England neither side could achieve victory.By the early 1150s the barons and the Church mostly wanted a long-term peace. Stephen and Henry agreed a negotiated peace, the Treaty of Winchester, in which Stephen recognised Henry as his heir. Stephen died the next year and Henry ascended the throne as Henry II, the first Angevin king of England.

Buried:
Grave location, biography, photo of abbey ruins and memorial plaque:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1949

Henry married Matilda of Scotland. Matilda (daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Wessex, Queen of Scotland) was born ca 1080, Dunfermline Fife, Scotland; died 01 May 1118, Westminister Palace, London, England; was buried , Westminster Abbey, London, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_of_Scotland

She was originally christened Edith, a Saxon name, but was crowned as "Matilda," a Norman name, when she married Henry I of England.

Matilda was the daughter of the English Saxon princess Saint Margaret and the Scottish king Malcolm III. At the age of about six Matilda was sent with her sister to be educated in Romsey Abbey, near Southampton in southern England, where her aunt Cristina was abbess. It is not clear if she spent much time in Scotland thereafter.

The Scottish princess was much sought-after as a bride. In 1093, when she was about 13, she was engaged to an English nobleman when her father and brother Edward were killed in a minor raid into England, and her mother died soon after; her fiance then abandoned the proposed marriage. In Scotland a messy succession conflict followed between Matilda's uncle Donald III, her half-brother Duncan II and brother Edgar until 1097. Matilda's whereabouts during this no doubt difficult period are uncertain.

But after the suspicious death of William II of England in 1100 and accession of his brother Henry I, Matilda's prospects improved. Henry moved quickly to propose to her. It is said that he already knew and admired her, and she may indeed have spent time at the English court. Edgar was now secure on the Scottish throne, offering the prospect of better relations between the two countries, and Matilda also had the considerable advantage of Anglo-Saxon royal blood, descending from the royal family of Wessex. This was extremely important because although Henry had been born in England, he needed a bride with ties to the ancient Wessex line to increase his popularity with the English and to reconcile the Normans and Anglo-Saxons. There was also a difficulty about the marriage; a special church council was called to be satisfied that Matilda had not taken vows as a nun, which her emphatic testimony managed to convince them of.

Matilda and Henry married in late 1100. They had two children who reached adulthood and two more who died young. Matilda led a literary and musical court, but was also pious. William of Malmesbury describes her as attending church barefoot at Lent, and washing the feet and kissing the hands of the sick. Matilda exhibited a particular interest in leprosy, founding at least two leper hospitals, including the institution that later became the parish church of St Giles-in-the-Fields.

She had great interest in architecture and instigated the building of many Norman-style buildings, including Waltham Abbey and Holy Trinity Aldgate. She also had the first arched bridge in England built, at Stratford-le-Bow, as well as a bathhouse with piped-in water and public lavatories at Queenhithe. She took a role in government when her husband was away; many surviving charters are signed by her.

Matilda lived to see her daughter Matilda become Holy Roman Empress but died two years before the drowning of her son William. Henry remarried, but had no further legitimate children, which caused a succession crisis known as The Anarchy. Matilda is buried in Westminster Abbey and was fondly remembered by her subjects as "Matilda the Good Queen" and "Matilda of Blessed Memory". There was an attempt to have her canonized, which was not pursued. Matilda is also thought to be the identity of the "Fair Lady" mentioned at the end of each verse in the nursery rhyme London Bridge Is Falling Down.

Buried:
Grave location, biography, and cathedral photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8428202

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IX,_Duke_of_Aquitaine

Called the Troubador, was the Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony and Count of Poitou, William was the son of William VIII of Aquitaine by his third wife, Hildegarde of Burgundy. He was also one of the leaders of the Crusade of 1101. Though his political and military achievements have a certain historical importance, he is best known as the earliest troubadour, a lyric poet in the Provençal language whose work survived.

William inherited the duchy at the age of fifteen upon the death of his father. In 1094, William married Philippa, the daughter and heiress of William IV of Toulouse. By Philippa, William had two sons and five daughters, including his eventual successor, William X. His second son, Raymond, eventually became the Prince of Antioch in the Holy Land, and his daughter Agnes married firstly Aimery V of Thouars and then Ramiro II of Aragon, reestablishing dynastic ties with that ruling house.

Pope Urban II urged him to "take the cross" (i.e. the First Crusade) and leave for the Holy Land, but William was more interested in exploiting the absence on Crusade of Raymond IV of Toulouse, his wife's uncle, to press her claim to Toulouse. He and Philippa did capture Toulouse in 1098, an act for which they were threatened with excommunication. Partly out of a desire to regain favor with the religious authorities and partly out of a wish to see the world, William joined the Crusade of 1101, an expedition inspired by the success of the First Crusade in 1099. To finance it, he had to mortgage Toulouse back to Bertrand, the son of Raymond IV.

William arrived in the Holy Land in 1101 and stayed there until the following year. His record as a military leader is not very impressive. He fought mostly skirmishes in Anatolia and was frequently defeated. His recklessness led to his being ambushed on several occasions, with great losses to his own forces. In September 1101, his entire army was destroyed by the Seljuk Turks at Heraclea; William himself barely escaped, and, according to Orderic Vitalis, he reached Antioch with only six surviving companions.

William, like his father and many magnates of the time, had a rocky relationship with the Church. He was excommunicated for "abducting" the Viscountess Dangerose (Dangerosa), the wife of his vassal Aimery I de Rochefoucauld, Viscount of Châtellerault. The lady, however, appears to have been a willing party in the matter. He installed her in the Maubergeonne tower of his castle in Poitiers.

Upon returning to Poitiers from Toulouse, Philippa was enraged to discover a rival woman living in her palace. She appealed to her friends at court and to the Church; however, no noble could assist her since William was their feudal overlord, and whilst the Papal legate Giraud (who was bald) complained to William and told him to return Dangerose to her husband, William's only response was, "Curls will grow on your pate [head] before I part with the Viscountess." Humiliated, Philippa chose in 1116 to retire to the Abbey of Fontevrault and did not survive there long, however: the abbey records state that she died on 28 November 1118.

Relations between the Duke and his elder son William also became strained. Father and son improved their relationship after the marriage of the younger William to Aenor of Châtellerault, Dangerose's daughter by her husband, in 1121.

William's greatest legacy to history was not as a warrior but as a troubadour, a lyric poet employing the Romance vernacular language called Provençal or Occitan. His work is the earliest surviving troubadour poems and songs.

An anonymous 13th-century vida of William remembers him thus:

"The Count of Poitiers was one of the most courtly men in the world and one of the greatest deceivers of women. He was a fine knight at arms, liberal in his womanizing, and a fine composer and singer of songs. He traveled much through the world, seducing women."

He died on 11 February 1127, aged 56, after suffering a short illness.




Buried:
Grave location:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=90062291

William married Philippa of Toulouse, Countess. Philippa (daughter of William IV of Toulouse and Emma of Mortain) was born ca 1073, Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrénées, France; died 28 Nov 1118, Fontevraud Abbey, France; was buried , Fontevraud Abbey Fontevraud-l'Abbaye Departement de Maine-et-Loire Pays de la Loire, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippa,_Countess_of_Toulouse

Philippa was born in approximately 1073 to Count William IV of Toulouse, and his wife Emma of Mortain. She was his only surviving child, and thus, by the laws of Toulouse, his heir. 1088, William went on a pilgrimage to Palestine, leaving his brother Raymond of Saint-Gilles [Raymond IV] as regent. Upon the death of her father, her uncle took over as Count and Philippa was disinherited.

She married William IX of Aquitaine in 1094, whom she considered worthy due to his numerous merits: a handsome man fully capable of flattering a woman and he was not only one of the most prominent Dukes in Europe, able to give her the life she felt she deserved. His realm was also conveniently situated next to Toulouse, and consequently would easily be able to regain her homeland for her own as the Duke promised to do for her.

When Raymond IV of Toulouse set out on the First Crusade in the autumn of 1096, he left his son Bertrand to rule the County. However, in the Spring of 1098, William and Philippa marched into the city of Toulouse, and took control without a single life being lost. In the next year, she gave birth to her first child in the city: William the Toulousain.

In 1099, her husband went on crusade and he left her as regent in Poitou. She was stunned when her husband mortgaged Toulouse to her cousin Bertrand in exchange for a vast sum of money, which the Duke used to go on Crusade himself. Philippa, removed from her home, was sent to his capital of Poitiers, from where she ruled Aquitaine on behalf of her husband while he was absent.

After William's return, he and Philippa for a time lived contentedly with each other, producing a further five daughters, and a son, Raymond. She also ignored the Duke's sexual boasting in song and talk, instead concentrating on religion. She was an admirer of Robert of Arbrissel and persuaded her husband to grant him land in Poitou to establish a religious community dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In 1100 he founded Fontevraud Abbey there.

In the teachings of Robert of Arbrissel, he preached the superiority of women over men. Philippa's obsession with a doctrine considered offensive by many men of that time, combined with William's growing dissatisfaction with her, and his teasing of her (claiming to be founding an abbey of prostitutes), led to discord in the marriage.

Toulouse had been won back by William for his wife in 1113, following the death of Bertrand in Syria in 1112: his heir being his half-brother, the 9 year old Alphonse-Jourdain, William had been unopposed. Thus, by 1114, Philippa was spending most of her time ruling there. Accordingly, she was less than pleased when, upon her return from Toulouse to Poitiers in 1114, she discovered her husband to have moved his mistress, Viscountess Dangereuse of Châtellerault, into her palace. Philippa appealed to friends and the church for assistance in ousting her husband's mistress, but to no avail ? none could persuade the Duke to give up his mistress.

In 1116, a humiliated Philippa, devastated by her husband's repayment of her service to him for so many years, left the Court, taking refuge at the Abbey of Fontevrault. However, for all Philippa's devotion to the Abbey and its ideals, she found little peace there, both angry and resentful that her husband had cast her off in favour of a mistress. She died of unknown causes there on 28 November 1118, survived by her husband and his mistress.

Buried:
Grave location and church photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=85222420&ref=acom

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aimery_I,_Viscount_of_Ch%C3%A2tellerault

Aimery was born to Boson II de Châtellerault and his wife, Aleanor de Thouars. His paternal grandparents were Hugues I de Châtellerault and his wife, Gerberge. His maternal grandparents were Aimery IV, Viscount of Thouars and Aremgarde de Mauléon.

Aimery was married to Amauberge, called Dangereuse, the daughter of Bartholomew de l'Isle Bouchard and his wife Gerberge de Terrasson. Their marriage produced at least three children:

Hugh, succeeded his father as Viscount of Châtellerault

Raoul, who became the lord of Fay-la-Vineuse through his marriage to Elisabeth de Faye

Aenor (c.?1103 ? March 1130), who married William X, Duke of Aquitaine. She was the mother of Duchess Eleanor, Petronilla, and William Aigret, who died at the age of four.

In 1115, after seven years of marriage, Amauberge/Dangereuse was "abducted" from her bedchamber by William IX, Duke of Aquitaine. She was taken to a tower in his castle in Potiers called Maubergeonne. As a result, Amauberge or Dangereuse was nicknamed La Maubergeonne. Abductions like these were quite common among nobles during the Middle Ages. However, in this particular case she seems to have been a willing contributor to the affair.

The Duke of Aquitaine, the earliest known troubadour whose work survives, was quite popular with the women of his time and was known to have had many affairs. However, the Viscountess would become his mistress for the rest of his life.

There is no record of complaint by Aimery. This is believed to be because the Viscount feared the wrath of his powerful and volatile overlord. It would be the Duke's wife, Philippa of Toulouse who took action against the "abduction" and affair. Her actions would lead to both William and Dangereuse being excommunicated by the Pope. William used his wealth and power to eventually reconcile with the Pope and was accepted back into the Church.

In 1121 Aimery and Dangereuse's daughter, Aenor, married William IX's son and heir, who would become Duke William X of Aquitaine. It is believed that this union came about at Dangereuse's urging. Historians don't see another reason for the union of such a powerful man to the daughter of a minor vassal. Not only that, but Aenor was the daughter of the woman the future duke hated for her role in the treatment of his mother. Despite the cause, the marriage led to the birth of Eleanor of Aquitaine and made Aimery an ancestor of some of Europe's most famous nobles and rulers

Through his daughter he was the grandfather of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who would become Duchess of Aquitaine (in her own right) as well as queen of both France and England. Eleanor was arguably the most celebrated woman in Medieval European history.

Through Eleanor, Aimery was an ancestor of various nobles and monarchs including: Richard I of England, Marie, Countess of Champagne, John of England, Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, Joan, Queen of Sicily, Eleanor, Queen of Castile, Matilda, Duchess of Saxony and Henry the Young King.

Aimery married Amauberge (Dangereuse) de L' Isle Bouchard. Amauberge was born ca 1079, L'isle-Bouchard, France; died ca 1151, L'isle Bouchard, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dangereuse_de_l%27Isle_Bouchard

She was the maternal grandmother of the celebrated Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was also mistress to her granddaughters' paternal grandfather William IX, Duke of Aquitaine.

Born to Bartholomew de l'Isle Bouchard, her baptismal name may have been Amauberge, but she is better known as Dangereuse, a sobriquet she received for her seductiveness;

She married Viscount Aimery I of Châtellerault and had at least three children:

Hugh, succeeded his father as Viscount of Châtellerault

Raoul, who became the lord of Fay-la-Vineuse through his marriage to Elisabeth de Faye

Aenor (c.?1103 ? March 1130), who married William X, Duke of Aquitaine. She was the mother of Duchess Eleanor, Petronilla, and William Aigret, who died at the age of four.

Dangereuse and Aimery were married for around seven years before she left her husband to become the mistress to Duke William IX; this became an infamous liaison.

Whilst travelling through Poitou, Duke William IX of Aquitaine met the "seductive" Dangereuse. This led to her leaving her husband for Duke William, who was excommunicated by the church for "abducting her"; however, she appeared to have been a willing party in the matter. He installed her in the Maubergeonne tower of his castle in Poitiers.

Upon returning to Poitiers from Toulouse, William's wife Philippa of Toulouse was enraged to discover a rival woman living in her palace. She appealed to her friends at court and to the Church; however, no noble could assist her since William was their feudal overlord. The Papal legate Giraud complained to William and told him to return Dangereuse to her husband, William's only response to the bald legate was, "Curls will grow on your pate [head] before I part with the Viscountess." Humiliated, in 1116, Philippa chose to retire to the Abbey of Fontevrault.

Dangereuse and William had three children:

Henri (died after 1132), a monk and later Prior of Cluny

Adelaide

Sybille, Abbess of Saintes

The relationship between William and his legitimate son William was troubled by his father's liaison with Dangereuse. This was only settled when the pair arranged the marriage between William the Younger and Dangereuse's daughter Aenor in 1121; the following year Eleanor of Aquitaine was born.