Eleanor of Aquitaine

1122 - 1204  (82 years)

• Name	Eleanor of Aquitaine
  Born	1122	Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France
  Gender	Female
  Died	01 Apr 1204	Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France
  Buried	Fontevraud Abbey Fontevraud-l'Abbaye Departement de Maine-et-Loire Pays de la Loire, France
  	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/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.
  Person ID	I35259	Master File
  Last Modified	26 Jun 2016

  
  

  Father	William X of Aquitaine,   b. 1099, Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrénées, France ,   d. 09 Apr 1137, on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain  (Age 38 years)
  Mother	Aenor de Châtellerault,   b. 1103, Châtellerault, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France ,   d. Mar 1130, Talmont, Charente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes, France  (Age 27 years)
  Family ID	F14559	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Henry II Plantagenet, King of England,   b. 05 Mar 1133, Le Mans, Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France ,   d. 06 Jul 1189, Chinon Castle, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France  (Age 56 years)
  Children	1. John I Plantagenet, King of England,   b. 24 Dec 1166, Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England ,   d. 19 Oct 1216, Newark Castle, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England  (Age 49 years) + 2. Eleanor Plantagenet, Queen of Castille,   b. 13 Oct 1162, Domfront Castle, Normandy ,   d. 31 Oct 1214, Burgos, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain  (Age 52 years)
  Last Modified	12 Sep 2016
  Family ID	F14558	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart