Eleanor was first married to the King of France and after that marriage was annulled she quickly married Henry II of England and provided him with the immense lands she had inherited in Aquitaine. For women of this period marriage meant surrendering all possessions to your husband and having no say in decision making. Eleanor was an exception and became a powerful Queen, acting as Regent for her son Richard the Lionheart as both he and John became Kings of England.
The book cover shows a window in Poitiers Cathedral donated by Henry & Eleanor to celebrate their marriage.
My other recommendation is Barbara Tuchman’s A Distant Mirror. This book focusses on a powerful French aristocratic family with powerful connections to both the French and English kings. This turbulent period included the arrival of the first wave of the Plague to hit Europe and the calamitous repercussions of the “Hundred Years War”. This is another superbly researched text by an author who writes history as a drama. The cover illustration is a detail from Le Cavalier de la Mort. Terry Case |