It is not known why she executed her next move, but it was the source of much strife in Medieval Europe and a major cause of the Hundred Years War. 30 year old Eleanor married the English aristocrat, Henry of Anjou, who was just 19, and brought an immense dowry of French territories with her. In 1154 Henry, grandson of William the conqueror, succeeded to the English throne and Eleanor’s French dowry became part of England’s domain. Among their eight children, five sons and three daughters, were two British King’s, John and Richard (the Lionheart).

Eleanor is credited with setting up the “court of love” where the ideals of chivalry and today’s myths of King Arthur’s court were conceived and embraced. One story claims that in her effort to shed the knights of their rowdy ways, she held a mock trial in which the court ladies judged the knights, who read poems of homage to women and acted out proper courting techniques. The men wore their hair long and were clad in flowing sleeves and pointed shoes.

Within this forum, Eleanor could philosophize, trend set, playact, and love. Books on courtly love and how to perform it were written for Eleanor by her court. Because of this, Eleanor of Aquitaine is the patron saint of Troubadours. She sheltered the famous troubadour, Bernart de Ventadour, who developed an extravagant passion for Eleanor in his songs. Henry dismissed him.

Eleanor was the greatest fashion plate of her time. In her French court, she conceived of the long trained gown with dangling wide sleeves that epitomized wealth in the late Middle Ages. The sleeves of her gown were so long that they needed to be tied in knots. This of course became all the rage with the noble class of Europe. All her dresses were known to have been made of samite, a fine silk weave. All of Eleanor’s clothing embroideries were of gold with pearls. She wore cloaks of indigo, a sign of immense wealth. The seams of her cloth were always concealed by strands of pearls.

Eleanor traveled Europe throughout the middle ages. She helped to manage her army and estates as well as cement marriages for her subjects. Eleanor even ruled England for four years in her son Richard’s absence. She supposedly took a group of three hundred women to the first crusade to act as nursemaids. These women were dressed for battle, but never fought. Louis the VII forbade it. The crusade failed, one of the factors contributing to the disintegration of their marriage.

Eleanor and Henry created an impressive empire, yet their marriage was rough. Many of the troubles that afflicted Henry in in his later years came from the alienation between him and Eleanor. She grew tired of his infidelities and found ways to make trouble for him. She hated the damp, English weather and went back to France, which she missed dearly. She plotted against him with her two sons, but this revolt failed. During the skirmish, some of Henry’s troops intercepted a group of knights riding towards Paris. Among them, riding astride and clad in nobleman’s clothes, was fifty-year-old Queen Eleanor.

Eleanor was sent back to England and under house arrest until Henry’s death. At the age of sixty-seven, she took back her land and freed the men unjustly imprisoned under Henry.

On all important documents, Eleanor of Aquitaine signed herself “Queen of England by the wrath of God” and in her later years she was known as “The Grandmother of Europe”. With a long career as the governess of all her territories, she outlived her husband and many of her children. Eleanor was wise and firm in her ruling. In 1204 at the age of 82, this Queen passed on into history at her spiritual haven at Fontevrault Abbey.