Eleanor of Aquitaine

Illustration by Louis Rhead, 1912

## Historical Figure

### Titles

Queen consort of France (1137–1152), Queen consort of England (1154–1189), Queen dowager of England, Duchess of Aquitaine, Queen Mother of England

### Rule

**Duchess of Aquitaine:** April 9, 1137 – April 1, 1204

## Family

### Spouse

Louis VII of France(married 1137; annulled 1152) | Henry II of England (married 1152; widowed 1189)

### Issue

* Marie, Countess of Champagne
* Alix, Countess of Blois
* Count William IX of Poitiers
* Henry the Young King
* Duchess Matilda of Saxony
* Richard I, King of England
* Duke Geoffrey II of Brittany
* Queen Eleanor of Castile
* Queen Joan of Sicily
* King John of England

## Origin

The real life Queen consort of France, then England and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right who was mother to ten children, among them King Richard and Prince John. Her status as the Duchess of Aquitaine, member of the Ramnulfids House and marriages meant she was one of the most wealthy and influential women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages.

While the Queen in the surviving ballads was named Katherine and married to a King Henry -making her either Catherine de Valois or Katherine of Aragon- Eleanor was the Queen contemporary to King Richard who was involved in English politics during his reign and Howard Pyle's use of her in when he included an adaptation of the ballad "Robin Hood and Queen Katherine" in his novel was taken up by later writers who wanted to keep things less anachronistic while maintaining Robin's connection to King Richard. The inclusion of Eleanor in the Robin Hood mythos also allows writers to include a colorful historical figure who was already very much legendary long before her own death.

## In Robin Hood

She appears as The Good Queen Eleanor, mother to King Richard and Prince John. In some tales she is noticeably absent in places where she ought to be as she was ruling as regent while Richard was fighting in the Crusades.

## Later Life

Elanor survived all but two of her children, Prince John and Queen Eleanor of Castile. She was buried in France at Fontevraud Abbey after her death in 1204.

## Appearances in Media

#### **Literature:**

* (1883) *The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood* by Howard Pyle.
* (1973) *A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver* by E. L. Konigsburg
* T*he Plantagenet Saga* series by Jean Plaidy:
(1976) *The Plantagenet Prelude* by Jean Plaidy
(1977) *Revolt of the Eaglets* by Jean Plaidy
(1977) *The Heart of the Lion* by Jean Plaidy
(1978) *Prince of Darkness* by Jean Plaidy
* (1985) *Here be Dragons* by Sharon Kay Penman
* *Queens of England* series by Jean Plaidy:
(1987) *Courts of Love* by Jean Plaidy
* *Plantagenet* series by Sharon Kay Penman:
(1994) *When Christ and His Saints Slept* by Sharon Kay Penman
(2002) *Time and Chance* by Sharon Kay Penman
(2008) *Devil's Brood* by Sharon Kay Penman
* *Justin de Quincey* series by Sharon Kay Penman:
(1996) *The Queen's Man* by Sharon Kay Penman
(1998) *Cruel as the Grave* by Sharon Kay Penman
(2003) *Dragon's Lair* by Sharon Kay Penman
(2005) *Prince of Darkness* by Sharon Kay Penman
* *The Queens of Love and War* series by Ellen Jones:
(1994) *Beloved Enemy* by Ellen Jones
(2013) *Gilded Cages* by Ellen Jones
* *The Royal Diaries* series by Kristiana Gregory:
(2002) *Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine* by Kristiana Gregory
* (2010) *The Queen's Daughter* by Susan Coventry
* (2010) *The Queen's Pawn* by Christy English
* (2010) *The Captive Queen* by Alison Weir
* (2010) *The Secret Eleanor: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine* by Cecelia Holland
* (2011) *To Be Queen* by Christy English
* (2011) *She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth* by Helen Castor
* *Eleanor Code* series by Mark Richard Beaulieu:
(2012) *Eleanor of Aquitaine: The Young Life* by Mark Richard Beaulieu
* series by Elizabeth Chadwick:
(2013) *The Summer Queen* by Elizabeth Chadwick
(2014) *The Winter Crown* by Elizabeth Chadwick

#### **Plays:**

* *King John* by William Shakespeare.
* *The Lion in Winter* by James Goldman.
* *Becket* by Jean Anouilh.
* *Mother of the Pride* by Catherine Muschamp.

#### **Film:**

* 1952 *The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men* played by Martita Hunt
* 1964 *Becket* played by Pamela Brown
* 1968 *The Lion in Winter* played by Katharine Hepburn
* 2003 *The Lion in Winter* played by Glenn Close
* 2010 *Robin Hood* played by  Eileen Atkins

#### **Television:**

* The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955–1960) played by Jill Esmond
* Ivanhoe (1958) played by Phyllis Neilson-Terry
* The Legend of Robin Hood (1975) played by Yvonne Mitchell
* Ivanhoe (1997) played by Siân Phillips
* The New Adventures of Robin Hood (1997) played by Tusse Silberg
* Robin Hood (2006) played by Lynda Bellingham

#### **Comics:**

* Walt Disney's Robin Hood #1
* The Cartoon History of the Universe #3
* Les Reines de sang - Alienor, la Légende noire #1-5
* The Black Dragon #1

## Gallery

The Good Queen Eleanor by Louis RheadEileen Atkins as Eleanor of Aquitaine in Robin Hood (2010)Publicity still of Martita Hunt as Queen Eleanor in *The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men* (1952)
## External links

* Wikipedia
* ComicVine