Eleanor of Aquitaine
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Queen of France, Queen of England
Ralph V. Turner
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Format: ClothPrice: $38.00
Out of Print
Untangling the myths and legends of many centuries, this biography gives us the real Eleanor—tenacious, defiant, and powerful
Eleanor of Aquitaine’s extraordinary life seems more likely to be found in the pages of fiction. Proud daughter of a distinguished French dynasty, she married the king of France, Louis VII, then the king of England, Henry II, and gave birth to two sons who rose to take the English throne—Richard the Lionheart and John. Renowned for her beauty, hungry for power, headstrong, and unconventional, Eleanor traveled on crusades, acted as regent for Henry II and later for Richard, incited rebellion, endured a fifteen-year imprisonment, and as an elderly widow still wielded political power with energy and enthusiasm.
This gripping biography is the definitive account of the most important queen of the Middle Ages. Ralph Turner, a leading historian of the twelfth century, strips away the myths that have accumulated around Eleanor—the “black legend” of her sexual appetite, for example—and challenges the accounts that relegate her to the shadows of the kings she married and bore. Turner focuses on a wealth of primary sources, including a collection of Eleanor’s own documents not previously accessible to scholars, and portrays a woman who sought control of her own destiny in the face of forceful resistance. A queen of unparalleled appeal, Eleanor of Aquitaine retains her power to fascinate even 800 years after her death.
"Ralph Turner rejects the stereotypes and sets Eleanor in a new light, by evaluating her motives and behaviour within vividly realised social, cultural and political contexts. Eleanor emerges as a steely operator who overrode gender prejudice to become one of the most influential political figures in the Europe of her time."—Anthony Goodman, University of Edinburgh
"Ralph Turner crafts a very credible portrait of Eleanor. This is a formidable biography which should be widely read."—Jean Dunbabin, University of Oxford
“Ralph Turner’s biography is one of very few capable of distinguishing fiction from the 12th-century fact. It also offers a rattling good read.”—Nicholas Vincent, BBC History Magazine
Publication Date: June 16, 2009
16 b/w illus.
![](https://drupal.yalebooks.yale.edu/sites/default/files/styles/book_jacket/public/imagecache/external/91b2b0e54d733eb7f96b8f1e4477b29b.jpg?itok=UnGp0_qX "Prince Henry "the Navigator"")
