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9JGP FKF [QW TUV JGCT CDQWV 'NGCPQT! On an episode of In Our Time on BBC Radio 4 a few years ago. I’m a medieval history fan so she piqued my interest. I then read a series of historical novels about her by Elizabeth Chadwick, in which Eleanor is described as “the most powerful woman in the Middle Ages”.
9JCV MKPF QH YQOCP YCU UJG! A strong personality, Eleanor was both a queen and a duchess (of Aquitaine) in her own right. She must also have been astonishingly resilient to have commanded the respect she did, and to survive some 16 years’ imprisonment. Lastly, she was purportedly a great beauty.
9JCV OCFG JGT C JGTQ! Eleanor was a remarkable woman in so many ways: married to two kings in turn, she served as queen of both France and England, and gave birth to two future kings. What’s more, she was somehow able to ensure that the most important people in Europe – monarchs, popes and aristocrats – dealt with her, a woman, on equal terms, which was practically unheard of at that time.
She was rather cruelly subjected to a myriad of rumours about her sex life – including claims of incest, adultery and dressing up as a man – which has always been the easiest way to slander women who dare to put themselves in the public arena. Yet she did not allow any of this to deflect from her sense of purpose.
She was also remarkable for the longevity of her career, continuing to wield power into her later years. She must have had the most incredible self-belief to achieve all that she did – though she presumably believed that she was directed by God.
+U VJGTG CP[VJKPI [QW FQPoV CFOKTG CDQWV 'NGCPQT! She made a dreadful mistake in backing her son, the younger Henry, against her own husband, Henry II, in the failed revolt of 1173–74. That was a serious lapse in judgment.
%CP [QW UGG CP[ RCTCNNGNU DGVYGGP JGT NKHG CPF [QWTU! Not really – we live in such different ages – though there have been times when I’ve drawn inspiration from her resilience.
&QGU UJG FGUGTXG VQ DG DGVVGT MPQYP QP VJKU UKFG QH VJG 'PINKUJ %JCPPGN! Absolutely. I studied medieval history at university, and she was not on the syllabus in any shape or form.
9JCV YQWNF [QW CUM 'NGCPQT KH [QW EQWNF OGGV JGT! Where her belief came from that women could and should be treated as equals.
Eleanor ensured that the most important people in Europe dealt with her, a woman, on equal terms – practically unheard of at that time