Random Facts That Prove Eleanor of Aquitaine Was Not to Be Messed With (16 items)

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  (#4) She Went On The Second Crusade With Her First Husband

  Eleanor was exceptionally well-traveled for a woman of 12th-century France. 

  Louis VII and his German counterpart, Conrad, led the charge for yet another Christian Crusade in 1147, though many French citizens, Eleanor included, were unenthusiastic about traveling such a great distance merely to reinforce the Crusader vassal states. In Louis's eyes, however, the crusade was an opportunity to atone for his sins (including burning a church full of people), so Eleanor eventually agreed to join him on the journey.

  The Crusade (1147–1149) was a terrible failure, both personally and militarily. Louis and his allies did little to aid their Frankish cousins in the Middle East, and his relationship with Eleanor deteriorated drastically during their time away. The French also lost many men at The Battle of Cadmus; this massacre of Frenchmen was blamed on Eleanor because she allegedly became an unwitting pawn in a Turkish attack.
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  (#10) She Birthed Ten Children, But Only Nine Survived

  As the life expectancy in 12th-century Europe was fairly low, child mortality was quite high. Fortunately, Eleanor's children didn't succumb to the statistics. She gave birth to ten children, nine of whom survived to adulthood. Sadly, her first son with her second husband did not survive. This child was named William, most likely for Eleanor's paternal ancestors and for William the Conqueror, founder of Henry's own dynasty.

  Young William died at the age of three, but Eleanor went on to birth four more sons by Henry – all of whom revolted against their father later in life. Eleanor bore her last child, the troublesome John, around the age of 44.
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  (#9) She And Her First Husband Didn't Get Along

  Arranged marriages were successful on occasion, but not in the case of Eleanor and Louis. Beautiful and deeply sensual, with a love of literature, music, and especially courtly poetry, Eleanor was a worldly woman. In contrast, Louis was more ascetic at heart, a deeply religious man. As he was a second child, he spent much of his childhood raised in a monastery, perhaps destined for a career in the Church until his elder brother died.

  Louis was rather naive, especially in contrast to Eleanor's sophisticated nature; he loved his wife but didn't share her passions. Eleanor was even said to have exclaimed that she'd married a monk.
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  (#6) She Was A Duchess In Her Own Right

  As a teenager, Eleanor was one of the most sought-after heiresses in Europe because she ruled a fertile, valuable region of what would later become France.

  Eleanor didn't hold Aquitaine by virtue of marriage, as was often the case; instead, she inherited the land in her own right. As a result, she alone was the territory's legitimate duchess, and any man who sought control would have to marry her. For this reason, securing the marriage between Louis VII and Eleanor was a prosperous coup for the late King Louis VI.
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  (#5) She Was Ambushed Once And Nearly Kidnapped Twice 

  Prior to her marriages, Eleanor constantly faced the threat of abduction: as a rich heiress without a husband, greedy lords may have sought to kidnap her, marry her against her will, and claim her lands and wealth as their own. This threat was one reason why, shortly before his passing, her father arranged her marriage to the eventual Louis VII, and another reason why Eleanor was most likely concerned for her own safety once she divorced Louis.

  Despite her newfound freedom upon this separation, Eleanor knew she couldn't enjoy the luxuries of single life for long; she had to find a new husband for her own protection. After a council annulled her first marriage, she went home to Poitiers, barely evading two different captors: Theobald, Count of Blois (who would later marry one of her daughters), and her future brother-in-law, Henry Plantagenet's younger brother, Geoffrey. Fortunately, Eleanor took an alternate route home and arrived safely – she arranged a marriage to a new protector soon after.

  In 1200, Eleanor was successfully ambushed and held captive by one of her son John's enemies, Hugh of Lusignan. Her imprisonment wasn't for the gain of her land, however: Hugh attacked Eleanor in order to extort John's support in Hugh's claim to a random piece of land.
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  (#12) She May Have Had An Affair With Her Uncle

  While she was traveling in the Middle East with her husband, Louis VII, on the Second Crusade, Eleanor met up with her paternal uncle, Raymond, ruler of Antioch. Raymond welcomed his niece and nephew into his principality, but some contemporary sources suggest more: they allege incest between uncle and niece. 

  Raymond was a bastion of culture in comparison to the monk-like Louis, and Eleanor and her hubby were suffering marital difficulties at the time. Raymond also had much in common with Eleanor, such as her love of all things luxurious.

  Despite these historical rumors, however, there is no concrete evidence to support this claim. 

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