Eleanor of Aquitaine (54 page)

Read Eleanor of Aquitaine Online

Authors: Alison Weir

BOOK: Eleanor of Aquitaine
6.39Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

2. Geoffrey of Vigeois.

3. Ibid.

4. Ralph of Diceto; Robert of Torigni.

5. William of Newburgh; Ralph of Diceto; Robert of Torigni.

6. Ralph of Diceto.

7. Roger of Hoveden; Gervase of Canterbury; Ralph of Coggeshall.

8. Roger of Hoveden.

9. William of Newburgh.

10. Ibid.

11. For the rebellion of 1173-1174, see chiefly William of Newburgh; Gervase of Canterbury; Roger of Hoveden;
Gesta Henrici Secundi;
Peter of Blois; Robert of Torigni; Ralph of Diceto.

12. Roger of Hoveden does not mention the Young King visiting Aquitaine, but says that the Queen sent her younger sons to France "to join with him against their father the King."

13. Giraldus Cambrensis.

14.
Patrologiae Latinae; Receuil des historiens.

15. Gervase of Canterbury. Gervase is the only chronicler to mention Eleanor's arrest, and then does so only to express shock at the fact that she was wearing male attire, which was then considered a serious offence against good order in society and was virtually heresy, as far as the Church was concerned. Gervase does not specify when or where the arrest of the Queen took place, but since he places it between his accounts of the princes' departure for Paris and the outbreak of hostilities in May, it is likely that it occurred in the spring, rather than the autumn, of 1173, as some historians have suggested.

16. Richard.

17.
Gesta Henrici Secundi.

18. Roger of Hoveden.

19. Gervase of Canterbury.

20. Roger of Hoveden; Ralph of Diceto.

21. Ralph of Diceto.

22. Ibid.

23. Richard le Poitevin; Robert of Torigni.

24.
Gesta Henrici Secundi.

25. Roger of Hoveden.

26. Ralph of Diceto.

27. Ibid.

28. Roger of Hoveden.

29. Ralph of Diceto.

30. Jordan Fantosme.

31. Ralph of Diceto; Roger of Hoveden.

32. Roger of Hoveden.

33. Ralph of Diceto.

34. Ibid.

35. Ralph of Diceto, Gervase of Canterbury, and the
Gesta Henrici Secundi
all state that Eleanor was taken to Winchester; only Geoffrey de Vigeois says she was first taken to Salisbury.

36. Ralph of Diceto.

37. Giraldus Cambrensis; Roger of Hoveden.

38. Gervase of Canterbury.

39. Roger of Wendover.

40. Ibid.

41. Gervase of Canterbury.

42. Jordan Fantosme.

43. Gervase of Canterbury.

44. For this episode, see Jordan of Fantosme; Roger of Hoveden; William of Newburgh.

45. Ralph of Diceto.

46. Ibid.

47. Scodand remained a fief of England until 1189, when Richard I, in need of money for his crusade, revoked the Treaty of Falaise in return for ten thousand marks.

48. Ralph of Diceto.

49. Ibid.

50. The figure usually quoted is £15,000 in Angevin pounds, which is equivalent to £3,750 in English pounds.

51. For the Treaty of Mondouis, see Ralph of Diceto; Roger of Hoveden; William of Newburgh.

52. Roger of Hoveden.

53. Ralph of Diceto.

54. Giraldus Cambrensis.

14 "Poor Prisoner"

1. Gervase of Canterbury.

2. Pipe Rolls.

3. Roger of Hoveden; Ralph of Diceto.

4. Roger of Hoveden; Ralph of Diceto.

5. Roger of Hoveden.

6. Ralph of Diceto.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid.

11. Roger of Hoveden.

12. Ibid; Ralph of Diceto.

13. Adam of Eynsham.

14. Roger of Hoveden.

15. Ibid.

16. Bertran de Born.

17. Roger of Hoveden.

18.
L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechale.

19. Ralph of Diceto.

20. Roger of Hoveden.

21. Roger of Wendover.

22. This is inferred from the fact that Eleanor was at Winchester for Michaelmas in September. Whether she also accompanied Joanna to Southampton is pure speculation, but it seems unlikely.

23. Ralph of Diceto.

24. Pipe Rolls.

25. Her name is variously given as Hawise, Hawisa, Avise, Avisa, or Isabella.

26. See Owen,
Eleanor of Aquitaine;
T. A. Archer's article on Rosamund

de Clifford in the
Dictionary of National Biography;
and Chambers, "Some Legends concerning Eleanor of Aquitaine."

27. Roger of Hoveden.

28. For Rosamund's reburial, see Ranulf Higden's
Polychronicon.
In the fourteenth century Ranulf Higden stated that Rosamund's "little coffin, scarcely of two foot long" and carved with realistic giants and animals, was still to be seen at Godstow. In the sixteenth century, the antiquary John Leland described how the tomb was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries: "Rosamund's tomb at Godstow nunnery was taken up [of] late; it is a stone with this inscription, 'Tomba Rosamundae.' Her bones were closed in lead, and within that in leather. When it was opened, a very sweet smell came out of it." The stone tomb was broken up, but at the end of the sixteenth century, another antiquarian, John Stow, claimed that the image of a cup had been engraved upon it, which seemed to give credence to the legend that Eleanor had poisoned her rival.

29. Roger of Hoveden.

30. Ralph of Diceto; Pipe Rolls.

31. Roger of Hoveden.

32. Ibid. 33- Ibid.

34. Ibid.

35. Ibid.

36. Ibid.

37. Ibid.

38.
The Chronicle of Meaux.

39. The twentieth-century biographer Amy Kelly claims that Queen Eleanor escorted the princess as far as Bordeaux, but this is highly unlikely and no contemporary source mentions it; in fact, Eleanor is not referred to by the chroniclers during this year.

40. Roger of Hoveden.

41. Ralph of Diceto.

42. Ibid.

43. Ibid.

44. Roger of Hoveden.

45. Ibid.

46. Ibid.; Ralph of Diceto.

47. Giraldus Cambrensis.

48. Ralph of Diceto.

49. Ibid.

50. William of Tyre.

51. Robert of Torigni; Roger of Hoveden.

52. Roger of Hoveden;
Choix des poesies originales des troubadours;
Antoine Thomas,
Bertran van Born;
Cledat,
Du role historique de Bertran de Born;
Stim-ming,
Bertran van Born.

53. Robert of Torigni; Roger of Hoveden.

54. Ralph of Diceto.

55. Roger of Hoveden.

56. Ibid.

57. Robert of Torigni.

58. Roger of Hoveden.

59.
L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechale.

60. Gervase of Canterbury.

61. Ralph of Diceto.

62. Ibid.

63. Ibid.; Roger of Hoveden; Gervase of Canterbury.

64. Ralph of Diceto.

65. For the rising in Aquitaine, see Roger of Hoveden and Geoffrey of Vigeois.

66. Roger of Hoveden.

67. Gervase of Canterbury.

68. Geoffrey of Vigeois.

69. Walter Map.

70. Roger of Hoveden;
Patrologiae Latinae.

71. Walter Map; Geoffrey of Vigeois.

72. Roger of Hoveden.

73. Ralph of Diceto.

74. Geoffrey of Vigeois.

75. Ibid.

76. Geoffrey of Vigeois is the principal source for the Young King's death.

77.
L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechale.

78. Ralph of Coggeshall.

79. William of Newburgh.

80. Geoffrey of Vigeois.

81. Roger of Hoveden.

82. Ralph of Diceto.

83. Ibid.

84. Ralph of Coggeshall.

85.
Poedera, Conventiones.

86.
Gesta Henrici Secundi.

87. Ralph of Diceto.

88. Roger of Hoveden.

89. Ralph of Diceto.

15 "Shame, Shame on a Conquered King!"

1. William of Newburgh.

2. Roger of Hoveden.

3. Gervase of Canterbury asserts that Eleanor was released in 1185 at the instance of Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury, but this is at variance with other sources, which confirm that she was set at liberty in 1183.

4. Roger of Hoveden.

5. Gervase of Canterbury.

6.
Chronique de Saint-Denis.

7. When his tomb in Worcester Cathedral was opened in 1797, John's skeleton was found to measure five feet five inches.

8. Richard of Devizes.

9.
The Chronicle of Meaux.

10. William of Newburgh.

11. Ralph of Diceto.

12. Matthew Paris.

13. Roger of Wendover; Matthew Paris.

14. Matthew Paris.

15. Roger of Hoveden.

16. Ibid.

17.
The Chronicle of Meaux.

18. Roger of Hoveden.

19. Giraldus Cambrensis.

20. Pipe Rolls.

21. Ralph of Diceto.

22. Ibid.

23. Pipe Rolls.

24. Ibid.

25. Roger of Hoveden; Geoffrey of Vigeois.

26. Roger of Hoveden.

27. Her birth date is given as 1184 or 1186, but 1184 is the date accepted by most historians.

28. Roger of Hoveden.

29. Henry also declined to accept the crown of Jerusalem for himself.

30. Roger of Hoveden.

31. It would be rebuilt in the Gothic style by Bishop Hugh of Avalon from 1192.

32.
Gesta Henrici Secundi;
Roger of Hoveden.

33. Roger of Hoveden.

34.
Gesta Henrici Secundi.

35. Roger of Hoveden.

36. William of Newburgh.

37. Ibid.

38. Ralph of Diceto.

39. Roger of Hoveden; Ralph of Diceto.

40. Ralph of Diceto.

41.
Gesta Henrici Secundi;
Giraldus Cambrensis.

42. Ralph of Diceto.

43. William of Newburgh.

44. Giraldus Cambrensis; Ralph of Diceto.

45. Giraldus Cambrensis.

46. Pipe Rolls.

47. William of Newburgh.

48. Ralph of Diceto.

49. Ibid.

50. Roger of Hoveden.

51. Ibid.

52. Ralph of Diceto.

53. Ibid.

54. Giraldus Cambrensis.

55. Ralph of Diceto.

56. This is inferred from Gervase of Canterbury's statement that she was released from prison on Henry's death, and from references in the Pipe Rolls that suggest she stayed at Winchester for long periods towards the end of the reign.

57. Ralph of Diceto.

58. Gervase of Canterbury.

59. Ralph of Diceto.

60. Ibid.

61.
L'Histoire de Guillaume le Markchale.

62.
Guillaume le Breton.

63.
L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechale.

64. Ibid.; Giraldus Cambrensis.

65. Ibid.

66.
L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechale.

67. Giraldus Cambrensis; Roger of Hoveden; Roger of Wendover.

68.
L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechale.

69. Giraldus Cambrensis.

70. Ibid.

71. Ibid.

72. Ibid.

73. Roger of Hoveden.

74.
L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechale.

75. William of Newburgh.

76. Roger of Hoveden;
Gesta Henrici Secundi;
Giraldus Cambrensis.

77. Gervase of Canterbury.

78. William of Newburgh.

16 "The Eagle Shall Rejoice in Her Third Nesting"

1.
Itinerary of Richard I.

2. L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechale.

3.
Ingulfs Chronicles of the Abbey of Croyland
(trans. H. T. Riley, 1854).

4.
L'Histoire de Guillaume de Marechale.

5. Ralph of Diceto; Gervase of Canterbury.

6. Ralph of Diceto.

7. Ibid.

8.
Gesta Regis Ricardi.

9. Roger of Hoveden.

10. Roger of Wendover.

11. Roger of Hoveden; Ralph of Diceto.

12. The English coinage had hitherto been subject to regional variations.

13. Roger of Hoveden.

14.
Gesta Regis Ricardi.

15. Roger of Hoveden.

16. Ralph of Diceto.

17. Roger of Hoveden.

18. Ralph of Diceto.

19.
L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechale.

20. Ralph of Diceto.

21. Ibid.

22. Glanville later died on crusade.

23. Giraldus Cambrensis.

24. Ibid.

25. Gervase of Canterbury.

26.
Gesta Regis Ricardi.

27. Roger of Hoveden.

28.
Itinerary of Richard I.

29. Ibid.

30. Ibid.

31. Pipe Rolls.

32.
Itinerary of Richard I.

33. Roger of Wendover.

34. Ralph of Diceto.

35. Ibid.

36. Roger of Hoveden states it was 100,000 marks, but the
Gesta Regis Ricardi
claims that it was as much as 900,000.

37.
Gesta Regis Ricardi.

38. Richard of Devizes; William of Newburgh.

39. Joscelin of Brakelond.

40. Ralph of Diceto.

41. Roger of Hoveden.

42. William of Newburgh.

43. Richard.

44. Ibid.

45. One charter was to the Abbey of Fontevrault, "for the repose of Henry's soul," while the rest conferred endowments upon other religious houses and the Knights Hospitallers of the Priory of France, in return for prayers for a successful outcome to the crusade and the safe return of King Richard. Eleanor also witnessed a judgement given by Payne de Rupefort, Seneschal of Anjou, in favour of the Abbess of Fontevrault in a dispute with the Mayor of Saumur over "local rights."

46. Richard of Devizes; Ambrose;
Itinerary of Richard I;
Richard.

47. This should read "daughters," since Berengaria's father Sancho VI did not die until 1194.

48. Quoted in Mitchell,
Berengaria, Enigmatic Queen of England.

49. Roger of Hoveden;
Itinerary of Richard I.

50. Ambrose.

17
"The Admiration of Her Age"

1. Roger of Hoveden;
Itinerary of Richard I.

2. The date of her death is not recorded, but is presumed to have been during or after 1230, when she is last mentioned in the records.

3. Most other reports of her beauty are found in the works of later chroniclers, viz. Ranulf Higden, Piers Langtoft, Walter of Guisborough, and Henry Knighton.

4. Richard of Devizes.

5. Ralph of Diceto; Roger of Hoveden.

6. Peter of Blois.

7. Ralph of Diceto.

8. Ibid.

9. Roger of Hoveden.

10. Roger of Wendover.

11. Ralph of Diceto; Richard of Devizes.

12.
Itinerary of Richard I.

13. Richard of Devizes.

14. Roger of Hoveden.

15. Ralph of Diceto.

16. Roger of Hoveden.

17. Giraldus Cambrensis; Roger of Hoveden; Piers Langtoft.

18. Piers Langtoft.

19. Roger of Hoveden.

20. Philip's position is made clear in a
sirvente
by Bertran de Born entitled
"S'ieufos aissi."

21. Roger of Hoveden;
The Chronicle of Meaux;
Giraldus Cambrensis.

22. Roger of Hoveden.

23. Ibid.; Ralph of Diceto;
Itinerary of Richard I.

24. Ralph of Diceto.

25. Ibid.

26. Roger of Hoveden.

27. Ibid.; Richard.

28. Roger of Hoveden; Ralph of Diceto;
Itinerary of Richard I.

29. Pipe Rolls;
Itinerary of Richard I.

30. The chapel may still be visited today, along with various other sites connected with Richard and Berengaria in Cyprus, among them the ruined Berengaria Tower (of which the royal couple laid the foundations) on the outskirts of Kolossi, and Little Berengaria Village near Pannicon, north of Limassol.

31. Geoffrey de Vinsauf,
The Art of Poetry
(quoted in Mitchell,
Berengaria, Enigmatic Queen of England).
Vinsauf was a loyal subject and companion of Richard I.

32. Ambrose.

33. Gervase of Canterbury.

34. Roger of Hoveden.

35. Some modern writers claim that the horror Berengaria felt on witnessing the massacre caused her to miscarry, but I can find no contemporary evidence for this.

36.
Gesta Henrici Secundi.

37. Richard of Devizes.

38. William of Newburgh.

39. Ibid.

40. Ibid.

41. For this episode, see Giraldus Cambrensis; Roger of Hoveden; William of Newburgh.

42. William of Newburgh.

43. Roger of Hoveden.

44. Richard of Devizes.

45. Roger of Hoveden.

46. Richard of Devizes.

47. William of Newburgh.

48. Roger of Hoveden; Richard of Devizes.

49. Richard of Devizes.

50. Ibid.

51. Roger of Hoveden; Gervase of Canterbury; Roger of Wendover; Guillaume le Breton; William of Newburgh; Rigord.

52. Bertran de Born (see note 20 above) makes it clear that Philips sense of honour required him to avenge the slight to his sister.

53. Roger of Hoveden.

54. Ibid.

55. Ibid.

56. Richard of Devizes.

57. Ibid.

58. Roger of Hoveden.

59. Richard of Devizes.

60. Roger of Hoveden.

61. Richard of Devizes.

62. Ibid.

63. Ibid.

64.
Charter Rolls.

65. Richard of Devizes.

66. Ibid.

67. Giraldus Cambrensis; Roger of Hoveden.

68. Richard of Devizes.

69. Ibid.

70. Ibid.

71. Ibid.

72. Ibid.

73. Ralph of Diceto.

74. Ambrose.

75. Gervase of Canterbury; Roger of Hoveden.

76. Roger of Hoveden.

77. Ibid.

18 "The Devil Is Loosed!"

1. Letter from Henry VI to Philip II, quoted by Roger of Hoveden.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid. For Richard's adventures and capture, see also the account of his chaplain Anselm, in Ralph of Coggeshall.

4. Letter of Henry VI to Philip II, quoted by Roger of Hoveden.

5. Ibid.

6.
L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechale.

7. For Eleanor's state of mind, see the letters to the Pope quoted later in this chapter
(Foedera;
Richard).

Other books

To Prime the Pump by A. Bertram Chandler
Art Ache by Lucy Arthurs
Gold, Frankincense and Dust by Valerio Varesi
Starhammer by Christopher Rowley
The Zombie Evolution by Burke, Rowan
Jennifer's Garden by Dianne Venetta
School Lunch Politics by Levine, Susan