Eleanor of Aquitaine was certainly one of the most interesting and powerful women of her time. She was the wife of two kings and the mother of King Richard the Lionheart and King John of England. Born in 1122 or 1124, Eleanor grew up in her father's court of Aquitaine, the birth place of the troubadour tradition, which became important in her later life. In her early teens, Eleanor became the Duchess of Aquitaine, ruling over her late father's lands in her own right. An eligible young lady and heiress of basically what could be called a small kingdom, Eleanor was soon married to the future King of the Franks, Louis VII, granting her husband a larger kingdom. Eleanor and Louis had two daughters during their marriage and Eleanor even insisted on going with her husband on the Second Crusade. During this time their relationship began to fall apart, and Eleanor actually sought an annulment of her marriage to Louis based on the grounds that they had a common ancestor (of the fourth degree). This was a surprising thing for a woman of her time to do. It was common for kings and other men of the nobility to seek such separations, never a woman. Eleanor's request was denied, but later Louis agreed to an annulment after the birth of their second daughter and fifteen years of marriage.
Almost immediately after separating with Louis, Eleanor became engaged to Henry II of England, whom she had met before breaking things off with Louis. They were married and once again Eleanor was a queen and her inherited lands became an important part of Henry's kingdom. Eleanor and Henry did not have the best marriage, but Eleanor had eight children with him, five sons and three daughters. Eleanor and Henry became estranged and Eleanor moved back to her home, the Palace of Poitiers in Aquitaine. From 1168 to 1173, Eleanor is said to have ruled over her "Court of Love" along with her daughter. Here, legend has it, she encouraged and inspired the troubadours and essentially invented courtly love and the ideals of chivalry.
From 1173 to 1189, Eleanor was imprisoned in England by Henry II because she had supported her sons in their civil war against their father. After Henry II's death, Eleanor was set free by her son, the new King Richard I. Eleanor ruled England as a queen regent in the name of her son Richard, who was fighting in the Third Crusade. Something interesting about her reign as queen is that no one seemed to oppose a her right to the throne, whereas, in the past women like Henry II's mother, Matilda, were seen as huge threats to the kingdom because rulers were supposed to be men and she was the true heir and a woman. After Richard's death, Eleanor's youngest son became the king. Eleanor died in 1204 while at her home at Poitiers, where she had retreated to in her last days. She was buried in Fontevraud Abbey beside Henry II.
Legends: Eleanor is associated with the legends of Robin Hood. In some stories she was a patron of Robin Hood, who supposedly aided her efforts to raise ransom money for King Richard during the Third Crusade.
Another rumor is that Eleanor had Henry II's mistress, Rosamund, poisoned.
Here are some sources about Eleanor of Aquitaine (and a few videos that I found interesting!):
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