Martin Aurell (1958-2025) has been one of the most influential of medieval historians studying the early Plantagenet dynasty and the societies of England and France in the same period. His collaboration and mentorship across the academy was broad and profound, as evidenced by the regular series of conferences that he organised around Eleanor of Aquitaine, the last of which, in October 2024 at Fontevraud Abbey, allowed the unveiling of his latest work, a long-awaited, scholarly biography of Eleanor. Given the number of biographies of Eleanor--indeed more has been written about her since her death than was ever known or recorded in her lifetime--the possibility of any new interpretations or evidence seems unlikely. However, Aurell’s biography does propose some new perspectives and does so in a highly enjoyable and thought-provoking manner.
The book is divided into three distinctive sections. The first encompasses a biographical approach to Eleanor. The second section analyses Eleanor through a gender-history lens, considering her as a woman and her role in her family. The final section considers Eleanor’s reputation, myths, and legends, including her activities as a patron and political figure. In the first section, Aurell tackles the issue of Eleanor’s birth date, typically posited as either 1122 or 1124. He definitively argues for Eleanor’s date of birth to be 1124, not 1122, owing to the former date being extricated from the discussion in the Fragment généalogique des ducs de Normandie et des rois d’Angleterre which states that Eleanor was 13 upon the death of her father William X on 9 April 1137 (26-7). Aurell continues that the earlier date has sometimes been listed by historians as a later justification for Eleanor being fifteen, instead of thirteen, at the time of her marriage, inflicting a modern sensibility without evidence (27). The remainder of the first section generally follows a traditional structure for a biography, without proposing too much new material.
Another area of debate that has surrounded Eleanor is her activities as queen of France: though her relationship with her first husband, Louis VII, king of France, was undoubtedly fractious, Eleanor does appear to have been more politically active than is often thought, and indeed, more of a peacemaker rather than the cause of war which has been popularly proclaimed. Geoffrey of Auxerre, the hagiographer of Bernard of Clairvaux, records a conversation between Bernard and Eleanor, on 11 June 1144, where Eleanor complained of her sterility after a miscarriage, and Bernard advised her to pursue a policy of peace and she would be granted children. Louis reconciled with his enemies, and a year later Marie, their first daughter, was born (32-3). This conversation took place against the backdrop of Louis’s war with Thibaud IV, count of Champagne (whose sister, Eleanor, had been repudiated by her husband, Raoul I of Vermandois, who had pursued Eleanor of Aquitaine’s sister Petronilla), and the Vitry incident, which has been often placed at Eleanor’s feet as a result of her poor political advice.
In some respects, the first section of the book may appear to be missing detail. However, this is largely because many of the noticeable events of Eleanor’s life warrant further discussion, which occurs in sections two and three. As such, readers looking for specific events and analyses may be best placed to use the well compiled index or contents to home in on their point of interest. The second section opens with discussions of marital and strategic alliances, and this expands beyond Eleanor to consider her children’s and grandchildren’s alliances too, tying in with the book’s overall approach as considering Eleanor’s role as a female dynast, and her position as a matriarch. The book then continues with brief but nevertheless useful and interesting subchapters on Eleanor’s relationships with her children, grandchildren, parents, and in-laws. Whilst such an examination brings together Eleanor’s status as matriarch and souveraine femme, and allows the reader to explore her family, the brevity of the explorations lacks some nuance and does not always accurately summarise the nature of what were very complex relationships. The last chapter of the second section considers Eleanor’s reputation and personality with regard to some of the rumours that have circulated around the reasons for her rebellion in 1173-4, her alleged incest with her paternal uncle Raymond of Antioch on the second crusade, and how the waning of her power contributed to her actions. Many of these points are posed with contemplation, with Aurell presenting multiple perspectives and the evidence and allowing the reader to reach an interpretation where the answer is not definitive.
The final section is the largest of the three. The first chapter tackles Eleanor’s appearance, her household, and her itinerary, using a mixture of evidence from the chronicles and financial records. Aurell also expands upon Eleanor’s lands, dower, and power, making the chapter rather mixed in terms of themes covered: some of these would have complemented each other better in separate chapters. Chapter 8 focuses on religion and in particular Eleanor’s connection with Fontevraud Abbey and its tombs, which brings together the range of reports and research produced by local art historians, archaeologists, and other scholars in a satisfying manner. The combination of a range of multidisciplinary approaches together with Aurell’s nuance provides a more subtle and substantive understanding than other biographies. Chapter 9 examines Eleanor’s role as a literary patron and letter writer, before chapter 10 moves to a topic that no biography of Eleanor can avoid: her reputation and legend. The latter is by far the longest chapter in the book and interrogates several of the events and scandals around Eleanor, going beyond what Michael R. Evans had accomplished with his 2014 study in its analysis of medieval records. [1]
To conclude the biography, Aurell posits that in the twelfth century a radical change began to affect co-ruling royal couples, to the benefit of the husband alone, as this change destroyed the traditional association of the queen with the exercise of power (341). This is not a conclusion this reviewer entirely finds convincing given the case studies of other royal women in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries who did continue to exercise power--the detailed discussions of gender and power can be found elsewhere outside of this review. [2] However, his summative statement: “Sans rancune et avec une bonne dose de résilience, Aliénor aura surmonté des difficultés qui auraient eu raison de bien des hommes de son temps” (349: “Without incurring resentment and with a healthy dose of resilience, Eleanor overcame difficulties that would have defeated many men of her time”) goes some way to show why Eleanor is still worthy of so much study. Exceptional or not, Eleanor was a powerful, determined, and pragmatic figure who tells us much about women, gender, and power in the twelfth century. Aurell’s study brings together Eleanor’s tumultuous, fascinating story, with under-examined documents, a strong and often sensitive utilisation of gender theory, and Aurell’s well-evidenced humanist approach to history. Readers will come away feeling that they have seen Eleanor from a new perspective and gained a deeper insight into her life from one of the greatest of medieval historians.
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Notes:
1. Michael Evans, Inventing Eleanor: The Medieval and Post-Medieval Image of Eleanor of Aquitaine(London: Bloomsbury, 2014).
2. Heather J. Tanner, ed., Medieval Elite Women and the Exercise of Power, 1100-1400. Moving Beyond the Exceptionalist Debate (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019); Theresa Earenfight, “Where Do We Go From Here? Some Thoughts on Power and Gender in the Middle Ages,” Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality, 51.2 (2016): 116-31.