Henry at Court: Meeting the Queen Quiz

Answer: She was given the best possible well-rounded education.

Unlike the daughters of most noblemen, Queen Eleanor was taught more than simply household management skills and sewing. Did you know that she can read and speak in Latin? She also learned math, history, and astronomy. She was unsure of her favorite pastimes as a young girl when I asked her - she said it was either riding and hawking or dancing! Or maybe music - the Queen plays the harp and sings quite beautifully! It is easy to see when listening to the Queen that she enjoys conversation and story-telling; she is quite animated and intelligent.

Answer: Duchess of Aquitaine

Eleanor's young brother, William Aigret, and her mother both passed away at the same time. When her father's heir died, as the oldest daughter, Eleanor became the heir presumptive, and according to the Queen, as Duchess of Aquitaine, she also became the most eligible woman in all of Europe! Apparently Aquitaine was quite a place! The Queen said that her grandfather, William IX, Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony and Count of Poitou, is known to be the first troubadour.

Although he was a knight of some renown, he also wrote poetry on a variety of topics, including politics and love. Consequently, Queen Eleanor was raised in a court that was not only wealthy and powerful, but also one where culture, music, art, and learning were highly valued.

Answer: Louis VI, known as The Fat

The Queen's father passed away when she was a young teenager. He was en route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain when he fell ill and suddenly died. Eleanor and her younger sister, Petronilla, were left under the protection of the Archbishop of Bordeaux while their father made the pilgrimage.

However, on his deathbed he dictated a will that left his lands to Eleanor and named Louis VI, known as The Fat, as her legal guardian. As legal guardian, Louis was asked to keep watch over the land for Eleanor and find her a proper husband.

As it turned out, King Louis was also gravely ill at the time; he did, however, have enough presence of mind to arrange a marriage between Eleanor and his younger son. "You see", the Queen said, "Louis was very greedy.

He wanted Aquitaine for himself".

Answer: He was pious, unmanly, and dull.

It didn't, apparently, take very long for King Louis to find a proper husband for his ward, Eleanor. He had a son and heir who needed a wealthy wife; a marriage to the Duchess of Aquitaine would greatly enhance the power and prestige of France. What a great opportunity! The Queen's first husband, who became Louis VII of France, was a younger son, and therefore, had not really been trained to be his father's heir - that is, until his older brother died unexpectedly. Prior to that, he had been destined to become a monk.

Not quite three months after the death of her own father, young Eleanor was a bride. Her husband became the Duke of Aquitaine, however, there was a stipulation that Aquitaine would not become part of France until the couple's oldest son (theoretically) became Duke of Aquitaine and King of France!

Answer: Cité Palace

Shortly after Eleanor's marriage, her father-in-law died, leaving her husband as his heir, Louis VII. Upon her arrival in Paris, the Queen said that she found the city horrible; in contrast to her beautiful homeland with vineyards and coastal areas, Paris was dirty and bleak with, as she described, "houses built upon houses".

There was a university, however, it was severely lacking in educational pursuits, and there was very little art or culture to be found in the city. Queen Eleanor said that when she found she was expected to live at Cité Palace, she wept. Luckily, her husband was in love, and able to grant her every wish - in spite of the fact that her mother-in-law thought Eleanor to be wild and a bad influence.

Answer: Adultery

Thierry Galeran was one of Louis VII's most trusted advisors; he had been a Knight Templar, and was appointed as the King's treasurer. Galeran did not like Eleanor; he did not like the way she was trying to transform Paris into a cultural center, and he considered her behavior a bit unladylike.

He constantly tried to convince the King that Eleanor had taken other lovers. Apparently the fact that it was believed that Eleanor's marriage had yet to be consumated as no heir had been produced, helped to lend credence to Galeran's accusations. Even after Eleanor gave birth to a daughter the rumors of her adultery did not stop; while on the Crusade it was even rumored that Eleanor had taken her uncle as a lover.

Answer: Pope Urban II made an appeal for all Christians to fight.

Unfortunately Louis was involved in an intrigue concerning the Queen's sister, Petronilla, who had fallen in love with a much older, married man named Raoul. To make a long story short, Louis had offended Raoul's brother-in-law, Count Theobald, by allowing Raoul to divorce his sister in order to marry Petronilla. Are you keeping up here? A war ensued, and after two years of fighting, the King's army was involved in a sad incident where they burned the town of Vitry, and the more than 1,000 people who had sought sanctuary in the village church died a horrible death. Louis suffered from terrible guilt over the incident, and wanted to make a pilgrimage in order to atone for what he saw as his sins.

In the Middle East, the Christian city of Edessa had been attacked by Muslim forces, and the citizens massacred. Louis wanted to redeem himself in God's eyes by recapturing the city. Queen Eleanor had been corresponding with her uncle, Raymond of Poitiers, a prince of Antioch, which asked for protection from the Muslims.

She thought that going on a Crusade would be a great adventure, and even had a group of 300 ladies go with her. The Queen did emphasize, however, that they did NOT fight as bare-breasted Amazons, as some have written.

Answer: Consanguinity

The Queen said that there were many times in her marriage to King Louis that she asked for a divorce. It didn't take very long from the constant accusations from Thierry of Galeran to wear thin, and Louis apparently believed everything he heard. When Louis refused to help her uncle, Prince Raymond, in Antioch, Eleanor asked for an annulment; when the couple stopped in Rome to see Pope Eugene about an annulment, he instead insisted that they reconcile. Queen Eleanor gave birth to another daughter nine months later; however, the birth of another daughter sealed the fate of the marriage. Louis needed male heirs and Eleanor was unhappy.

The annulment was granted on the grounds of consanguinity within the fourth degree; in other words, as third cousins the couple was too closely related. Both daughters were declared legitimate, which was a relief to the Queen; their custody was awarded to Louis, and Eleanor's lands were once again under her sole control.

Answer: Henry, Count of Anjou and Duke of Normandy

The Queen said that she met Henry and his father, Geoffrey, in Paris about a year before her marriage to King Louis was annulled. Although he was much younger - by 11 years - than she was, she immediately fell in love with him and he with her! They made a plan that they would marry if the requested annulment ever became a reality; this was quite a risky move as Louis and Henry were already political rivals.

This situation not only removed about half of France from the French King's landholdings, it also added the same amount of land to Henry's. And - in addition to that, somehow Louis thought that Henry should ask his permission to marry his former wife - and was offended when he was never presented with the request.

There was also another issue. I am sure my mouth flew open when the Queen whispered, "Don't tell anyone. I am more closely related to Henry than I was to Louis".

Answer: The Lion and the Eagle

After Henry and Eleanor were consecrated with holy oils by Theobald, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the choir sang and the church bells rang! As the couple rode along the Strand, the subjects shouted "Waes hael" and "Vivat rex"! She said that was the only day that King Henry ever really cared about how he looked, and he was handsome beyond belief! Over her gown, she wore a pelisson trimmed with fur, a circlet of gems adored her head, and a matching collar decorated her neck. "That was a glorious day that I will never forget", the Queen smiled as she ended her story.