Captive Queen by Alison Weir
What kind of queen incites her children to rebel against the king their father? Eleanor of Aquitaine must have be a selfish and conniving person, mustn’t she? Or maybe, just maybe, she had a reason.
This book opens like a farce, with a vibrant young queen married to the King of France. Wait a minute, I say, I happen to know that Eleanor of Aquitaine was married to Henry Plantagenet of England. And the queen is beautiful and …. Thirty? I guess that’s still young, for royalty. And married for twelve years without children?
The Queen of France watches a magnificent young redhead kneeling to pay homage to King Louis VII, who invests the young man as Duke of Normandy. Within the next page or two, the Queen and the Duke are romping between the sheets, planning to dissolve the Queen’s marriage so she can marry the young Duke.
Henry Duke of Normandy swears on his father’s deathbed to let his younger brother inherit the lands of Anjou and Maine, but he’s already planning to keep them for himself. He also plans to claim England as an inheritance from his grandmother Empress Matilda, herself a granddaughter of William the Conqueror. And he plans to claim Eleanor, though he would need the permission of his liege - her former husband to marry. And she would need the permission of her liege - and former husband - to remarry.
And it’s not even page 30 yet.
Alison Weir explores the character of two headstrong, independent people who come together in marriage. Eleanor thinks that the extensive lands she brings to the marriage will make her the equal of her husband, but the hot-tempered Henry makes a shambles of her plans. When her nobles rise in rebellion, she insists she will be able to talk them into laying down their arms. Henry insists that he isn’t hiding behind his wife’s skirts.
A recurring theme seems to be, ‘what goes around comes around.
• Henry encouraged Eleanor to be unfaithful to her husband.
o Anyone want to lay bets on Henry staying faithful to his wife?
• Eleanor left King Louis for Henry.
o When Eleanor and Henry had a falling out, she turns to her liege lord for help.
• Henry promised his father to give certain lands to his younger brother, then he changed him mind. The brother gathered knights and fought for his inheritance, but Henry won.
o Later, Henry promises certain lands to his older sons, and changes his mind to give it all to a younger son. They fight. Henry wins, but is the aggravation worth it?
• King Louis is a boring husband for the lively Eleanor, and they have only daughters. She is miserable with him.
o King Henry is a thrilling husband for the lively Eleanor, and they have many sons and daughters. But after a while, she is miserable with him…
Before the story starts, right after the table of contents, there is a map of England and French duchies. This way, as the novel talks of Duke Henry wanting control of Brittany, Normandy, Maine, Anjou, and Poitou, you can see where they lay along the mainland or on the coast. You can also see that France proper is only a small strip of land between Blois and Champagne - which helps jolt the modern mind out of today’s map into yesterday’s world.
There is also a table of genealogy for Henry, starting from William the Conqueror. Eleanor’s map goes back to William “The Troubadour” of Aquitaine, who was born shorty before the other William died. The different titles of these Williams explain a great deal about the different attitudes that bring so much grief to their descendants.
The novel is divided very logically into six parts and an Epilogue:
• The tumultuous meeting, and the happy but explosive marriage (1151-1154)
• Henry turning away from Eleanor toward Thomas Becket, then turning away from Becket as well (1155-1171)
• The children of two hot-tempered, independent parents behaving in a hot-tempered, independent fashion - with their mother helping them against their father (1172-73)
• Henry imprisons Eleanor for her part in the rebellion (1173-1189)
• The two reconcile, sort of (1189)
• Eleanor’s son Richard becomes king and frees the dowager queen and from her long captivity (1189)
• Eleanor dies in 1204, fifteen years after Henry died.
o Looking at the genealogy, it is clear that Eleanor survived not only her husband but most of her children.
This book opens like a farce, with a vibrant young queen married to the King of France. Wait a minute, I say, I happen to know that Eleanor of Aquitaine was married to Henry Plantagenet of England. And the queen is beautiful and …. Thirty? I guess that’s still young, for royalty. And married for twelve years without children?
The Queen of France watches a magnificent young redhead kneeling to pay homage to King Louis VII, who invests the young man as Duke of Normandy. Within the next page or two, the Queen and the Duke are romping between the sheets, planning to dissolve the Queen’s marriage so she can marry the young Duke.
Henry Duke of Normandy swears on his father’s deathbed to let his younger brother inherit the lands of Anjou and Maine, but he’s already planning to keep them for himself. He also plans to claim England as an inheritance from his grandmother Empress Matilda, herself a granddaughter of William the Conqueror. And he plans to claim Eleanor, though he would need the permission of his liege - her former husband to marry. And she would need the permission of her liege - and former husband - to remarry.
And it’s not even page 30 yet.
Alison Weir explores the character of two headstrong, independent people who come together in marriage. Eleanor thinks that the extensive lands she brings to the marriage will make her the equal of her husband, but the hot-tempered Henry makes a shambles of her plans. When her nobles rise in rebellion, she insists she will be able to talk them into laying down their arms. Henry insists that he isn’t hiding behind his wife’s skirts.
A recurring theme seems to be, ‘what goes around comes around.
• Henry encouraged Eleanor to be unfaithful to her husband.
o Anyone want to lay bets on Henry staying faithful to his wife?
• Eleanor left King Louis for Henry.
o When Eleanor and Henry had a falling out, she turns to her liege lord for help.
• Henry promised his father to give certain lands to his younger brother, then he changed him mind. The brother gathered knights and fought for his inheritance, but Henry won.
o Later, Henry promises certain lands to his older sons, and changes his mind to give it all to a younger son. They fight. Henry wins, but is the aggravation worth it?
• King Louis is a boring husband for the lively Eleanor, and they have only daughters. She is miserable with him.
o King Henry is a thrilling husband for the lively Eleanor, and they have many sons and daughters. But after a while, she is miserable with him…
Before the story starts, right after the table of contents, there is a map of England and French duchies. This way, as the novel talks of Duke Henry wanting control of Brittany, Normandy, Maine, Anjou, and Poitou, you can see where they lay along the mainland or on the coast. You can also see that France proper is only a small strip of land between Blois and Champagne - which helps jolt the modern mind out of today’s map into yesterday’s world.
There is also a table of genealogy for Henry, starting from William the Conqueror. Eleanor’s map goes back to William “The Troubadour” of Aquitaine, who was born shorty before the other William died. The different titles of these Williams explain a great deal about the different attitudes that bring so much grief to their descendants.
The novel is divided very logically into six parts and an Epilogue:
• The tumultuous meeting, and the happy but explosive marriage (1151-1154)
• Henry turning away from Eleanor toward Thomas Becket, then turning away from Becket as well (1155-1171)
• The children of two hot-tempered, independent parents behaving in a hot-tempered, independent fashion - with their mother helping them against their father (1172-73)
• Henry imprisons Eleanor for her part in the rebellion (1173-1189)
• The two reconcile, sort of (1189)
• Eleanor’s son Richard becomes king and frees the dowager queen and from her long captivity (1189)
• Eleanor dies in 1204, fifteen years after Henry died.
o Looking at the genealogy, it is clear that Eleanor survived not only her husband but most of her children.