Royal Woman: Eleanor of Brittany

Being a princess during the Medieval Age wasn't a storybook adventure.  There were serious issues at stake, namely the succession to crowns and kingdoms.  It was a man's world, men ruled and took what they wanted by force.  And though the women of the Plantagenet family could be a match for any man in cunning and fortitude, some paid a costly price for defying the men in their lives.

One such woman was Eleanor, Duchess of Brittany and Countess of Richmond in her own right.   Eleanor (c 1181- 1241) was the daughter of Geoffrey, brother of Richard and John.  Her mother Constance, was Duchess of Brittany in her own right.  Geoffrey and Constance had two children, Arthur and Eleanor.  Because Geoffrey was younger than Richard but older than John, his children inherited a more senior claim to the English throne at his death.  However, in those days, not only did women not rule kingdoms, neither did children when there was an able-bodied man to stand in the way.  At Geoffrey's death, Eleanor and Arthur were put into the formal custody of their Uncle Richard and lived with their grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine.  This was a usual arrangement in those days, even if a child's mother was still alive.  Constance remarried and centered her claims on her younger daughter, Alice, while allowing Richard and Eleanor to decide the fate of her two older children, Arthur and Eleanor.

As a potential claimant to the English throne, Eleanor was one of the most eligible young women of the time.  After her aunt Joanna bulked at being married to the brother of Saladin the Magnificent, Eleanor was proposed instead.  This time, Al-Adil broke it off, not interested in marrying a Christian, no matter her dowry.  Next, as part of Richard's ransom, Eleanor was to be married to the son of Leopold of Austria.  That marriage came to nothing when Leopold's son died.  There was also a marriage proposal between a son of Phillip II of France and Eleanor, but that, too fell through.  With Richard's death, Arthur and Eleanor passed into the custody of their uncle John in 1199.  Arthur made an attempt to claim his English inheritance, but his resistance was quickly put down by John.  Arthur was incarcerated in Rouen castle and later died under mysterious circumstances.

John wasn't taking any chances with Eleanor, either.  Even if she never made a bid for the crown of England, she was a target for any marriageable man who might make it for her.  From the death of her brother onward, any effort at marriage stopped.  Like her grandmother before her, Eleanor would pass through a succession of English castles, most notably Corfe.  She was always housed and treated like a princess, being provided clothing, food and maids, and being allowed to ride though under heavy guard.  She was not, however, allowed to go on with her life in anything approaching a normal fashion, such as marrying or even being allowed to press her own viable claim to Brittany after her mother's death.  John and his son Henry III backed the claims of Eleanor's half-sister Alice, while leaving Eleanor safely under lock and key in England.

Nor was she the only princess kept in captivity by John and Henry.  The King of Scotland sent his daughters as hostages to England, as did various Welsh princesses.  Thus, for some years, Eleanor had company, but for the most part, she was alone.  Henry was careful to have her shown to the people of Corfe from time to time to prove that she was alive, but that was all.  Eleanor might have bettered her situation by relinquishing her claims to England, Brittany and any other territory but she wasn't about to do so.  Meanwhile, plots to rescue her and place her on the throne of England or take her back to Brittany only made Henry increase her security and put her life in jeopardy.   She lived out her life a "state prisoner", never having been tried or convicted of any crime.  After her death, her body was buried in Amesbury Abbey and an endowment made in her name.