Eleanor, 1122-1204 was born into a tumultuous family. Her father, William X, Duke of Aquitaine, may have been one of the early troubadours of southern France, writing under an alias. Her mother, Aenor de Chatelherault, was the daughter of a woman known as Dangereuse de L'Isle Bouchard. Dangereuse was most likely an alias, but she was a woman who knew few boundaries. Dangereuse was the longtime mistress of Eleanor's grandfather William IX of Aquitaine in addition to being her maternal grandmother. The Aquitaine court was the seat of poetry, art, learning, culture, intrigue and drama and young Eleanor soaked it up. In addition to the regular household skills, she was also taught writing, history, Latin and other subjects usually reserved for a man. Because she was her father's heir, she would be expected to marry well, but also be ready and able to rule her own vast domains, taking up most of what is now southern France, in her own right.
Her father died in 1137, while the family was making a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James of Campostela in Spain, leaving Eleanor, about fifteen, as his heir. William bequeathed his lands to Eleanor and appointed the King of France, Louis VI as her guardian. As such, the King had the right to the use and income from Eleanor's vast inheritance. He also had the right to choose her husband. He decided that his own son and heir, the future Louis VII was the right candidate. Eleanor and Prince Louis were married in 1137 within weeks of her father's death and a more mismatched pair couldn't be imagined. Louis wasn't meant to be king. He'd been intended to enter the church. Pious, bookish, with a disinclination for physical affection, he was the opposite of Eleanor, who'd grown up in a court that celebrated love in all its forms and expected to be a wife in every sense of the word. Within days of their wedding, he was King Louis VII and Eleanor was Queen of France. Despite their differences, she managed to bear him two children, Marie and Alix. In those days, inability to bear a male heir, even if a woman had managed to bear children at all, was considered the woman's fault. That Eleanor wasn't bearing sons was a result of strain in their marriage.
Crusade fever was sweeping Europe again and Louis declared his intention to go on Crusade in 1145. As Duchess of the Aquitaine in her own right, Eleanor had to take the cross in order to commit her men and resources to the holy cause. But she didn't intend her vow to be a mere formality. Although she and her ladies didn't ride into battle dressed as Amazons, Eleanor expected to be a co-leader of the Crusade along with her husband, which created tension with him and with other leaders. The Crusade was a disaster, and so by this time was Louis and Eleanor's marriage. Raymond of Antioch, the leader of one of the Crusader states, was Eleanor's uncle. Rumor soon spread that there was more to it between uncle and niece than mere family affection. Louis bought the rumors and began thinking of divorcing Eleanor. As the Crusade unraveled, Eleanor became more and more disenchanted with Louis. On their way back to Rome, both parties sought the Pope's assistance to reach an annulment. He tried to reconcile them and play for time.
By this time, Eleanor was pregnant with her second child, another girl and neither side could get away from each other fast enough. Finally, in March, 1152, the ticklish negotiations were over with and their marriage was annulled. Eleanor's daughters were considered legitimate, but left in their father's custody. Eleanor's lands were returned to her. As she made her way home, two nobleman tried to kidnap her to claim her as a bride and take her lands by force. One of them was the brother of Henry, Duke of Normandy and in process of claiming his rights as his mother's heir to England. Eleanor opened correspondence with Henry and offered herself as a bride. Henry accepted. In 1154, they were married, Henry was crowned King and Eleanor was later crowned Queen.
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