Eleanor Of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 54 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Some of the most fascinating characters in history hail from the murkier depths of times lacking much documentary sources. Perhaps their interest comes from this patchwork of conflicting sources, or perhaps the temporal distance lends enchantment. It also presents a problem for the biographer, in that the lack of sources makes it difficult to write authoritatively on the subject. If the subject is a mystery then the book can't be much more than conjectures joined up with speculation.
Eleanor of Aquitaine occupies an odd place in such a time. As a ruler and heiress in her own right, and as queen of France and later England, her life is much more richly documented than most of her contemporaries. Her movements, lodgings, nutrition and clothing can be conjured from the surviving accounts. Richer detail comes from monastic accounts, surviving letters and a good deal of conjecture based on related sources.
Weir has chosen a fascinating subject. She was a woman ruler at a time when women's right to rule was far from established, and in many areas banned by Salic Law. She was forthright, independent and had unorthodox views that capture the essence of the troubadour culture that flourished in her Aquitanian provinces.
Eleanor was wife of Louis VII of France, and then Henry II of England. She was mother to Richard the Lion Heart, and of King John. She herself went on crusade, appearing as the Amazonian queen Penthesilea to rally the troops. She lived as everything from Queen to prisoner, and did so over a remarkable 82 years.
As a writer of engaging `popular' history, Weir has been criticised for dumbing down the subject. In my opinion this is ridiculous. The idea that a book need be impenetrable and complex to be worthy of the appellation `academic' strikes me as simply the fulmination of the historical profession seeking to ensure the plebs don't scale the ivory towers. Whilst Weir's book may not push too many boundaries, it does present its subject well, contextualises admirably and is properly referenced with what source material survives.
The dearth of source material is shown by Weir quoting in full the surviving letters from Eleanor to the pope at the time of Henry II's capture and imprisonment at the hands of the Holy Roman Emperor. As these are the most extensive extant sources it is not difficult to see why they have been quoted in full. But quotations of this length in a work of popular narrative history do somewhat stall the flow of the read. This is a minor point, and Weir compensates by ensuring most of the narrative is written in an engaging and pacey style. Some might sniff at such a tome, but if you have an interest in history you will be rewarded with a fascinating insight.
Eleanor of Aquitaine occupies an odd place in such a time. As a ruler and heiress in her own right, and as queen of France and later England, her life is much more richly documented than most of her contemporaries. Her movements, lodgings, nutrition and clothing can be conjured from the surviving accounts. Richer detail comes from monastic accounts, surviving letters and a good deal of conjecture based on related sources.
Weir has chosen a fascinating subject. She was a woman ruler at a time when women's right to rule was far from established, and in many areas banned by Salic Law. She was forthright, independent and had unorthodox views that capture the essence of the troubadour culture that flourished in her Aquitanian provinces.
Eleanor was wife of Louis VII of France, and then Henry II of England. She was mother to Richard the Lion Heart, and of King John. She herself went on crusade, appearing as the Amazonian queen Penthesilea to rally the troops. She lived as everything from Queen to prisoner, and did so over a remarkable 82 years.
As a writer of engaging `popular' history, Weir has been criticised for dumbing down the subject. In my opinion this is ridiculous. The idea that a book need be impenetrable and complex to be worthy of the appellation `academic' strikes me as simply the fulmination of the historical profession seeking to ensure the plebs don't scale the ivory towers. Whilst Weir's book may not push too many boundaries, it does present its subject well, contextualises admirably and is properly referenced with what source material survives.
The dearth of source material is shown by Weir quoting in full the surviving letters from Eleanor to the pope at the time of Henry II's capture and imprisonment at the hands of the Holy Roman Emperor. As these are the most extensive extant sources it is not difficult to see why they have been quoted in full. But quotations of this length in a work of popular narrative history do somewhat stall the flow of the read. This is a minor point, and Weir compensates by ensuring most of the narrative is written in an engaging and pacey style. Some might sniff at such a tome, but if you have an interest in history you will be rewarded with a fascinating insight.
48 of 51 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was captivated by the title when I first came across it. Eleanor of Aquitane certainly proved to be an exceptionally well-written and captivating book, especially when compared to the mediocre efforts of many of our contemporary writers. Alison Weir succeeds in making a distant epoch come to life in a multidimensional way. She has been criticised, by some, for presenting a rather scanty picture of the queen, yet in this same sparse representation, which stems from limited resources available, lies the crux of the existence of a medieval woman. From the morsels of information available about the life of one of the most remarkable female figures of the early medieval period, we can infer that the medieval reality did not consider women as figures of much consequence. For there to have been even this little written about Eleanor she had to have been a particularly influential player in the male orientated society. Through MS Weir's very objective eyes we catch a fair glimpse of Eleanor's world, the consequences of her intelligence, strength and power. It is an effortless read, well worth the time and money.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Alison Weir has the gift of combining historical expertise with real story-telling skill thereby bringing long-dead people to life in a way that few can match. Although there are relatively few contemporary sources for Eleanor's life, Ms Weir combines fact and knowledge of the era to flesh out the bones, so to speak. It's a fascinating story containing all the elements of a good blockbuster - love, power, family, intrigue, money, conflict - set in a world of chivalry, knightly adventures and medieval pageantry. Even better, it's all true!
Eleanor was married to two kings, mother of two kings and was a feudal lord of enormous tracts of land in her own right - in an age when women were seen as mere chattels to be disposed of as and when (and to whom) the men pleased, she is an inspiration and a one-off. Fab read, cool heroine, true story - and you don't have to be a history buff to enjoy it.
Eleanor was married to two kings, mother of two kings and was a feudal lord of enormous tracts of land in her own right - in an age when women were seen as mere chattels to be disposed of as and when (and to whom) the men pleased, she is an inspiration and a one-off. Fab read, cool heroine, true story - and you don't have to be a history buff to enjoy it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Wonderful history
Alison Weir has done it again. I wish I had had a teacher like her when I was young. The detail from her research is quite amazing. Read more
Published 1 month ago by nitram
Very worthy book
I knew nothing about Eleanor and her family and did not realise how interesting medieval hsitory was until I read this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it and as far as I can see from... Read more
Published 2 months ago by JCL
great read
Bought this having seen 'The Lion in Winter' (a play about Eleanor, husband Henry II and their dysfunctional family) and wanting to know more. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Bill B
Excellent. Well conceived, well executed, well researched
Alison Weir is here as good as always, when writing about history (non-fiction). And with a fascinating character as Eleanor of Aquitaine, it is still better than usual. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Paulo Emilio
Eleanor the Elusive
This is a highly detailed and informative book which attempts to bring to the fore of the Plantaganet period the often pivotal role played by Eleanor of Aquitaine. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Tyke
difficulty
I would love to review this book but I have had tremendous trouble trying to download via my computer and have given up trying.
Published 10 months ago by kazz
Not Boring
About half way through this, I was thinking, mm, I'm not enjoying this as much as her other books. The reason being that owing to the relative sparcity of confirmable info about... Read more
Published 12 months ago by conjunction
Eleanor of Aquitaine
It is difficult to write the biography of a woman who lived so long ago, but Alison Weir does a wonderful job of recreating Eleanor's life and times. Read more
Published 14 months ago by S Riaz
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Very enjoyable read, Alison has done her research well, would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical stories.
A wee bit hard to get started but worth it.
A wee bit hard to get started but worth it.
Published 16 months ago by Silver
Read like a novel
I found this to be a really fascinating account of the life of Queen Eleanor. It was so gripping a time that to my mind it read like a novel. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Aunty Pog
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