Eleanor of Aquitaine is one of the best remembered medieval Queens. She has been celebrated as one of the most daring and consequential women of her age. But despite her fame Eleanor is often misunderstood. Some writers have sullied Eleanor’s historical reputation by spreading scandalous rumours about the Queen. Other writers, in an attempt to revive her reputation, have overcorrected and have presented her as a completely exceptional “woman out of time.” These two skewed understandings of Eleanor have been called the “Black Legend” and the “Golden Myth.” Is it possible to bring some balance back to our understanding of Eleanor?

Tune-in and find out how Oscar acceptance speeches, a convent-themed harem, and the craziest month ever, play a role in the story. 

Works Cited

Cockerill, Sara. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France and England, Mother of Empires. Amberley Publishing, 2021.

Evans, Michael R. Inventing Eleanor: the Medieval and Post-Medieval Image of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Bloomsbury, 2016.

Markale, Jean. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of the Troubadours. Inner Traditions, 2008.

Meade, Marion. Eleanor of Aquitaine: a Biography. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2015.

Owen, D. D. R. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen and Legend. Blackwell, 2000.

Weir, Alison. Eleanor of Aquitaine. Ballantine, 1999.

Wheeler, Bonnie, and John Carmi Parsons. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Wheeler, Bonnie. “Medieval Heroines in History and Legend.” The Great Courses: Western Literature. The Great Courses, 2013. Digital Lecture.