#Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine

[royal-diaries-podcast]

Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, France, 1136 by Kristiana Gregory (2002)

[myhikari21things]

Read of Eleanor Crown Jewel of Aquitaine by Kristiana Gregory (2002) (164pgs)

[emjee]

FIFTEEN? royal diaries? never knew there was so much. My best friend sure must get on with it to tell me all about all the one i don't know about lmao

There are twenty of them! Here's the full list:

Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544 by Kathryn Lasky (1999)

Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile, Egypt, 57 B.C. by Kristiana Gregory (1999)

Isabel: Jewel of Castilla, Spain, 1466 by Carolyn Meyer (2000)

Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles, Austria-France 1769 by Kathryn Lasky (2000)

Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914 by Carolyn Meyer (2000)

Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba, Angola, Africa, 1595 by Patricia McKissack (2000)

Kaiulani: The People's Princess, Hawaii, 1889 by Ellen Emerson White (2001)

Lady of Ch'iao Kuo: Warrior of the South, Southern China, 531 A.D. by Laurence Yep (2001)

Victoria: May Blossom of Britannia, England, 1829 by Anna Kirwan (2001)

Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country, France, 1553 by Kathryn Lasky (2002)

Sŏndŏk: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, 595 A.D. by Sheri Holman (2002)

Jahanara: Princess of Princesses, India, 1627 by Kathryn Lasky (2002)

Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, France, 1136 by Kristiana Gregory (2002)

Elisabeth: The Princess Bride, Austria-Hungary, 1853 by Barry Denenberg (2003)

Kristina: The Girl King, Sweden, 1638 by Carolyn Meyer (2003)

Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocassets, Massachusetts-Rhode Island, 1653 by Patricia Clark Smith (2003)

Lady of Palenque: Flower of Bacal, Mesoamerica, A.D. 749 by Anna Kirwan (2004)

Kazunomiya: Prisoner of Heaven, Japan, 1858 by Kathryn Lasky (2004)

Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 by Edwidge Danticat (2005)

Catherine: The Great Journey, Russia, 1743 by Kristiana Gregory (2005)

I read every single one of them.

[edwardseymour]

Top 5 Angevins?

put “top 5” anything in my ask and i will answer ok go

john, fuck OFF about it i don't want to hear SHIT from ANYONE. that man was hysterical. asked the duke of austria to raise richard's ransom price and threatened to convert to islam. lost the crown jewels in the wash. best king we ever had.

geoffrey. i genuinely think that man was evil, there was something deeply rotten within him. the way he handled brittany was incredibly cunty, however.

joan of sicily, richard's favourite sister. love that period where she, her mother (eleanor of aquitaine) and berengaria of navarre effectively went on crusade with richard. we nearly had her as co-ruler of jerusalem and it nearly got richard excommunicated iirc.

henry the young king. succession wants what he has.

richard i comes last because even though i mentioned him with his sister i literally sat here staring at this trying to do the maths trying to work out who i had forgotten for several seconds before remembering mummy's favourite war criminal...

[majestativa]

She poured out her heart to him, telling him about her childhood, her book ideas, her dreams, her theories about life. They memorized French poetry, and they went to the most medieval places and indulged in the darkest and most outré thoughts.

They were drunk on Paris: the modern Paris, but also the Paris of Baudelaire, Proust, Flaubert, Coco Chanel, Louis XIV, Voltaire, Catherine de Medici, and Eleanor of Aquitaine. They went to see the crown jewels at the Galerie d’Apollon, and he promised he would steal them for her.

— Anna Biller, Bluebeard’s Castle, (2023)

[archivist-crow]

Odds and ends:

KING JOHN'S CROWN JEWELS

In October 1216, King John "Lackland" of England suffered a freak twist of fate that would shortly thereafter cause his death. The favorite son of King Henry Il and Eleanor of Aquitaine, John earned the nickname Lackland because his father had no land to bestow on him. John was younger brother to King Richard the Lionhearted; he tried to overthrow his brother and is referred to in the stories of Robin Hood as the ultimate villain. When Richard returned from the Crusades in 1194, he forgave his brother and made John his heir. In truth, John had both good and bad qualities, but he was condemned by the country's barons when he began taxing them.

The barons' leaders, wishing to limit the authority of the king, met with John in 1215 at Runnymede near London and presented him with the Magna Carta, which he felt forced to sign, but not to follow. The next year, John was forced to retreat from an invasion by Prince Louis of France, whom the barons wished to see replace John on the English throne.

The royal regalia had to cross a marshy area known as the Wash. This area in East Anglia is a treacherous tidal mud flat. While the porters were journeying across it, an unusually large high tide splashed over them, washing away the men and King John's most valuable treasures, including the crown jewels.

The disastrous affair caused King John to succumb to dysentery, and he died shortly after in Nottinghamshire. The crown jewels were never recovered.

Text from: Almanac of the Infamous, the Incredible, and the Ignored by Juanita Rose Violins, published by Weiser Books, 2009

[obscurushydrae]

THE BROOCH OF MELUSINE STATUS: RECOVERED [ Reliquary Masterpost ]

A golden brooch mad possibly in the 8th or 9th Century. Gold and gemstones with a cameo of Melusine. To tell of item, I need to tell the story of Melusine– sometimes called the Demon Countess of Anjou.

Melusine is/was an Undine, a water-aligned spirit of European extraction. She was said to live in what is modern-day France and was the mother of several houses of French nobility (allegedly).

The first was Fulk III, also know as Black Fulk of Anjou. It is said Fulk found her while hunting and desired her immediately. She agreed to the marriage so long as he would not enter her chamber when she bathed on Saturdays– or when it came time to give birth. He agreed and they were wed. She bore him many children– whose descendants became the Angevin House of Plantagenet.

Fulk, over the years, became curious, and one Saturday evening he intruded upon her bathing. In the tub was his wife, with the lower body of a fish (others say serpent). Angered and mortified; Melusine fled and departed– never to be seen in Fulk’s court again.

Some say in the next century or so, she was in the court of Raymond of Poitou, and/or became enmeshed into the House of Lusignan– both later rulers and Kings of the Holy Land. Interestingly enough, her descendant Richard I, would later marry Raymond’s niece, Eleanor of Aquitaine. (But it gets even more interesting!)

It is said she fled again after one of those men made her sit in mass. And as a Undine, she was would be no better than a demon in consecrated place. (I think it’s rather dubious, but that’s the story!)

After that it is said int the 13th century she was part of the House of Luxemborg– the ancestress of one Jacquetta of Luxemborg. For those who know their history, she was the mother of Elizabeth Woodville– who married the Plantagenet Edward IV. Meaning those descended from the two are related to Melusine twice over.

History lesson aside, this toke was said to be left by Melusine to her children of Fulk, passed through the ages. It is said to bear her protection. And while technically this should be among the crown jewels of what is today the united Kingdom– something tells me some noble gambled it off along the way, passing hands from traders and historians, all the way into my hands.

[royal-diaries-podcast]

GTFO with these bad history takes, male historians!

I was watching a documentary on Eleanor of Aquitaine but I stopped because the male narrator was like ‘Eleanor used her womanly charms to seduce the naive and pious king of France to protect her position at court.’

Dude, one, that pious king was her husband so really she just wanted him to do his husbandly duties but he preferred to spend time on his knees praying (legit her words not mine)

Two, Eleanor inherited Aquitaine which was one of the richest provinces in France at the time so I honestly think that the king wasn’t so naive when he decided to marry her.

Stop reducing Eleanor and other women in history to simply the role of seductress.

They were WAY more than that and they deserve to be remembered for more than just simply who they took their beds.

[pancreasnostalgia]

Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, by Kristiana Gregory. I remember reading this book in middle school and being grateful that I did not live in the Medieval period. That feeling remains. This diary is not for the squeamish.

I find it interesting how it’s easy to like Eleanor in the story but in the epilogue, I quickly lost sympathy for her.

Goodreads star rating: 4/5

[nanshe-of-nina]

Which fictional Eleanor of Aquitaine from novels is the best, the one who is more accurate to the historical Eleanor? Penman, Koninsburg, Plaidy, Weir, Chadwick, Kaufman... Which do you think are closer to reality, and why? And whic ones are the worst, or the least similar to the real Eleanor?

Captive Queen by Alison Weir. Really terrible and I'm not saying that just because I can't stand Alison Weir. Her characterization of Eleanor is straight out of the view of medieval chroniclers and 18th century antiquarians, where women are always motivated by envy, lust, or infatuation. Still, at least it's not her Anne Boleyn novel where about half the male cast are serial rapists and George Boleyn poisons Catherine of Aragon.

Eleanor of Aquitaine and Queen of Love by Christopher Nicole. Worth reading for a laugh, because where else can you find published books that pair Eleanor with Empress Mathilde and Rosamund de Clifford? She also gets it on with her father's knights, Byzantine bath maids, her uncle Raymond, Saladin (who is 12), Geoffrey of Anjou, Bernard de Ventadour, William Marshal, and Blondel de Nesle and gives sex ed lessons to her future daughter-in-law, Berengela of Navarre. Nicole has written several other novels about medieval queens (including Marguerite of Anjou, Jeanne I of Naples, and Tamar of Georgia) and all the men, women, and boys they have sex with and they're all just as ridiculous.

Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine by Kristiana Gregory. Pretty good for a novel aimed at children, even though no one in the Middle Ages would have kept a diary. It's about the young Eleanor, so it ends shortly after her marriage, but it's interesting to read a look at the young Eleanor's life.

A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E.L. Konigsburg. Another novel aimed at children, but it's still quite good despite that. It has the Amazon Queen and Courts of Love stories presented as fact, but it was published in 1977, so it's hard to dock on it on that. The conceit of the story of Eleanor's life being told Rashomon style (from the pov of Abbot Suger, her mother-in-law, and William Marshal) is both unique and fascinating.

The Summer Queen and The Winter Crown by Elizabeth Chadwick. I really enjoyed these. Chadwick has done her research, but is willing to admit when she's had to make things up, because the historical record is so patchy. (For instance, it's not known when Eleanor was born and there are no detailed contemporary descriptions of her physical appearance.)

It's obvious that her interpretation of Eleanor's personality and actions has been formed by reading academic histories and she presents Eleanor as someone who wants to be a political partner to her husband, but can't find that with either Louis or Henry. There's a third novel in this trilogy, but I haven't read it yet, because my library didn't have it when I quickly devoured the first two back around 2016 or 2017.

Sharon Kay Penman. I haven't read any of her Plantagenet novels yet, but there on my to-read list.

Jean Plaidy. Again, I haven't read any of these, though I think some of her novels about the Tudors as a teenager and liked them.

[royal-diaries-podcast]

The Eleanor of Aquitaine vase

A rock crystal vase that probably originated in the seventh century was given to Duke William IX of Aquitaine (the Troubadour) by a Muslim ally (probably Abd al-Malik Imad ad-Dawla). When Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, William IX's granddaughter, married King Louis VII of France in 1137, she gave him the rock crystal vase as a wedding present.  The inscription on it says he, in turn, gave it to the Abbey of St.-Denis.  It is now in the Louvre in Paris and is the only artifact of Eleanor's known to exist today.

[myhikari21things]

Read of Eleanor Crown Jewel of Aquitaine by Kristiana Gregory (2002) (180pgs)

[violetcancerian]

John I, King of England

John grew up to be around 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) tall, relatively short, with a "powerful, barrel-chested body" and dark red hair; he looked to contemporaries like an inhabitant of Poitou. John enjoyed reading and, unusually for the period, built up a travelling library of books. He enjoyed gambling, in particular at backgammon, and was an enthusiastic hunter, even by medieval standards. He liked music, although not songs. John would become a "connoisseur of jewels", building up a large collection, and became famous for his opulent clothes and also, according to French chroniclers, for his fondness for bad wine. As John grew up, he became known for sometimes being "genial, witty, generous and hospitable"; at other moments, he could be jealous, over-sensitive and prone to fits of rage, "biting and gnawing his fingers" in anger. X

When John, the last child of the great Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine was born on Christmas Eve, 1167 at Beaumont Palace in Oxfordshire, his father jokingly nick-named him Sans Terre or Lackland, as there was no land left to give him. It seems ironic then, that John Lackland was eventually to inherit the entire Angevin Empire.

A born cynic, with a puckish sense of humour, feckless, treacherous and entirely without scruple, he was possessed of some of the restless energy of his father and was prone to the same violent rages but unlike his father, John was unstable and cruel and a thoroughly flawed character. His deep distrust of others sometimes verged on paranoia. After eight hundred years, John remains the maverick of the House of Plantagenet. X

Anyone who has been around my blog knows I have a love-hate relationship with John, and I have to say...he's probably amongst my favorite of the Plantagenets. I chose to draw him here with his scheemy little look and smile, not to mention a bit young as he is the "baby" of the bunch and Henry's favorite. AND THE PLANTAGENET RED HAIR. MY GODS--THE RED HAIR GENE IS STRONG.

The faded crown was drawn on purpose because of course, being the youngest and the Lackland, no one really thought he'd become king of England.

Please do not steal

[mariacallous]

Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544 by Kathryn Lasky (1999) Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile, Egypt, 57 B.C. by Kristiana Gregory (1999)[1] Isabel: Jewel of Castilla, Spain, 1466 by Carolyn Meyer (2000) Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles, Austria-France 1769 by Kathryn Lasky (2000) Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914 by Carolyn Meyer (2000) Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba, Angola, Africa, 1595 by Patricia McKissack (2000)[2] Kaiulani: The People's Princess, Hawaii, 1889 by Ellen Emerson White (2001) Lady of Ch'iao Kuo: Warrior of the South, Southern China, 531 A.D. by Laurence Yep (2001) Victoria: May Blossom of Britannia, England, 1829 by Anna Kirwan (2001) Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country, France, 1553 by Kathryn Lasky (2002)[3] Sŏndŏk: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, 595 A.D. by Sheri Holman (2002) Jahanara: Princess of Princesses, India, 1627 by Kathryn Lasky (2002) Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, France, 1136 by Kristiana Gregory (2002) Elisabeth: The Princess Bride, Austria-Hungary, 1853 by Barry Denenberg (2003) Kristina: The Girl King, Sweden, 1638 by Carolyn Meyer (2003) Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocassets, Massachusetts-Rhode Island, 1653 by Patricia Clark Smith (2003) Lady of Palenque: Flower of Bacal, Mesoamerica, A.D. 749 by Anna Kirwan (2004) Kazunomiya: Prisoner of Heaven, Japan, 1858 by Kathryn Lasky (2004) Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 by Edwidge Danticat (2005) Catherine: The Great Journey, Russia, 1743 by Kristiana Gregory (2005)

The bolded ones are all the ones I remember reading/owning (whether from the library or on one of my regular walks/bike rides to Barnes and Noble)

[inky-duchess]

Court Archetypes: The Dynasty

Royal families are just one big chain of flaws and strengths. All dynasties have their issues. When writing your royal and noble families in your fantasy works, it is best to study some archetypical royal families.

The Wealthy

Some dynasties keep their power by money, splashing the cash in ways their counterparts cannot.

The Medici: The Medici began as simple bankers. Through the years they rose through the ranks, from merchant class to obtaining power in the Florence government and then becoming one of the most powerful families in Italy, perhaps Europe. The Medici remained at the forefront of all arts and finance, as well as intrigue. They were the richest banking family, backing other dynasties and kingdoms in their ventures.

House of Romanov: The Romanovs were a relatively unknown noble family until the reign of Ivan the Terrible. When Ivan died without an heir, the nobles of Russia chose young Michael Romanov to be the new king. The Romanovs were autocrats, building a vast empire on the backs of serfs and their expansive powers. Some Romanovs were brilliant (Catherine the Great, Peter the Great, Alexander II, Elizabeth I, Alexander I) and some less so (Nicholas I, Nicholas II, Peter III, Paul I). But all were fucking loaded. The Romanovs were the richest royal family for many generations. Their palaces were the grandest and their jewels were to die for. The Romanovs came to a violent end in the Russian Revolution, for a list of reasons but chief among them being the extravagant and lavish lifestyle they had lived while Russia suffered.

The Treacherous

You can choose friends but not your family. Some families backstab each other so much its a wonder their arms don't present as a bloody dagger.

Ptolemy: The House of Ptolemy was founded by the Macedonian general Ptolemy, friend and some say half brother to Alexander the Great. When Alexander died, his generals divided up the empire. Ptolemy was granted Egypt. The Ptolemys wed one another for centuries, uncle to niece, sister to brother, daughter to father. The Ptolemys were a treacherous bunch. They betrayed one another for the crown, murdered family members. Just look at the last four monarchs of the dynasty. Blood, incest, betrayal, fratricide, suicide, battles, beheadings. It's Game of Thrones on acid.

House Of York: The House Of York ruled over England for 25 years. Edward IV had two brothers, George and Richard. They had a cousin called Warwick, the Kingmaker. Edward married a woman not of Warwick's liking. Warwick deposed Edward, marrying his daughter to George. When the nobles refused to make George king, Edward regained the throne. In a second effort, Warwick and George crossed over to the enemy House of Lancaster. Warwick wed his daughter to the Prince Edward of Westminster. George betrayed Warwick and went back to his brothers, leaving Warwick to die on the battlefield. George was constantly betraying Edward, even hiring a wiseman to predict Edward's death. George was drowned in a vat of wine. Edward died a few years later and Richard became protector of the kingdom, Regent for the young princes. He seized the throne for himself, disobeying his brother's last wishes.

Julio-Claudian Dynasty: To say the Julio-Claudians were treacherous would be an understatement. The Roman Emperors were volatile. Even the wise Augustus is no exception, having exiled his owned daughter because she was promiscuous. His adopted son Tiberius may have poisoned him as well as the much loved . Tiberius then imprisoned Germanicus's wife and let her starve to death. He then murdered all but one of the sons of Germanicus. Tiberius then adopted the boy, Caligula. Caligula then may have had Tiberius smothered. Caligula then had the other nephew of Tiberius killed. Caligula was killed by his guards and his uncle Claudius became Emperor. Claudius then named his stepson Nero as heir after his son Britannicus was poisoned possibly by Nero or his mother, Agrippina. Claudius was then poisoned and Nero ascended the throne. Nero chafed at his Mother's influence had tried to kill her by sinking her ship. When she crawled ashore, a guard was sent to kill her. Nero was driven to suicide.

The Unhappy Family

Some royal dynasties are nothing more than unhappy families. Whether it be strained relationships between parents and children or between siblings, some families do not get along.

Plantagenet: The Plantagenets were never a happy family. Begin at the start. Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine and they had five sons. Henry II fought with his sons over ceding over any control over the empire. The sons went to Henry's enemy for help in their rebellion. Eleanor rode to join them but was captured. She was held prisoner until Henry died. Later down the line we have Richard II who was a bit of a tyrant. He hated his nobles and made their life hell. He had one uncle killed and conspired against his cousins. While he was in Ireland, his cousin Henry Bolingbrook stole his throne (haha serves the dickhead right. Karma is a bitch dickie). Henry imprisoned Richard in a cell where he starved to death.

House Of Windsor: Was there ever a dynasty with such destructive tendancies as Windsor? First we have George V who argued with his son David. David loved an American divorcee named Wallis Simpson and was not exactly the model royal. When he ascended the throne as Edward VIII, he gave it up to marry his love leaving his brother Albert or George VI to be king. George died after the strains of WWII and the remainder of the royal family blamed David for his death. Elizabeth II ascended the throne. Princess Margaret loved a palace aide and asked to marry him. The Church refused to allow the wedding to go ahead and allow Princess Margaret to keep her royal status. In the end, Margaret chose her royal status. She later went on to have an unhappy marriage with Anthony Armstrong-Jones. Elizabeth II's eldest son Charles loved an unsuitable woman, Camilla and was pressured into marrying a more appropriate bride, Diana. The marriage was terrible and they divorced. The cycle of unhappy marriages and family relations still play out before us even today.

House Of Hanover: The House Of Hanover never got on. George I imprisoned his wife for infidelity and fought with his son because he was more popular and stole his children. George II fought with his son and daughter in lawn. George III went mad and had to suffer his sons. George IV shagged and ate his way through the kingdom as Regent, before becoming king at sixty. His daughter died, the last legitimate heir. His brothers married to sire an heir, only producing one, Victoria. Victoria fought with her son, blaming him for her husband's death. The Hanoverians had issues.

The Incestuous & Problematic

These are the houses that have serious issues. As opposed to the last heading, these families love each other a little too much.

House Of Hapsburg: The Hapsburgs didn't begin as incestuous. As their empire began to stretch across Europe covering most of the German and Austrian states as well as Spain, they began to wed the two branches of the House together, the Austrian and the Spanish. These uncle-niece and first cousin-first cousin marriages resulted in deformity. Children born of these incestuous matches were stricken with the infamous jaw deformity, the Hapsburg jaw which made the lower half of the mouth stick out.

House Of Borgia: The Borgias may or may not have had an incestuous relationship between two of its scions, Lucrezia and Cesere. It was rumoured that the brother and sister pair were sleeping together and even more ludicrously rumoured that Lucrezia was banging her own father Pope Alexander VI. It was likely just slander. The Borgias were infamous for their affairs with poisons. Lucrezia alone was rumoured to carry the famous poison Canterella in a ring on her finger, being able to poison any unsuspecting victim. Cesere is rumoured to have killed his younger brother Juan or at least had him killed. The Borgias were a powerhungry and driven bunch, so all these rumours stuck like glue.

[hilarymcelwaine]

Day 51 - King John, family traitor

King John, king of England from 1199 until 1216 finds himself amongst the traitors frozen in Lake Cocytus.

The family was constantly conspiring against each other so John, his brother Richard and their father Henry II are depicted at each other’s throats albeit stiffened into immobility by ice.

John was the 4th son of Henry II and Eleanor or Aquitaine. He succeeded his brother, Richard I, who was nicknamed Richard the Lionheart.

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John’s family life was fraught with disputes over power and land. Henry favoured his youngest son, John, and the three brothers disputed Henry’s intention to split his lands across France and Britain equally between them. When the eldest son, Henry, died Richard became heir, but the sons continued to oppose their father up until his death in 1189.

While King Richard was away fighting in the Third Crusade, John tried to win over the people of London by promising them self-rule, if they recognised him as heir apparent.

Richard had some success in the Holy Land but Jerusalem evaded him. On his return from the crusades, Richard was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria. Leopold had suspected Richard of murdering his cousin, King of Jerusalem, as a route in for the English to command authority in that region. Richard was handed over to Leopold’s ally, Henry VI, the Holy Roman Emperor who demanded a ransom for his release. Jealousies were at play as John sided with his father’s enemy, Philip II of France, and tried to keep Richard imprisoned and away from England.

Henry II’s wife, Eleanor, paid the ransom by pawning the crown jewels. John’s route to the throne was clear in that his older brother, Geoffrey, had died during Richard’s reign, but it was threatened by Geoffrey’s son, Arthur, whose claim to the throne should have come ahead of his own.

Arthur’s death remains a mystery, but suspicion falls on John who had the biggest motive to eliminate him.