#adelaide of maurienne

[wonder-worker]

A central element of the myth of [Eleanor of Aquitaine] is that of her exceptionalism. Historians and Eleanor biographers have tended to take literally Richard of Devizes’s conventional panegyric of her as ‘an incomparable woman’ [and] a woman out of her time. […] Amazement at Eleanor’s power and independence is born from a presentism that assumes generally that the Middle Ages were a backward age, and specifically that medieval women were all downtrodden and marginalized. Eleanor’s career can, from such a perspective, only be explained by assuming that she was an exception who rose by sheer force of personality above the restrictions placed upon twelfth-century women.

-Michael R. Evans, Inventing Eleanor: The Medieval and Post-Medieval Image of Eleanor of Aquitaine

"...The idea of Eleanor’s exceptionalism rests on an assumption that women of her age were powerless. On the contrary, in Western Europe before the twelfth century there were ‘no really effective barriers to the capacity of women to exercise power; they appear as military leaders, judges, castellans, controllers of property’. […] In an important article published in 1992, Jane Martindale sought to locate Eleanor in context, stripping away much of the conjecture that had grown up around her, and returning to primary sources, including her charters. Martindale also demonstrated how Eleanor was not out of the ordinary for a twelfth-century queen either in the extent of her power or in the criticisms levelled against her.

If we look at Eleanor’s predecessors as Anglo-Norman queens of England, we find many examples of women wielding political power. Matilda of Flanders (wife of William the Conqueror) acted as regent in Normandy during his frequent absences in England following the Conquest, and [the first wife of Henry I, Matilda of Scotland, played some role in governing England during her husband's absences], while during the civil war of Stephen’s reign Matilda of Boulogne led the fight for a time on behalf of her royal husband, who had been captured by the forces of the empress. And if we wish to seek a rebel woman, we need look no further than Juliana, illegitimate daughter of Henry I, who attempted to assassinate him with a crossbow, or Adèle of Champagne, the third wife of Louis VII, who ‘[a]t the moment when Henry II held Eleanor of Aquitaine in jail for her revolt … led a revolt with her brothers against her son, Philip II'.

Eleanor is, therefore, less the exception than the rule – albeit an extreme example of that rule. This can be illustrated by comparing her with a twelfth century woman who has attracted less literary and historical attention. Adela of Blois died in 1137, the year of Eleanor’s marriage to Louis VII. […] The chronicle and charter evidence reveals Adela to have ‘legitimately exercised the powers of comital lordship’ in the domains of Blois-Champagne, both in consort with her husband and alone during his absence on crusade and after his death. […] There was, however, nothing atypical about the nature of Adela’s power. In the words of her biographer Kimberley LoPrete, ‘while the extent of Adela’s powers and the political impact of her actions were exceptional for a woman of her day (and indeed for most men), the sources of her powers and the activities she engaged in were not fundamentally different from those of other women of lordly rank’. These words could equally apply to Eleanor; the extent of her power, as heiress to the richest lordship in France, wife of two kings and mother of two or three more, was remarkable, but the nature of her power was not exceptional. Other noble or royal women governed, arranged marriages and alliances, and were patrons of the church. Eleanor represents one end of a continuum, not an isolated outlier."

[palecleverdoll]

Ages of French Queens at First Marriage

I have only included women whose birth dates and dates of marriage are known within at least 1-2 years, therefore, this is not a comprehensive list.

This list is composed of Queens of France until the end of the House of Bourbon; it does not include Bourbon claimants or descendants after 1792.

The average age at first marriage among these women was 20.

Ermentrude of Orléans, first wife of Charles the Bald: age 19 when she married Charles in 842 CE

Richilde of Provence, second wife of Charles the Bald: age 25 when she married Charles in 870 CE

Richardis of Swabia, wife of Charles the Fat: age 22 when she married Charles in 862 CE

Théodrate of Troyes, wife of Odo: age 14 or 15 when she married Odo in 882 or 883 CE

Frederuna, wife of Charles III: age 20 when she married Charles in 907 CE

Beatrice of Vermandois, second wife of Robert I: age 10 when she married Robert in 990 CE

Emma of France, wife of Rudolph: age 27 when she married Rudolph in 921 CE

Gerberga of Saxony, wife of Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine, and later of Louis IV: age 16 when she married Gilbert in 929 CE

Emma of Italy, wife of Lothair: age 17 when she married Lothair in 965 CE

Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou, wife of Stephen, Viscount of Gévaudan, Raymond III, Count of Toulouse, and later Louis V: age 15 when she married Stephen in 955 CE

Bertha of Burgundy, wife of Odo I, Count of Blois, and later Robert II: age 19 when she married Odo in 984 CE

Constance of Arles, third wife of Robert II: age 17 when she married Robert in 1003 CE

Anne of Kiev, wife of Henry I: age 21 when she married Henry in 1051 CE

Bertha of Holland, first wife of Philip I: age 17 when she married Philip in 1072 CE

Bertrade of Montfort, wife of Fulk IV, Count of Anjou, and second wife of Philip I: age 19 when she married Fulk in 1089 CE

Adelaide of Maurienne, second wife of Louis VI: age 23 when she married Louis in 1115 CE

Eleanor of Aquitaine, first wife of Louis VII and later Henry II of England: age 15 when she married Louis in 1137 CE

Adela of Champagne, third wife of Louis VII: age 20 when she married Louis in `1160 CE

Isabella of Hainault, first wife of Philip II: age 10 when she married Philip in 1180 CE

Ingeborg of Denmark, second wife of Philip II: age 19 when she married Philip in 1193 CE

Agnes of Merania, third wife of Philip II: age 21 when she married Philip in 1195 CE

Blanche of Castile, wife of Louis VIII: age 12 when she married Louis in 1200 CE

Margaret of Provence, wife of Louis IX: age 13 when she married Louis in 1234 CE

Isabella of Aragon, first wife of Philip III: age 14 when she married Philip in 1262 CE

Marie of Brabant, second wife of Philip III: age 20 when she married Philip in 1274 CE

Joan I of Navarre, wife of Philip IV: age 11 when she married Philip in 1284 CE

Margaret of Burgundy, wife of Louis X; age 15 when she married Louis in 1305 CE

Clementia of Hungary, second wife of Louis X: age 22 when she married Louis in 1315 CE

Joan II, Countess of Burgundy, wife of Philip V: age 15 when she married Philip in 1307 CE

Blanche of Burgundy, first wife of Charles IV: age 12 when she married Charles in 1308 CE

Marie of Luxembourg, second wife of Charles IV: age 18 when she married Charles in 1322 CE

Joan of Évreux, third wife of Charles IV: age 14 when she married Charles in 1324 CE

Bonne of Luxembourg, first wife of John II: age 17 when she married John in 1332 CE

Joan I, Countess of Auvergne, wife of Philip of Burgundy, and later John II: age 12 when she married Philip in 1338 CE

Joanna of Bourbon, wife of Charles V: age 12 when she married Charles in 1350 CE

Isabeau of Bavaria, wife of Charles VI: age 15 when she married Charles in 1385 CE

Marie of Anjou, wife of Charles VII: age 18 when she married Charles in 1422 CE

Charlotte of Savoy, second wife of Louis XI: age 9 when she married Louis in 1451 CE

Anne of Brittany, wife of Maximilian I, HRE, Charles VIII and later Louis XII: age 13 when she married Maximilian in 1490 CE

Joan of France, first wife of Louis XII: age 12 when she married Louis in 1476 CE

Mary Tudor, third wife of Louis XII: age 18 when she married Louis in 1514 CE

Claude of France, first wife of Francis I: age 15 when she married Francis in 1514 CE

Eleanor of Austria, wife of Manuel I of Portugal and later second wife of Francis I: age 20 when she married Manuel in 1518 CE

Catherine de' Medici, wife of Henry II: age 14 when she married Henry in 1533 CE

Mary, Queen of Scots, wife of Francis II: age 16 when she married Francis in 1558 CE

Elisabeth of Austria, wife of Charles IX: age 16 when she married Charles in 1570 CE

Louise of Lorraine, wife of Henry III: age 22 when she married Henry in 1575 CE

Margaret of Valois, first wife of Henry IV: age 19 when she married Henry in 1572 CE

Marie de' Medici, second wife of Henry IV: age 25 when she married Henry in 1600 CE

Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII: age 14 when she married Louis in 1615 CE

Maria Theresa of Spain, wife of Louis XIV: age 22 when she married Louis in 1660 CE

Marie Leszczyńska, wife of Louis XV: age 22 when she married Louis in 1725 CE

Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI: age 15 when she married Louis in 1770 CE

[winterhalters]

What was Eleanor of Aquitaine's real relationship with her mother-in-law Adelaide of Maurienne? Do you think writers and historians exaggerated their feud or perhaps there are hints in the records that make us think about a real rivalry?

Sources from people like Suger.... yeah. I'm not holding my breath on the truthfulness of those records. As usual Adélaïde and Eleanor's feud is mostly based on a whole lot of projection from historians and writers. I'm not saying it's not true or that it doesn't make sense, but hard evidence from this period isn't common and especially not when it comes to female sociability, which was hardly a point of focus until fifteen years ago. What it boils down to is: Adélaïde enjoyed a kind of power and precedence at court that were rather unmatched as a Queen consort, and Eleanor herself came to court as one of the richest (if not the richest) and prestigious (if not the most prestigious) heiresses in Europe, and a ruling duchess herself. Clashes regarding matters of precedence and seniority were expected (or should have been at any rate). Cultural shocks definitely should have been expected. Were they openly at war? Doubtful. Adélaïde was a seasoned politician and royal advisor and Eleanor was about 16 when she married.

[histoireettralala]

"To all intents and purposes she may be counted among the kings of France"

The hour that struck the death of Louis VIII was arguably the most critical in the history of the Capetian family. The new king, one day to be St Louis, was still a child. The trend of events in the previous two reigns had brought the higher nobility to realise that its independence would soon be seriously threatened. But a unique opportunity was raised to the regency of the queen-mother, Blanche of Castile, on the pretext that she was a woman and a foreigner. Yet this was not the first occasion on which the king's widow had acted as regent, nor the first on which a queen had played a part in politics. Philip Augustus had been the first Capetian not to involve his wife in the government of his realm. Before his time the queens of France had often intervened in affairs of state. Constance of Arles, not content with making married life difficult for Robert the Pious, had wanted to change the order of succession to the throne. She had led the opposition to Henri I, provoking and upholding his brothers against him, and she was perhaps responsible for the separation of Burgundy from the royal domain, to which Robert the Pious had joined it. Anna of Kiev, after the death of her husband Henri I, had been one of the regents, and it was only her second marriage, to Raoul de Crépy, that took her out of politics. Bertrada de Montfort's influence over Philip I had been notorious, and so had her hostility to the heir to the throne, whom she had even been accused of trying to poison. Adelaide of Maurienne, despite a physical personality before which Count Baldwin III of Hainault is said to have recoiled, had held considerable sway over Louis VI, procuring the disgrace of the chancellor, Etienne de Garlande, and egging on Louis to the Flemish adventure from which her brother-in-law, William Clito, was to profit so much. Eleanor of Aquitaine- as St Bernard had complained- had more power than anyone else over Louis VII as long as their marriage lasted. Louis VII's third wife, Adela of Champagne, had appealed to the king of England for help against her son Philip Augustus when he had sought to free himself of the tutelage of her brothers of Champagne. Later, reconciled with Philip, Adela had been regent during his absence from France on crusade. From the beginnings of Capet rule, the queens of France had enjoyed substantial influence over their husbands and over royal policy.

But Blanche of Castile was to play a greater role than any of her predecessors. To all intents and purposes she may be counted among the kings of France. For from 1226 until her death in 1252 she governed the kingdom. Twice she was regent: from 1226 to 1234, while Louis IX was a minor, and from 1248 to 1252 during his first absence on crusade. Between 1234 and 1248 Blanche bore no official title, but her power was no less effective. Severe in personality, heroic in stature, this Spanish princess took control of the fortunes of the dynasty and the kingdom in outstandingly difficult circumstances. For in 1226 there arose the most redoubtable coalition of great barons which the House of Capet ever had to face. Loyalty to the crown, so constant a feature of the past, seemed to be in eclipse. This was at any rate true of the barons who revolted, for they appear to have tried to seize the person of the young king himself- an attempt without parallel in Capetian history.

Blanche of Castile threw herself energetically into the struggle over her son and his throne. Taking her father-in-law, Philip Augustus, as her model, she won over half her enemies by craft, vigorously gave battle to the rest, and enlisted the alliance of the Church, including the Pope himself, and of the burgess class, which in marked fashion took the side of the royal family. Blanche was able to fend off Henry III of England, who tried to take the opportunity of recovering his ancestral lands, lost by John to Philip Augustus. She broke up the baronial coalition and reduced to submission the most dangerous of the rebels, Peter Mauclerc, Count of Brittany, and Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse. She adroitly took advantage of her victory to re-establish- this time definitively- the royal power in the south of France: her son Alphonse was married to the daughter and heiress of Raymond of Toulouse. The way was now open for the union of all Raymond's rich patrimony with the royal domain.

The Capetian monarchy emerged all the stronger from a crisis which had threatened to overwhelm it. Blanche felt it her duty not to rest on her laurels. After her son came of age she continued to make herself responsible for good and stable government. By the force of her example she drove home the lessons which Philip Augustus seems to have wanted to press upon his grandson when they had talked together. To Blanche's initiative must be credited the measures taken to suppress the dangerous revolt of Trencavel in Languedoc, as also those taken to defeat the coalition broken up after the battle of Saintes. On these occasions Louis IX did no more than carry out his mother's policy. When he went off on crusade, Blanche one more officially shouldered the government of the kingdom. She maintained law and order, prevented the further outbreak of war with England, and successfully pressed on with the policy which was to lead to the annexation of Languedoc. Likewise it was she who refurnished her son's crusade with men and money, and she took all the steps necessary for the safety of the kingdom when Louis was captured in Egypt.

Robert Fawtier- The Capetian Kings of France- Monarchy and Nation (987-1328)

[ladyniniane]

Powerful queens

“There was a time (between the tenth and twelfth centuries) when the king’s wife acted as a consors regni alongside him, having been delegated a share of real power. During the tenth century, for example, the Queen of West Francia played a real role in diplomacy, as proven by a letter that King Hugh Capet addressed in 988 to Empress Theophano, Emperor Otto’s widow and regent of the empire in her son’s name. In it, he announced that ‘Queen Adelaide [his wife] co-bearer of the royalty with which we have associated her’ would meet with the empress in order to strengthen the pact of friendship that had been concluded between them. Here, the female sovereign appears as a consors regni (even though she did not officially hold the title), associated with the throne and capable of representing her husband in the outside world when wielding public power.

Royal charters equally attest to the Capetian queens’ participation in public affairs. They underwrote numerous acts by their spouses and sons, with 40 royal and seigneurial charters bearing their names between the mid-tenth century and the early twelfth century. On numerous occasions, they gave their consent to royal provisions (approximately 65 times during the same period). As a member of the curia regis, the female sovereign took part in governmental decisions. She was also present during important monarchical ceremonies, assemblies, the crowning of the dauphin and receptions for foreign dignitaries.

During the twelfth century, the reign of Adelaide of Maurienne (wife of Louis VI, d. 1155) and the reign of Adela of Champagne (third wife of Louis VII, d. 1206) in many ways represented the apex of this participation. Adelaide was the only queen for whom the years of her reign were mentioned in the royal diplomas after that of her husband. In total, her name appeared 45 times in the royal charters, attesting to her participation in the kingdom’s affairs. It was notably recorded alongside that of Louis VI on charters guaranteeing churches and monasteries royal protection as well as on acts granting privileges to certain urban communes. Adelaide was also the first female sovereign to issue a large number of acts in her own name, which she stamped with a large diplomatic seal. Adela of Champagne’s reign was equally exceptional. From 1163-1164 and after the death of Louis VII (1180), she granted 110 acts, all of which were passed in her own name.”

Queenship in medieval france 1300-1500, Murielle Gaude-Ferragu

[historygoodies]

Team Adelaide of Maurienne badge

Team Adelaide of Maurienne 6 Cm Round Badge

by CreativeHistory

[catherinesboleyn]

Every Queen of France Ever

Other posts in this series: Every Queen of England ever, Every English Princess ever

Richilde of Provence - Queen consort of West Francia from 870 to 877 (wife of Charles the Bald)

Adelaide of Paris - Queen consort of West Francia from October 6th 877 to April 10th 879 (wife of Louis the Stammerer)

Richardis of Swabia - Queen consort of West Francis from 884 to 887 (wife of Charles the Fat)

Richardis of Swabia - Queen consort of West Francis from 884 to 887 (wife of Charles the Fat)

Théodrate of Troyes - Queen consort of West Francia from 888 to 898 (wife of Odo of France)

Frederuna - Queen consort of West Francia from 907 to 917 (wife of Charles the Simple)

Eadgifu of Wessex - Queen consort of West Francia from 919 to 922 (wife of Charles the Simple)

Beatrice of Vermandois - Queen consort of West Francia from 922 to 923 (wife of Robert I)

Emma of France - Queen consort of West Francia from 923 to 935 (wife of Rudolph of France)

Gerberga of Saxony - Queen consort of West Francia from 939 to 954 (wife of Louis IV)

Emma of Italy - Queen consort of West Francia from 965 to 986 (wife of Lothair of France)

Adelaide of Aquitaine - Queen consort of the Franks from 987 to 996 (wife of Hugh Capet)

Rozala of Italy - Queen consort of the Franks from 996 to 996 (wife of Robert II)

Bertha of Burgundy - Queen consort of the Franks from 996 to 1000 (wife of Robert II)

Constance of Arles - Queen consort of the Franks from 1001 to 1031 (wife of Robert II)

Matilda of Frisia - Queen consort of the Franks from 1034 to 1044 (wife of Henry I)

Anne of Kiev - Queen consort of the Franks from May 19th 1051 to August 4th 1060 (wife of Henry I)

Bertha of Holland - Queen consort of the Franks from 1072 to 1092 (wife of Philip I)

Bertrade de Montfort - Queen consort of the Franks from May 15th 1092 to July 29th 1108 (wife of Philip I)

Adelaide of Maurienne - Queen consort of the Franks from 1115 to August 1st 1137 (wife of Louis VI)

Eleanor of Aquitaine - Queen consort of the Franks from August 1st 1137 to March 21st 1152 (wife of Louis VII)

Constance of Castile - Queen consort of the Franks from 1154 to October 4th 1160 (wife of Louis VII)

Adela of Champagne - Queen consort of the Franks from November 13th 1160 to September 18th 1180 (wife of Louis VII)

Isabella of Hainault - Queen consort of France from April 28th 1180 to March 15th 1190 (wife of Philip II)

Ingeborg of Denmark - Queen consort of France from August 15th 1193 to November 5th 1193 (wife of Philip II

Agnes of Merania - Queen consort of France from 1196 to 1200 (wife of Philip II)

Ingeborg of Denmark - Queen consort of France from 1200 to July 14th 1223 (wife of Philip II)

Blanche of Castile - Queen consort of France from July 14th 1223 to November 1226 (wife of Louis VIII)

Margaret of Provence - Queen consort of France from May 27th 1234 to August 25th 1270 (wife of Louis IX)

Isabella of Aragon - Queen consort of France from August 25th 1270 to January 28th 1271 (wife of Philip III)

Marie of Brabant - Queen consort of France from August 21st 1274 to October 5th 1285 (wife of Philip III)

Joan I of Navarre - Queen consort of France from October 5th 1285 to April 2nd 1305 (wife of Philip IV)

Margaret of Burgundy - Queen consort of France from 1314 to 1315 (wife of Louis X)

Clementia of Hungary - Queen consort of France from August 19th 1315 to June 5th 1316 (wife of Louis X)

Joan II of Burgundy - Queen consort of France from 1316 to 1322 (wife of Philip V)

Blanche of Burgundy - Queen consort of France from January 3rd 1322 to May 19th 1322 (wife of Charles IV)

Marie of Luxembourg - Queen consort of France from September 21st 1322 to March 26th 1324 (wife of Charles IV)

Joan of Évreux - Queen consort of France from July 5th 1324 to February 1st 1328 (wife of Charles IV)

Joan of Burgundy - Queen consort of France from April 1st 1328 to December 12th 1349 (wife of Philip VI)

Blanche of Navarre - Queen consort of France from January 29th 1350 to August 22nd 1350 (wife of Philip VI)

Joan I of Auvergne - Queen consort of France from 1350 to 1360 (wife of John II)

Joanna of Bourbon - Queen consort of France from April 8th 1364 to February 6th 1378 (wife of Charles V)

Isabeau of Bavaria - Queen consort of France from July 17th 1385 to October 21st 1422 (wife of Charles VI)

Marie of Anjou - Queen consort of France from December 18th 1422 to July 14th 1461 (wife of Charles VII)

Charlotte of Savoy - Queen consort of France from July 22nd 1461 to August 30th 1483 (wife of Louis XI)

Anne of Brittany - Queen consort of France from December 6th 1491 to April 7th 1498 (wife of Charles VIII)

Joan of France - Queen consort of France from April 1498 to December 15th 1498 (wife of Louis XII)

Anne of Brittany - Queen consort of France from January 8th 1499 to January 9th 1515 (wife of Louis XII)

Mary Tudor - Queen consort of France from October 9th 1514 to January 1st 1515 (wife of Louis XII)

Claude of France - Queen consort of France from January 1st 1515 to July 20th 1524 (wife of Francis I)

Eleanor of Austria - Queen consort of France from July 4th 1530 to March 31st 1547 (wife of Francis I)

Catherine de' Medici - Queen consort of France from March 31st 1547 to July 10th 1559 (wife of Henry II)

Mary Stuart - Queen consort of France from July 10th 1559 to December 5th 1560 (wife of Francis II)

Elisabeth of Austria - Queen consort of France from November 26th 1570 um May 30th 1574 (wife of Charles IX)

Louise of Lorraine - Queen consort of France from February 15th 1575 to August 2nd 1589 (wife of Henry III)

Margaret of Valois - Queen consort of France from August 2nd 1589 to 1599 (wife of Henry IV)

Marie de' Medici - Queen consort of France from December 17th 1600 to May 14th 1610 (wife of Henry IV)

Anne of Austria - Queen consort of France from November 24th 1615 to May 14th 1643 (wife of Louis XIII)

Maria Theresa of Spain - Queen consort of France from June 9th 1660 to July 30th 1683 (wife of Louis XIV)

Marie Leszczyńska - Queen consort of France from September 4th 1725 to June 24th 1768 (wife of Louis XV)

Marie Antoinette - Queen consort of France from May 10th 1774 to September 21st 1792 (wife of Louis XVI)

Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily - Queen consort of the French from August 9th 1830 to February 24th 1848 (wife of Louis Philippe I)

[dwellordream]

“...In one way, the marriage of Eleanor and Louis was unusual, for he was also a teenager (born c.1120–23) and little older than his bride. In numerous aristocratic marriages, the bride was much younger than her spouse; it was not uncommon for teenaged noble maidens to be married to men in their thirties or older. The couple’s similar ages likely gave Eleanor higher expectations that their marriage had more likelihood of turning into a true love match than other aristocratic marriages with great age disparities. No doubt, their similar ages also led Eleanor to assume that their marriage would be a true partnership; and she would feel more free to express her opinions to her young husband and to persuade him to accept her ideas than if he had been a mature, experienced man. 

In several ways, however, the bride and groom were mismatched. Louis the Younger, apparently a good-looking youth with shoulder-length hair, was quiet, serious, and exceedingly devout. The second son of Louis VI and Adelaide of Maurienne, his upbringing had aimed at preparing him for an ecclesiastical career with studies at the school attached to Notre-Dame Cathedral on the Île de la Cité in Paris not far from the royal palace. Louis’s elder brother Philip, heir to the throne, was killed when he was thrown to the ground and crushed by his falling horse after it “stumbled over a diabolical pig” in the road. This unexpectedly elevated Louis to the position of heir to the French throne. 

The boy left Notre-Dame’s cloisters at about age ten to be crowned king in accordance with the custom established by the second Capetian king of installing the current monarch’s heir in his own lifetime to ensure a smooth succession. Twelve days after his brother’s death, Louis’s consecration as king took place at Reims Cathedral in October 1131 in the presence of a great council of prelates presided over by the pope. Louis VII apparently returned to his religious studies after his coronation, and his clerical education would make a powerful impression on him throughout his life, imprinting on him simple tastes in dress and manners and an earnest piety. 

His Capetian predecessors had sought to present themselves as models of Christian kingship, stressing their close relations with the Church as compensation for their modest military power. Louis’s reputation for piety and spirituality surpassed that of earlier French monarchs, however. As one contemporary wrote, “He was so pious, so just, so catholic and benign, that if you were to see his simplicity of behaviour and dress, you would think . . . that he was not a king, but a man of religion.”

Young Louis thought of kingship as a religious vocation, and he felt called to govern according to Christian principles. In his first years as king, his confidence that he was God’s agent as French monarch gave him an unrealistic notion of his power, and he tended to over-reach, pursuing excessively ambitious political goals. In his youthful enthusiasm, he often displayed an inclination toward rash decisions taken in anger and without reflection. Yet he sometimes seemed sluggish and unenthusiastic for his task of governing, partly due to a distaste for political intrigue, and partly due to a lack of perseverance, his ardor rapidly cooling and giving way to periods of indecision and inactivity. 

Although he held a very high view of the monarchical office, he could be timid, and he allowed himself to fall under the influence of members of his entourage. Most prominent among those seeking to influence this impressionable youth was his young wife Eleanor, and he readily allowed her to take part in political decision-making. Such a mild husband as Louis VII was unlikely to find happiness with a wife such as Eleanor of Aquitaine. His young bride had already seen more of life than his sheltered upbringing had allowed him. A girl brought up at a sophisticated and lively court where no more than conventional piety was observed and whose own grandfather had lived openly for years with his paramour would find the Capetian royal court’s piety and repression confining. 

If Eleanor had been too young to remember life at William the Troubadour’s court, she grew up surrounded by people who had tasted its pleasures willing to tell her about it. Looking back on her earliest childhood while in Paris “through the prism of her imagination,” she could only compare the austere Capetian royal court unfavorably with an idealized image of her grandfather’s court. A widely quoted quip ascribed to Eleanor that she felt that she “had married a monk, not a king,” while hardly an authentic quotation, captures the feeling that she surely came to hold for Louis.

Although his clerical education had not prepared him for a fulfilling marital relationship, Eleanor’s beauty and charm captivated him at once and soon he fell deeply in love with her. Indeed, some observers of the couple’s marriage described the king’s love for his wife as “almost childish” and passionate beyond reason. The intensity of Louis’s love for his bride may have made him an anxious husband, easily roused to jealousy. Despite evidence of Louis’s attraction to his bride, the Church’s notoriously misogynist view of women and teachings of the early Fathers had ill-equipped him for the robust sexual relationship that Eleanor expected. Louis, brought up in a clerical environment, was prudish and repressed in a way that the queen could not understand.

…The royal bridegroom and his entourage reached Limoges on 1 July 1137, and after stopping there for prayers at the shrine of Saint Martial, Louis and his party arrived at Bordeaux on 11 July. They raised tents and camped on the banks of the Garonne river across from the city, where they waited for boats to cross the wide waters. The entry into Bordeaux of Louis the Younger, crowned king six years earlier, marked the first French monarch’s visit there in three centuries. The wedding took place on 25 July in the cathedral of Saint André, constructed around the end of the eleventh century. Today only its surprisingly plain façade survives from Eleanor’s time.

In full summer heat, a great throng of nobles of all ranks came from throughout Eleanor’s lands to witness the couple’s exchange of vows. As part of the ceremony, Louis had his bride “crowned with the diadem of the kingdom.” To commemorate the occasion, young Louis had brought along lavish gifts for his bride that a chronicler asserted would have required the mouth of a Cicero or the memory of a Seneca to expose their richness and variety. Usually aristocratic marriages were preceded by lengthy negotiations between the couple’s parents about financial arrangements. 

…In the case of young Eleanor, she was bringing to her husband a great duchy, and no other wedding gift was expected. No doubt she retained revenues from her ancestral estates in Poitou, and it seemed pointless to designate lands from the limited French royal domain as her dowerland. As the young couple set out on their journey to Paris, she offered her new husband another splendid present, however—a vase carved from rock crystal, one of her few possessions that survives today. The vase was a cherished possession, connecting her to her grandfather William IX, who had brought it back to Poitiers after an expedition to Spain.

Louis VI marked the marriage of his son and heir to Eleanor with grants of important privileges to the ecclesiastical province of Bordeaux, acting quickly to secure the support of the bishops in Aquitaine. Before Louis the Younger set out for Aquitaine, the king renounced any claim to rights of lordship over the dioceses of the province of Bordeaux, allowing them free episcopal elections. This concession ended the traditional ducal privilege of playing a part in the selection of bishops in the six dioceses of the province of Bordeaux.

…As soon as the wedding celebrations ended in the evening of 25 July, the newly-weds lost no time in beginning their journey toward Paris. Eleanor and Louis stopped to spend their first night together at Taillebourg, a formidable castle looming over the Charente river, where their host was its lord, Geoffrey de Rancon. The most powerful of lords in the Saintonge, Geoffrey held wide lands stretching from his castle of Taillebourg eastward to La Marche, to Poitou proper in the north, and southward into the Angoumois. He and his heirs would be important players in Poitevin politics throughout Eleanor’s lifetime. Whether the young couple consummated their marriage that first night at Taillebourg cannot be known, but royal retainers surely looked for evidence, since both the Church and popular opinion held no marriage to be an indissoluble union until it was consummated. 

By the beginning of August, the couple arrived at Poitiers, where a week later Suger organized a formal investiture of young Louis in the cathedral of Saint Pierre, a religious ceremony signaling the Church’s sanction for his ducal title. Young Louis, already crowned and anointed king of the French, did not adopt the titles “count of Poitou” or “duke of Gascony” on his marriage; instead, he had only the additional title “duke of Aquitaine” engraved on his seal. The title that he adopted implied that his bride’s duchy, though under Capetian administration, was not to be absorbed into the French Crown lands, but would preserve a separate identity with distinct institutions.

Barely after the ceremony had ended, a messenger arrived from Paris with the sad news that King Louis VI had died on 1 August, aged almost sixty. The intense summer heat demanded his immediate burial at the abbey of Saint Denis without waiting for the arrival of Louis the Younger and his bride from Poitou. Young Louis, already a crowned and anointed king on his father’s death, had to take on royal responsibilities at once, and the newly married Eleanor became a queen. Now King Louis VII, he had to leave his bride in the care of Bishop Geoffrey of Chartres to continue her progress toward Paris, while he led a force to subdue the rebel townspeople of Orléans, who had taken advantage of the old king’s death to proclaim their city a commune, taking rights of self-government for themselves.”

- Ralph V. Turner, “Bride to a King, Queen of the French, 1137–1145.” in Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France, Queen of England

[inky-duchess]

Adelaide of Maurienne Apparently had a ton of influence. And Eleonor of Aquitaine had wished she had that, but gender roles were being tightened by the church at Eleanor’s time, I read. I’d love to know anything you like to share about Adelaide of Maurienne, or any head cannons

Adelaide was definitely one of France's most politically influential Queens. She signed many charters and important documents alongside her husband which in itself was a real sign of power, which was not wielded by many of her contemporaries. I would guess that her interest in running the kingdom and her acumen was encouraged by her family, perhaps supported by her uncle the Pope.

[lukeskywaker4ever]

Mafalda de Saboia, Queen of Portugal (Wife of King Afonso I of Portugal)

Reign: January/June of 1146 – 4 of November of 1157 Sucessor: Dulce de Aragão

Mafalda of Savoy  (1125– 3 December 1157/58) was Queen of Portugal. after her marriage to King Afonso Henriques, the first sovereign of Portugal, whom she married in 1146. 

She was the second or third daughter of Amadeus III, Count of Savoy, Piedmont and Maurienne, and Mahaut of Albon (the sister of Guigues IV of Albon, "le Dauphin"). One of her aunts, Adelaide of Maurienne, was queen consort as the wife of King Louis VI of France, and one of her great-granduncles was Pope Callixtus II whose papacy lasted from 1119 until 1124, the year of his death.

Her father had participated in the Second Crusade and this could have been one of the reasons why she was chosen as the consort of Portugal's first monarch. Such an alliance would contribute to expelling the Moors from Portuguese territory and would also show the new King's independence by selecting a wife outside the sphere of influence of the Kingdom of León. It is also possible that he was not able to select one of the infantas from the neighboring Iberian kingdoms due to reasons of consanguinity. The wedding could have also been suggested by Guido de Vico, the papal representative in the Iberian Peninsula who had been one of the witnesses of the Treaty of Zamora in 1143.

Mafalda first appears with her husband on 23 May 1146 confirming a donation that had been made previously by her mother-in-law, Teresa of León, to the Order of Cluny. She was very devoted to the Cistercian Order and founded the Monasterio of Costa in Guimarães

and a hospital/hostel for pilgrims, the poor and the sick in Canaveses. She stipulated in her will that this hospital was to be kept always clean, that it should be furnished with good and clean beds and that, if any of those lodged at the institution should die there, three masses were to be celebrated for the salvation of their souls.

Queen Mafalda died in Coimbra on 3 December 1157 or 1158 and was buried at the Monastery of Santa Cruz where her husband, who survived her by more than twenty-seven years, was later interred. She was survived by six of her seven children, only three of whom, infantes Sancho, Urraca and Teresa, would reach adulthood .

Although the Annales D. Alfonsi Portugallensium Regis, record that the wedding of Afonso and Mafalda was celebrated in 1145, it was not until a year later, in May 1146, when they both appear in royal charters. Historian José Mattoso refers to another source, Noticia sobre a Conquista de Santarém (News on the Conquest of Santarém), which states that the city was taken on 15 May 1147, less than a year after their marriage. Since at that time no wedding ceremony could be performed during Lent, Mattoso suggests that the marriage could have taken place in March or April of 1146, possibly on Easter Sunday which fell on 31 March of that year. The groom was almost thirty-eight years old and the bride was about twenty-one years old. The children of this marriage were:

Henrique (5 March 1147 -June 1155), named after his paternal grandfather, Henrique, he died when he was only eight years old. Despite being just a child he represented his father at a council in Toledo at the age of three. He died in 1155, shortly after the birth of his brother Sancho.

Urraca (1148 –1211), married King Ferdinand II of León and was the mother of King Alfonso IX. The marriage was subsequently annulled in 1171 or 1172 and she retired in Zamora, one of the villas that she had received as part of her arras, and later at the Monastery of Santa María in Wamba, Valladolid where she was buried.;

Theresa (1151 –1218), Countess consort of Flanders due to her marriage to Philip I and Duchess consort of Burgundy through her second marriage to Odo III;

Mafalda (1153 -after 1162). In January 1160, her father and Ramón Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, negotiated the marriage of Mafalda to Alfonso, future King Alfonso II of Aragon who at that time was three or four years old. After the death of Ramón Berenguer IV in the summer of 1162, King Ferdinand II of León convinced his widow, Queen Petronilla, to cancel the infante's wedding plans with Mafalda and for Afonso to marry instead Sancha, daughter Alfonso VII of León and his second wife Queen Richeza of Poland. Mafalda died in her childhood at an unrecorded date.

Sancho, the future King Sancho I of Portugal (11 November 1154 –26 March 1211). He was baptized with the name of Martinho for having been born on the saint's feast day.;

João (1156–25 August 1164);

Sancha (1157–14 February 1166/67), born ten days before the death of her mother, Sancha died before reaching the age of ten. On the 14th of February according to the death registry at the Monastery of Santa Cruz (Coimbra) where she was buried.

[pearls-and-petticoats]

Aliénor - Episode 2: Bordeaux 

“Eleanor, I beseech you! Make peace with my Lady mother and-”

“No! Louis, I am first and foremost your wife. I will honour the duty that God has bestowed upon me as such but I am Queen of the Franks, as I am a daughter of Aquitaine and I will not break to fit the mould that your mother dictates to me. I would rather drown in the Garonne, than bend to her dull will.” 

The episode begins 25 July 1137,  Eleanor of Aquitaine marries the devout Prince Louis in Bordeaux and they are immediately enthroned as Duke and Duchess of Aquitaine. However, their tour of the provinces are interrupted  in August 1137 by the news that Prince Louis father, Louis VI, has died. The couple are anointed and crowned King and Queen of the Franks on Christmas Day, 1137 both still teenagers. The episode also delves into the tense relationship Eleanor has with the northeners of her kingdom, who disapprove of her high-spirited nature, particularly Prince Louis’ mother, Adelaide of Maurienne and Bernard of Clairvaux. 

[wonder-worker]

"[Matilda of Boulogne's office as Queen of England], initiated and broadly defined by the coronation ordo, gave her royal power and authority to share in governance. Her obligations and activities were shaped by custom established by previous queens and the ad hoc needs of king and realm. [...] [Matilda's] thorough integration into the governance of the realm was not repeated in [Eleanor of Aquitaine’s] years as queen of England. Eleanor's coronation followed a new model that emphasized the queen as progenitor of royal heirs and subordinate to the king rather than as sharer of royal power. Though Eleanor acted as regent in England between 1156 and 1158 and in Poitou on several occasions from 1165 on, her writs suggest delegated rather than shared royal authority. In England, her power was limited by the lack of lands assigned to her use and by the elaboration of financial and judicial administration. Whereas [Matilda of Boulogne's] inheritance allowed her to play an integral role in politics by securing the Londoners' loyalty and a steady supply of mercenaries, Eleanor's inheritance provided her with more extensive power in Poitou and Aquitaine than in England. Until 1163, Eleanor withdrew funds from the Exchequer by her own writ, but unlike her Anglo-Norman predecessors, she was not a member of its council nor did she issue judgments from the royal court. Eleanor's counsel and diplomatic activities, in contrast to Matilda's, are rarely mentioned. She did, however, encourage the 1159 Toulouse campaign and supported Henry in the Becket affair and the coronation of young Henry. Eleanor was not a prominent curialis; she rarely witnessed Henry's charters or interceded to secure the king's mercy. She did follow in Matilda's footsteps in her promotion of her sons, cultivation of dynastic goals through the Fontevraudian tombs, and patronage that reflected her family's traditions. For Matilda, to be queen encompassed a variety of functions-curialis, diplomat, judge, intercessor, and "regent." Through a combination of factors, Eleanor's role as queen was much more restricted."

-Heather J. Tanner, "Queenship: Office, Custom or Ad Hoc", Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady (Edited by Bonnie Wheeler and John Carmi Parsons)

[zodiacpostgenerator]

The signs as 1092 births:

Aries, Libra: Sybilla of Normandy

Taurus, Scorpio: Adelaide of Maurienne

Gemini, Sagittarius: Fulk FitzRoy

Cancer, Capricorn: Al-Mustarshid

Leo, Aquarius: Zhang Jiucheng

Virgo, Pisces: Sachen Kunga Nyingpo

[winterhalters]

women in history [6/?] Adélaide of Maurienne, Queen Consort of Louis VI

In 1968, Marion Facinger wrote that Adelaide of Maurienne stood at the apogee of Capetian queenship, a judgment that largely has been confirmed in studies published since that time. Adelaide, whose name appears on forty-five royal charters, shared in royal benefactions and ecclesiastical appointments. She is associated with Louis in acta exercising traditional royal prerogatives such as the use of the king’s mills or permission to hold fairs. [...] She was instrumental in William Clito’s rise to power, and was instrumental in effecting the disgrace of France’s royal chancellor, Stephen of Garlande. Perhaps most tellingly, there were periods during Adelaide’s tenure as France’s queen when royal charters were dated with both the king and the queen’s regnal year, a practice that suggests that the queen was considered to be an integral part of the institution of monarchy. As Facinger expressed it, “as long as Louis VI lived, she was not excluded from any aspect of the government.” – Lois L. Huneycutt

[nanshe-of-nina]

WOMEN’S HISTORY † ADELAIDE DI SAVOIA (1092 – 18 November 1154)

Adelaide di Savoia was the daughter of Umberto II, conte di Savoia and Gisèle de Bourgogne, daughter of Guillaume Ier, comte de Bourgogne. After Umberto's death in 1103, Gisèle remarried to Ranieri degli Aleramici, marchese del Monferrato. Adelaide's half-brother, Guglielmo, later became the father of Guglielmo Spadalunga (husband of Sibylle de Jérusalem); Corrado (husband of Isabelle Ire de Jérusalem); Raineri (husband of Maria Porphyrogénnētē) and Alasia, marchesa di Saluzzo. In 1113 or 1114, Adelaide married Louis VI de France, by whom she had seven sons and a daughter, Constance. As queen, Adelaide was quite politically active, issuing charters with her husband. Louis spent most of his reign subduing his unruly lords, such as Amaury III de Montfort (who had also a persistent thorn in the side of the Norman kings of England) and the incredibly brutal Thomas de Marle, seigneur de Coucy. Following a dispute with Henry I of England, Louis and Adelaide took in Henry's nephew, Guillaume Cliton, and arranged for him to marry Adelaide's half-sister, Giovanna del Monferrato. He was appointed the comte de Flandre, but lost it to Diederik van de Elzas. Following her husband's death in 1137, Adelaide did not immediately retire to a convent, as previous dowager queens had done. Instead, she remarried to Mathieu Ier de Montmorency and did not retire until 1153. Popular historians like Marion Mead have asserted that Adelaide disliked her first daughter-in-law, Alienòr d’Aquitània, but the hard evidence is slim. However, it is certainly possible that it was so, as tensions between dowager queens and queens consort have a long history. Adelaide's third surviving son, Robert, was the founder of the Capetian House of Dreux who acquired the duchy of Bretagne when Pierre Mauclerc married Alis a Dhouras, daughter of Konstanza Breizh, in 1213. Her youngest son, Pierre, was the founder of the Capetian house of Courtenay who eventually acquired the county of Namur and the Latin Empire of Constantinople.

[hodie-scolastica]

Adelaide of Maurienne

I was unable to find a medieval image of Queen Adelaide, so have a 19th century drawing instead. [Adelaide of Savoy, 1839, Abel Hugo, Histoire générale de France depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à nos jours: illustrée et expliquée par les Monumens de toutes les Epoques. Image Source.]

Adelaide of Maurienne (1092-1154), also known as Adelaide of Savoy, was a rarity.  Not for the power and influence she held as Queen of France, but rather for the fact that she remained an active figure at court in her widowhood.  Wife and Queen consort of Louis VI, mother of Louis VII, niece of Pope Callixtus II, and political rival of both her daughter-in-law Eleanor of Aquitaine and her husband’s advisor Abbot Suger of St. Denis, she positioned herself securely for a time at the heart of French politics and refused to give up even when others would have her retire.

She was the daughter of Count Umberto II of Savoy and Gisela of Burgundy.  When Louis VI, then 33, needed a bride of sufficient status to whom he wasn’t too closely related, he chose the 23-year-old Adelaide.  The couple had at least eight children together, seven of whom were boys.  With the succession secure, Adelaide knew she had a stable position within the court.

Part of the reason the Queen held such a powerful position was because the royal court and the royal household were one in the same.  She was not seen as limited to the bedchamber in exercising her influence and could, therefore advise her husband publically.  Adelaide spoke openly in policy debates and was listened to as respectfully as any other advisor.  Her agreement to the King’s acts was recorded in several royal charters.

Adelaide did not retire to a monastery on her husband’s death as was expected of a widowed queen.  She remained at court for several years, attempting to maintain her influence over the king’s decisions in a three-way power struggle with the new queen, Eleanor,* and her late husband’s advisor Abbot Suger.  When she lost out here, she retired to her estates and did something entirely unusual for a dowager queen: she remarried before returning to court.  She would never again hold the power she had during her reign, but she remained an active political figure until shortly before her death.  In 1153, she finally retired to a monastery in Paris that she had supported throughout her life.  She died and was buried there the next year at the age of 62.

*Adelaide and Eleanor did not get along.  Apart from the whole issue of Eleanor taking Adelaide’s position with the death of Louis VI and their subsequent political rivalry, Adelaide found Eleanor too extravagant, while Eleanor presumably found Adelaide too restrained and, to use a modern term, stuffy.

Sources/Further Reading: Bradbury, Jim. The Capetians: The History of a Dynasty: Kings of France 987-1328. London: Continuum Books, 2007. [Note: this book may be found on Google Books here.] Schaus, Margaret, ed. Women and Gender in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge, 2006. [Note: this book may be found on Google Books here.] Turner, Ralph V. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France, Queen of England. Yale University Press, 2009. [Note: this book may be found on Google Books here.] Adelaide of Maurienne - Wikipedia