Herstory: Eleanor of Acquitaine

Awhile ago while I was on a Peter O'Toole kick I watched The Lion in Winter and developed an Eleanor of Acquitaine obsession, which led to some research. She was an amazing and accomplished woman. Here are some highlights:

• Wealthiest and most beautiful woman in Europe in the 12th century
• Educated in the cultural center of Europe
• Duchess of Acquitaine and Countess of Poitiers in her own right
• Married King Louis VII of France
• Went on Crusade and dressed herself and her women as Amazons
• Had several affairs, including with her uncle and her future father-in-law
• Divorced King Louis VII on grounds of consanguinity
• Immediately proposed to Henry, Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy, and heir to the throne of England, 12 years her junior and a closer relative than Louis
• Alongside Henry II, built the Angevin empire while bearing 8 children
• Became estranged from Henry and aided her sons in rebellion against him, after which she was imprisoned for 16 years
• Ruled England while her son King Richard the Lionheart was on crusade and in prison
• Implemented the jury system in England
• Travelled to Germany to negotiate his ransom
• Continued to advise her son King John into her old age
• Took the veil at Fountrevault

The really frustrating thing about her is that in the Middle Ages women didn't matter, so there are few surviving records. The chroniclers seldom mention her, although Bernard of Clairvaux did call her a whore a bunch of times. Reading biographies of her there are very clear descriptions of what her husbands or sons were doing, followed by sentences like, It would appear that at this time Eleanor was... or, We can assume that Eleanor... or, Historians believe Eleanor... We know that she was beautiful, but we have no specifics of her appearance. Historians believe she had red hair. They also think that she was tall and thin and not too curvy based on the fact that she was able to disguise herself as a man when she was 51. Meanwhile there are several precise descriptions of Henry II. The Courtly Love tradition began at her court in Poitiers, but Henry and the church destroyed all its records. It is believed the forerunner of the jury system began there, which would be important, but only if she were a man.

This woman was the Queen of France and England and held Acquitaine and Poitiers in her own right. If her life is so undocumented, what about the lives of the women around her, the ladies, nuns, and peasants who led less extraordinary lives? If a queen and crusader deserves so little ink, what did they think those women deserved? And is the intense scrutiny given to powerful women today a step up or just a lateral move? Would you rather have no records of your appearance, or miles of newsprint describing your cankles and pantsuits? And why are anonymity and scrutiny our only options?