Eleanor of Aquitaine

diamondlil · Post by **diamondlil** » Tue October 14th, 2008, 9:37 am

[quote=""EC2""]
I have to admit that Eleanor has been on my list to write about for some time.
But then one doesn't want to get into the Boleyn situation - where the world and his wife are writing about the woman and it just becomes overkill.[/quote]

I would love to read your take on Eleanor. I do know what you mean by overkill though. I have to say that despite the Boleyn overkill, I still enjoy it when there is a well written Boleyn novel that comes out. It's all about finding the quality books among the dross.

LCW · Post by **LCW** » Tue October 14th, 2008, 5:03 pm

I too would love to read an EC novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine. She's fast becoming one of my favorite historical characters (I know, join the club, right??) so I'm eager to read more about her.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Tue October 14th, 2008, 6:18 pm

[quote=""diamondlil""]I would love to read your take on Eleanor. I do know what you mean by overkill though. I have to say that despite the Boleyn overkill, I still enjoy it when there is a well written Boleyn novel that comes out. It's all about finding the quality books among the dross.[/quote]

I'll join that party, but DL's right. Its all about quality of story.

Michelle · Post by **Michelle** » Tue January 27th, 2009, 12:14 am

Is it true that her son King Arthur had a thing for men?

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Tue January 27th, 2009, 12:24 am

I don't believe she had a son named Arthur. She had a son named Richard who, rumor had it, was gay, but that seems to have been dismissed of late.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Tue January 27th, 2009, 12:26 am

Eleanor's son Geoffrey had a boy named Arthur.

Question - why is the Eleanor thread showing up under later medieval? Or am I missing the boat again?

boswellbaxter · Post by **boswellbaxter** » Tue January 27th, 2009, 12:52 am

[quote=""Misfit""]Eleanor's son Geoffrey had a boy named Arthur.

Question - why is the Eleanor thread showing up under later medieval? Or am I missing the boat again?[/quote]

Only because the admins in their arbitrary way have two periods: early medieval (before 1000) and later medieval (after).

annis · Post by **annis** » Tue January 27th, 2009, 1:24 am

Geoffrey's son Arthur of Brittany only lived to about the age of 16, so I don't think the issue of his sexual orientation arose. He mysteriously disappeared around April 2003 and according to legend he was murdered by his uncle, King John with the assistance of John's knight, William be Braose.

From the Margam Annals:
<After King John had captured Arthur and kept him alive in prison for some time, at length, in the castle of Rouen, after dinner on the Thursday before Easter, when he was drunk and possessed by the devil (ebrius et daemonio plenus), he slew him with his own hand, and tying a heavy stone to the body cast it into the Seine. It was discovered by a fisherman in his net, and being dragged to the bank and recognized, was taken for secret burial, in fear of the tyrant, to the priory of Bec called Notre Dame de Pres.>

The story of the de Braose family is a violent and fascinating one and it's an entertaining read to go through the de Braose family history
http://freespace.virgin.net/doug.thomps ... frames.htm

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Tue January 27th, 2009, 1:43 am

[quote=""boswellbaxter""]Only because the admins in their arbitrary way have two periods: early medieval (before 1000) and later medieval (after).

[/quote]

Thank you. Somehow later medieval sticks in my feeble brain as wars of roses and Richard and such

Telynor · Post by **Telynor** » Tue January 27th, 2009, 6:41 am

[quote=""Michelle""]Is it true that her son King Arthur had a thing for men?[/quote]

You're thinking of Richard I, who did penance for his great sins, as the chroniclers put it. The earliest that I can find for Richard's sexual orientation being mentioned was with the Victorians, who seem to think that the greatest of sins was that of homosexuality. They based it around that Richard's queen, Berengaria, didn't have any children, and that the Victorians themselves were pretty messed up when it came to sex -- The book, The Worm in the Bud makes for some pretty enlightening reading.

But to the medieval mind, I think that it was pride that had the most damage, and given Richard's fondness for picking a fight with anyone, and his general bloodthirsty nature... Who knows? He did have one illegitimate child, Philippe de Fauconbridge, so he may well have been bisexual.