Inventing Eleanor: the mediaeval and post-mediaeval image
Eleanor of Aquitaine by Michael R. Evans.
Bloomsbury Academic ISBN 978 1 4411 6900 6
While browsing the Internet for research, I came across a
reference to this book and feeling it would be a really useful addition to my
shelves, I went ahead and bought it.
During my research into
Eleanor of Aquitaine, I constantly come across misconceptions and false
information in secondary sources including biographies. I also come across comments about Eleanor being a great feminist icon and a woman way ahead
of her time, and then I want to bang my head on the desk
(metaphorically speaking). So it was
great to come across a work that aims to set the record straight and that tells
us just where these odd notions about Eleanor originate.
From the back of the book:
‘Eleanor of Aquitaine (1124- 1204)
Queen of France and England and mother of two Kings has often been described as
one of the most remarkable women of the Middle Ages. Yet her real achievements
have been embellished - and even obscured - by myths that have grown up over
eight centuries. This process began in her own lifetime, as chroniclers
reported rumours of scandalous conduct
on crusade, and has continued ever since. She has been variously viewed as an
adulterous queen, a monstrous mother and jealous murderess, but also was a
patron of literature, champion of courtly love and proto-feminist defender of
women’s rights. Inventing Eleanor
interrogates the myths that have grown up around the figure of Eleanor of
Aquitaine and investigates how and why historians and artists have invented an
Eleanor who is very different from the 12th century queen. The book
first considers the mediaeval primary sources and then proceeds to trace the post-mediaeval
development of the image of Eleanor, from demonic Queen to feminist icon, in
historiography and the broader culture.’
This is exactly what the book does in a very readable form that
still remains scholarly and detailed in its sources. The
contents include an introduction where the author sets out his reasons for
writing the book and argues that she was ‘far
from unique amongst 12th century royal and noble women.’ Professor
Evans seeks to unravel how she acquired her reputation for exceptionalism. He remarks
on the opening page that Eleanor’s biographers
must take some of the blame for this. ‘In
the absence of hard evidence (these) biographies have often been fleshed out by
speculation and the creation or perpetuation of myths.’
Following a detailed introduction, Professor Evans traces
Eleanor’s reputation, through the blackening of her name during her own
lifetime and the time soon after her death.
He explores too the legends surrounding Rosamond de Clifford and how
both women’s reputations have suffered at the hands of myth and legend.
Chapter 2 looks at Eleanor in historiography and how
realistically she is portrayed. He observes that ‘historians may have striven to create (in the words of Edmond-René
Labande) ‘a realistic image of Eleanor of Aquitaine’, but that image has
struggled to replace that of the more colourful meta-Eleanor in the public
consciousness. Hence an online author in 2013 is still able to write of Eleanor
in stereotypical terms that would have been familiar to a mid-19th-century
readership of popular history.’ He
goes on to explore the way in which Eleanor’s reputation has been distorted to
suit the ideologies of particular historical periods and historians with axes
to grind. So ‘In the late 20th
century, second wave feminist movement gave birth to a new interest in Eleanor
of Aquitaine as a female hero, but often at the expense of exaggerating her
deeds and influence, and reinforcing the myth of her exceptionalism.’ He also explores Eleanor’s depiction as a
new-age neopagan type! He comes the
conclusion that ‘historians of Eleanor
have created an image of her, and mediaeval women as a whole, that is
misleading. My thoughts exactly.
The third chapter deals with Eleanor the woman of the South
and very quickly puts paid to the notion of the original Eleanor as
propitiating a great Southern cause. He
says that Eleanor is ‘arguably a northern
as much as a southern figure…It was
Poitou, not the south-west that was the heartland of Eleanor’s realm and where
the Dukes of Aquitaine held the greatest concentration of demesne lands.’ …. He also explores a suggestion from a
recent set of essays about Eleanor that claims she didn’t actually speak Occitan at all. The courts of love and literary patronage are
shown to be relatively insignificant in Eleanor’s life. He comes to the
conclusion that Eleanor of Aquitaine ‘can
in no way be considered a southern figure in an alien and hostile northern
world. Her native duchy straddled the divide between the North and the South,
and its main power centres were closer to Paris than to the Mediterranean.’ Bam, another dearly held myth bites the dust.
The next chapter deals with Eleanor’s portrayal in drama before
1900 and goes into great detail via Shakespeare, operas and sundry plays and
dramas. From there it’s onto Eleanor in drama post-1900, and of course the iconic
Lion in Winter. TV series such as Robin of Sherwood also receive a mention for how
Eleanor is portrayed in cameo roles.
Professor Evans then takes an overview of how Eleanor is
portrayed in fiction and there is a fine accolade for author Sharon Kay Penman.
Jean Plaidy’s take on Eleanor is discussed too and there are some ‘interesting’
quotes from Alison Weir’s the captive Queen. There’s also a section on Eleanor in young adult
fiction.
Then it’s onto Eleanor in the visual arts including
mediaeval images. This was particularly interesting for me because Professor
Evans discusses the mural at Chinon that is often said to portray Eleanor and
Henry. Indeed many novels and biographies feature this portrait on the cover
with the middle crown figure depicted as Eleanor. However, it ain’t necessarily
so, and it seems,according to art historian Ursula Nielgen who
has examined the work in detail and dated it to the late 12th century that the figures are all male and more likely to represent Henry II and his four sons. I was also pleased in this section to find that Evans had picked up my research on various
biographer’s beliefs on Eleanor’s appearance and I receive a mention at the
beginning of the chapter.
Having thoroughly explored Eleanor in the visual arts, right
up to modern ‘headless’ covers in historical fiction, Professor Evans goes on to
make his conclusion, which is basically that finding the real Eleanor remains
an uphill struggle because of all the myths perpetuated. However, with
continuing scholarship that doesn’t pander to these myths and stereotypes we
may gradually begin to see a more nuanced Eleanor than of yore.
During his summary he
remarked that while historians may shake their heads at the likes of certain recent
works of historical fiction about Eleanor, ‘historical novelists such as Sharon
Kay Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick are seeking to apply modern scholarship to
their fiction, and consequently avoid the most egregious of the legends
surround Eleanor.’ That’s nice!
Highly recommended for those who want to take a look under
the surface and who are prepared with an open mind to have their perceptions
and preconceptions challenged.
I would add that it is rather expensive - which seems to be the case with most academic books these days.
I would add that it is rather expensive - which seems to be the case with most academic books these days.
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