Eleanor of Aquitaine : A Life

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but limited
Review: I enjoyed this immensely, despite the very little information actually provided about Eleanor. I am conscious of the fact that very little information is available about her life, and what is available is mostly from a male perspective, or something along the lines of "and Eleanor the King's Wife was also there", but I do still think that there should have been more of a focus on what she could have been doing whilst husband X and Y were busy reigning. Still, an enjoyable part of Alison Weir's extensive work.

Rating:
Summary: Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life
Review: This book provides new insights and recolors our image of this high born Medieval woman. The reader is left in awe of the impact she had on her culture and her times. This fact and detail filled book searches for the true identity, motivations and influence of the wife of two powerful monarchs each struggling to carve out and hold onto their kingdoms. As heiress to the large powerful region called the Aquitaine (now a large part of western France), Eleanor becomes a pawn in a majestic power play between two great countries. For 82 years (remarkable longevity for those times) Eleanor wields both direct and indirect power by, for, and sometimes around both her husbands and on behalf of her sons the three Kings of England. After reading this book you will continue to be amazed by the power held by this one woman, which I believe has not been rivaled since. This book is not to be missed. You will not be able to put this book down, as with all the other Weir books.

Rating:
Summary: Another great one by Alison Weir
Review: I told myself I wouldn't read another Alison Weir book for awhile. When reading history it is good to get several different perspectives so as not to get too "biased" a view. After looking through several books, however, I noticed that most of them fit in the "unreadable" category so I broke down and bought one from an author I new would be readable. Alison Weir did not disappoint. Not only was the book informative about Eleanor of Aquitaine (as much as can be known from surviving information) but we get a good look at her husbands and sons. I've heard people say that Alison Weir is biased towards a woman's perspective. I have never felt that was true and I think that was evident in this book. She tries to show both sides of her subject and also spends a good deal of praise on her husband Henry (as well as some shortcomings, we all have them after all).

Rating:
Summary: More Than Just a Biography...
Review: This book was a delight to read -- well-reasearched, descriptive, engaging. _Eleanor of Aquitaine_ gives you the information of a well-researched thesis with the pacing of a novel. However, it was a subtle disappointment because the information on Eleanor was much less than I had expected. (Note to self: Next time read an excerpt!)

Weir sets the reader up in the Forward, mentioning that little information about Eleanor has been found or proven. However, she is quick to point out the difference between her book and the books of other authors attempting to portray Eleanor. Weir claims that some previous biographers have painted a not-so-virtuous picture of Eleanor because they have relied on poor evidence. (For example, many biographers have used fictional works -- poetry, songs -- of the period to prove that Eleanor was an adultress.)

A continuing refrain in the book is, "Some historians have said X. Contemporary theorists have said Y. Based on the evidence I've seen, I can't decide between X or Y." While I do appreciate Wier's unbiased opinion, it didn't always make for the most interesting reading. Often I felt dissatisfied because I wanted to know more - I wanted to know the truth. However, perhaps that is Weir's point - we'll never truly know what Eleanor was like because there is simply not enough evidence.

In order to learn more about Eleanor's life, Wier had to painstakingly resurrect it from accounts of the lives of her children and family members. Consequently, the book serves as an excellent primer about Eleanor's historical period and family. For me, this was an unexpected bonus because I know very little about medieval times, the Crusades, etc. However, readers that are very medieval-savvy may find Weir's extensive (but necessary) digressions annoying.

Overall: If you're looking for a peek into the life of a lesser-known historical figure and time period, this book is an excellent choice.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended reading of a fascinating queen and period
Review: I've always been a fan of Alison Weir' s biographies, since she combines a disciplined focus on information from the primary sources with an almost unparalleled storytelling ability. The result is a riveting piece of writing that nonetheless takes great care to render thoughtful scholarship. Her book on the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine is no exception. Ms. Weir places this fascinating queen in a discernible historical context, and separates fact from legend-- while indicating the ways that the fact may have generated the legend. The politics of Europe were extremely confusing at the time, since France was not yet France, but a loose collection of French-speaking provinces all seemingly perpetually at war with each other-- and with England itself a tightly-held colony of the dukes and counts of Normandy and Anjou, its wealth contributing to their feudal conflicts against their rivals. This Byzantine historical and political context, which motivated Henry II's marriage to Eleanor, is well-explained by Alison Weir, and it's probably the most lucid discussion I've read on the matter. We see how Eleanor came to influence a broad expanse from central France to Scotland, and how she handled the complicated family rivalries involving her and Henry's sons, including the future kings Richard I and John. Eleanor's indomitable personality and vigor come through here, and it's a testament to Ms. Weir's writing that we are so easily able to trace her actions to broader political developments that affected many people both in Britain and on the Continent. This is wonderful reading.

Rating:
Summary: Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life
Review: This is a page-turner for those addicted to medieval history and, particularly, to those women who left their marks on it: saints and sinners both. Encompassing both categories is Eleanor of Aquitaine, as evidenced by this careful and fascinating biography. Rather than criticize the paucity of resources with which Alison Weir had to deal, I celebrate her research and the re-creation of the times in which Eleanor lived. She has, in fact, brought to life a vital, intelligent, and reputedly beautiful activist who played a larger than life role in a cast of characters who were, themselves, larger than life: her sons, her husbands and their associates. An avid fan of Weir's, I have read all of her work and consider this the best, the most empathetic, the most readable. One comes away from it with not only a sense of history, but a feeling of comaraderie for those who inhabit the pages. Cheers to Eleanor of Aquitaine and Alison Weir for celebrating her life!

Rating:
Summary: Read if you have a lot of time to devote to Eleanor
Review: If only we knew more about women like Eleanor. In this book, about 10% is actually about her, since so little is actually documented. So it's more about the political history of England, her husbands and sons than it is about her.

The book is well researched and offers thorough analysis of conflicting reports of various events. It is a difficult read, however. The sentence structure is often cumbersome and awkward. Prepare to take your time getting through this book, it is worth the trip.

Rating:
Summary: Not quite a life
Review: "When I suggested writing a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine, it was put to me that it would be impossible for a biographer to do justice to a woman who lived eight centuries ago . . . that so few of her utterances or letters have come down to us that I would never be able to bring her to life as a real person to whom my readers could relate."

Weir should have heeded that advice. The information is too scant, the evidence too lacking for anyone to bring Eleanor to life as a real person - though this work is ample proof that the search was diligent. Entire segments of the Queen's life are missing for want of any records, and years go by with not so much as a mention of her by contemporary chroniclers. In contrast, volumes are available on Henry II, Eleanor's second husband, who predeceased her by fifteen years and whose exploits fill almost half of this volume's text.

This is not to say there is no value in this four hundred and forty-one-page effort. If nothing else, it is an exhaustive compendium of what is available about Eleanor. Furthermore, Weir has clearly demonstrated that much of what has been written about this woman who became Queen of France and then Queen of England is myth at best, whole-cloth fabrication at worst.

And there is something to be learned from this book which applies to our own very recent times. No contemporary American can read it and not be thankful that our succession to leadership roles, however confused the current process, is not modeled after twelfth century practices. No ruler then was ever safe in assuming that there would be a peaceful accession by his heir, however chosen.

If readers approach this well-written work, not with the hope of finding a clearly- depicted Eleanor, but with a view toward knowing something more about the age in which she lived, then they will be well rewarded. By any measure, those were turbulent times. The nobility, consumed by avarice, pride, hatred, and all of mankind's infirmities multiplied a hundred fold, vented their passions on the helpless masses who were continually being overrun by warring armies. Tales of rapine, pillage, as well as mindless destruction of orchards, crops and animals fill these pages.

Despite the gloomy picture of devastation and Weir's detailed description of the tawdry lives of those responsible for it, this work has its own unique charm - much of which emerges from her marvelously underplayed commentary on the historic figures peopling her work. One example should suffice.

After a long listing of the grosser qualities of King John (Eleanor's youngest son), who lusted after a thirteen-year-old, Weir notes that he was also "rampantly promiscuous, and even noblewomen were not safe from being abducted and raped by him." She goes on to state that John had sired seven children out of wedlock and probably had many more than that by women of whom "none seems to have enjoyed John's attentions for long." Her conclusion? "The evidence suggests that he was emotionally shallow."

So ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE emerges as an informative and entertaining work, though it does not exactly live up to the promises in its preface.

Rating:
Summary: Passable.......
Review: I guess it inescapable that a biography contain the contemporary attitudes of its' author. Be that as it may, once Alison Weir gets done foisting her modern day convictions on a 900 year old woman this book becomes merely readable. Eleanor gets lost, however, through much of the book as it concentrates more on her second husband, Henry II. One longs for the supplement to Kathryn Hepburn's enticing portrayal of Eleanor in Lion in Winter, but comes away with mere glimpses. Perhaps, enough material hasn't survived the ages to round out a book on this 12th century queen or, perhaps, she is overshadowed in her time by one of the most intriguing kings to ever rule England, Henry Plantagenet. Either way, Eleanor of Aquitane: A Life, is short on information, short on spark, and becomes but an average read.

Rating:
Summary: A life in reflection
Review: One of the main problems of writing a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as Alison Weir points out at the start of this impressive book, is that there are no writings of hers left to draw from. No letters, no diaries, not even a description of what she looked like. There is probably only one picture of her although even that isn't confirmed - and that is in a stained glass window. Weir felt there was probably enough information about her in other contemporary writings. So this book could almost be said to be Eleanor in reflection. It is very much about Eleanor's life and times, and very much comparing the different opinions of her and of her actions throughout her life. With these limitations I think Weir has doen a fabulous job - the period and its personalites really came to life for me and I felt that in the end I did glimpse Eleanor and her motivations. Too often though Weir had to resort to the infinitely unsatisfying conclusion that 'Eleanor's opinions/reaction to this event were not recorded.'

To summarise her life in short, Eleanor, a daughter of a 12th century Duke was the sole heiress to one of the greatest properties in what is today France. To protect these dominions she was married at a very young age to the King of France. During this time she went on a crusade with him. She was in her early 30's when she was divorced from the king and instead married Henry II of England - a man 11 years her junior. Which all makes for great dynastic and power squabbles which surrounded her life -one hostile chronicler said of her "by reason of her excessive beauty, she destroyed or injured nations."

Although I am not expert on the period and can't vouch for the accuracy of the book, I can certainly comment that I found the book readable and thought-provoking. I didn't mind that much of it was about the times she lived in, where religion dominated everyday life, where they marched off to crusade, and where a woman's life was very often restricted to that of a chattel - Eleanor was different and Weir managed successfully to show her in an environment where she flourished despite the limitations set on her. Highly recommended.