1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:11,160 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. Hey, this 3 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: is Dana, the host of Noble Blood. Thank you for listening. 4 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: A tiny bit of housekeeping before we get started. If 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: you want to support the show, we have a Patreon 6 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:25,320 Speaker 1: Patreon dot com slash Noble Blood Tales where I upload 7 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: episode scripts and bonus episodes. There's also show merch that 8 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: I absolutely love, and there's a link to that in 9 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: the episode description. A little bit more housekeeping. I'm so 10 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: excited I'm teaching a course on horror writing because I've 11 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: written two novels that came out last year and the 12 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: year before, and I'm so excited to be able to 13 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: teach this course. And it's virtual, so no matter where 14 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 1: you are you can sign up. The link is in 15 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: the episode description. I'm just thrilled. I love teaching writing. 16 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: Going to writing camp growing up and taking creative writing 17 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 1: courses changed my life, so I'm thrilled to be able 18 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: to do this with a group, no matter your experience level. 19 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: I think it'll be a great opportunity. So that'll be 20 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: very fun. If that interests you, sign up. Thank you 21 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,320 Speaker 1: for listening. Let's get into this longer than normal episode. 22 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: But knowing that the subject matter is Eleanor of Aquitaine, 23 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:26,319 Speaker 1: I think you can understand why I stretched out the 24 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:36,320 Speaker 1: episode just a little bit. Eleanor of Aquitaine, thirty years 25 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:41,399 Speaker 1: old and newly single, knew that there was danger lurking 26 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,679 Speaker 1: in the woods on her way back to her home 27 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: in Poitier from her father. She had inherited the vast 28 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: and incredibly wealthy duchies of Aquitaine and Poiito in what 29 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: is now the south of France, and now that her 30 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: marriage to the King of France, Louis the seventh had 31 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: been officially annulled, every nobleman in the area knew that 32 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: if they kidnapped Eleanor and forced her to marry them, 33 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: all of her wealth and power would be theirs. It 34 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: had been Eleanor's choice to annul her marriage to Louis. 35 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 1: He had been madly in love with her, to the 36 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: point that his barons were a little confused. Eleanor had 37 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: always been a bad fit with the pious and dull Louis. 38 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: She had married him when she was fifteen. Eleanor had 39 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: come from the glamorous Duchy of Aquitaine in the South, 40 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: and she arrived in Paris with an interest in fashion, music, 41 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:52,800 Speaker 1: and poetry that struck the northerners as indulgent. There's a 42 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: reason Eleanor of Aquitaine has become such a figure of 43 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 1: popular imagination over the centuries. She inspired bards and balladiers 44 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: and artists. She had accompanied her husband on the Second 45 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 1: Crusade to the Holy Land with her own retinue of 46 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: ladies who probably didn't but, according to legend, dressed as Amazon's, 47 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 1: that crusade had been, to put it briefly, a disaster. 48 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: It was the beginning of the end of her marriage 49 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: with Louis. Rumors began to swirl while she was on 50 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:32,519 Speaker 1: Crusade that Eleanor was having an affair with her own uncle, 51 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: but even then, it wasn't until Eleanor gave birth to 52 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: her second child with Louis, another daughter that Louis gave 53 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: in when she asked for an annulment. Louie's barons had 54 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: been badgering him for someone less controversial see Eleanor's rumored 55 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: affair with her uncle. But the biggest problem was that 56 00:03:56,200 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: they had been married for fifteen years and she hadn't 57 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: Louis a son. When you are the king and you 58 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: don't have an heir, that is a huge problem. And 59 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: in the twelfth century, and when you are incredibly religious, 60 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 1: you might read it as a sign that God didn't 61 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: actually want you to be married to this person. After all, 62 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:26,719 Speaker 1: the Church helpfully annulled Eleanor and Louise's marriage on grounds 63 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 1: of consanguinity. They were too closely related. In other words, 64 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 1: they were fourth cousins, although of course that hadn't been 65 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:40,599 Speaker 1: a concern going into the marriage when money and land 66 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: and title was at stake, but there it was. In 67 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 1: eleven fifty two, Eleanor got her lands back and she 68 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 1: was free for the first time in her adult life. 69 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:59,760 Speaker 1: But being free didn't mean that Eleanor was safe. On 70 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:03,480 Speaker 1: the the long journey back to Poitier. In her home Duchy, 71 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:08,839 Speaker 1: there were two kidnapping attempts. First, in the town of Blois, 72 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 1: the future Count Theobald the Fifth attempted to seize her, 73 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: but Eleanor was warned in advanced and she managed to 74 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:20,839 Speaker 1: sneak away in the middle of the night on a 75 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 1: barge down the Loire River. And then a second kidnapping attempt, 76 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: This time by Jeffrey, Count of Nott, But once again, 77 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: someone referred to in a chronicle as her quote, good 78 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:39,279 Speaker 1: angel warned Eleanor, and she managed to get away by 79 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 1: avoiding the main roads and taking a less direct but 80 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: more hidden route home. After spending a decade and a 81 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: half trapped in a marriage she didn't want. The last 82 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:56,559 Speaker 1: thing Eleanor wanted was to be abducted by a different man. 83 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: But for as long as she wasn't married to a 84 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:05,520 Speaker 1: powerful husband, she would always be in danger, and so 85 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 1: immediately as soon as Eleanor made it home, she sent 86 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: a messenger to Henry Than, Duke of Normandy, telling him 87 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 1: to come and marry her as soon as possible. Eleanor 88 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: and Henry had probably made the plan to get married 89 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:28,039 Speaker 1: in advance, before she had even arranged the annulment with 90 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 1: her husband, Louis, King of France. If Louis had known 91 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 1: that she was planning on marrying Henry, he probably never 92 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:40,160 Speaker 1: would have agreed to the annulment at all. Henry Than, 93 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: nineteen years old, was the biggest threat to the King 94 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 1: of France's power. For a little bit more context, this 95 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: was an era of feudalism, where people were more loyal 96 00:06:54,080 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: to local lords than the abstract ideas of patriotism vassals, 97 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 1: and if the lords were really powerful, then they were 98 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:09,159 Speaker 1: overlords to other nobles. The Kingdom of France at the 99 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: time was really only a small physical swatch of land 100 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 1: around Paris, but the King of France was the overlord 101 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 1: to vast territories, including Aquitaine and Normandy. But Normandy and 102 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 1: Aquitaine and all of Eleanor and Henry's smaller holdings combined, well, 103 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 1: that was a vast empire, pretty much the entire western 104 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: and southern parts of modern day France. And add in 105 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 1: the fact that Henry had a claim to the throne 106 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:47,240 Speaker 1: of England, for which he wouldn't be a vassal of 107 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 1: the King of France at all, and you can understand 108 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: why Louis wouldn't have been thrilled about this match. You 109 00:07:55,800 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: can probably understand why Eleanor and Henry didn't ask King 110 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: Louis's permission to get married, even though they were technically 111 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: supposed to better to ask forgiveness than permission, I'm sure 112 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:14,640 Speaker 1: they reasoned. And to add insult to injury, Eleanor and 113 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: Henry were even closer cousins than Eleanor and Louis had been, 114 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: But to them this was a golden and promising match. 115 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 1: Eleanor wasn't going to marry a bumbling, ineffective wallflower. Again. 116 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: Eleanor was beautiful, powerful, sophisticated, and rich. Henry, more than 117 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: ten years her junior, was vital, handsome, active and ambitious. 118 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:49,400 Speaker 1: He certainly didn't care about Eleanor's scandalous past, or even 119 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: the rumors that Eleanor had actually already had an affair 120 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:59,079 Speaker 1: with his own father. She was too dazzling a prospect. 121 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: In a few short years, Henry would successfully win the 122 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:08,880 Speaker 1: throne of England and begin his rule as King Henry 123 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 1: the Second. As the two of them got married in 124 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: a relatively tiny ceremony at the Cathedral in Poitiers, it 125 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:22,520 Speaker 1: must have seemed to Eleanor that her future was opening 126 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:26,559 Speaker 1: up before her. The two of them would rule an 127 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:33,160 Speaker 1: empire together. Henry, the perfect powerful choice in husband, was 128 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: saving her from the constant risk of abduction that came 129 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:42,200 Speaker 1: with being an heiress. Eleanor couldn't have known then that 130 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:46,439 Speaker 1: her marriage to Henry the Second would lead to years 131 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: of imprisonment. She couldn't have known that Henry would cut 132 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:55,960 Speaker 1: her off from the outside world, moving her from secret 133 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:01,560 Speaker 1: fortress to secret fortress for sixteen years years, the woman 134 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: who had been queen of both England and France would 135 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 1: be reduced to status as prisoner for a betrayal that 136 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: was beyond a king's imagination. I'm Dana Schwartz and this 137 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:28,800 Speaker 1: is noble blood. In eleven fifty four, Henry, Duke of 138 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:34,000 Speaker 1: Normandy became Henry the Second King of England, the founder 139 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 1: of the Plantagenet dynasty that would last until the Tutors 140 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:42,880 Speaker 1: swept in. If you're wondering how Henry managed that upgrade 141 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:47,880 Speaker 1: for himself, it was through his mother, Matilda. Matilda's father 142 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:51,320 Speaker 1: had been King Henry the First of England, and his 143 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 1: only legitimate son had drowned in a drunken boat wreck, 144 00:10:56,280 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 1: the White Ship disaster. If that sounds familiar, we did 145 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 1: an episode on it. Anyway, Without a male heir, the 146 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:07,360 Speaker 1: king had asked all of his nobles to swear an 147 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:11,319 Speaker 1: oath of loyalty to his daughter Matilda, which they did, 148 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:15,440 Speaker 1: and then the king died and the nobles instead decided 149 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:20,600 Speaker 1: to crown Matilda's male cousin, Stephen. It ushered in a 150 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:24,840 Speaker 1: period in English history known as the Anarchy. But the 151 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: important part to our story comes when we fast forward 152 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:34,239 Speaker 1: to Matilda's grown son, Henry, who married Eleanor of Aquitaine 153 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,880 Speaker 1: and then took a fleet from Normandy to England, where 154 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,760 Speaker 1: he waged war until he forced King stephen to make 155 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:46,840 Speaker 1: him his heir, so at thirty two years old, Eleanor 156 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:51,439 Speaker 1: of Aquitaine was Queen of England, having already been Queen 157 00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:56,640 Speaker 1: of France. Between Henry and Eleanor, they controlled a vast 158 00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:01,960 Speaker 1: amount of incredibly valuable land and a territory that is 159 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:05,960 Speaker 1: now referred to as the Anjovin Empire, although they wouldn't 160 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:09,400 Speaker 1: have called it that at the time. As it turns out, 161 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 1: King Henry and Eleanor were much better at having children 162 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:18,199 Speaker 1: than King Louis and Eleanor had been. In the decade 163 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:22,240 Speaker 1: and a half after Henry and Eleanor got married, Eleanor 164 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:26,679 Speaker 1: gave birth to five sons and three daughters. The children 165 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 1: that you need to know for this story are her 166 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:35,640 Speaker 1: four surviving boys in age order. They are Henry, Richard, Jeffrey, 167 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:41,080 Speaker 1: and the baby John. In case you're wondering, Eleanor's ex husband, 168 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:44,960 Speaker 1: Louis remarried to although it would take until his third 169 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,160 Speaker 1: wife for him to actually have his long awaited son. 170 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:54,120 Speaker 1: For being such a famous medieval figure, the primary source 171 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,320 Speaker 1: writing on Eleanor's day to day life as Queen of 172 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:03,959 Speaker 1: England is astonishingly lif As historian Alison Weir points out 173 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:09,960 Speaker 1: in her biography, quote, chroniclers rarely mention Eleanor unless it 174 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:13,240 Speaker 1: is to record her presence by the king's side on 175 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:17,559 Speaker 1: various occasions, or the birth of her children, through which 176 00:13:17,559 --> 00:13:22,000 Speaker 1: she was fulfilling her prime function as queen end quote. 177 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:25,439 Speaker 1: But throughout her life Eleanor would prove to be an 178 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 1: adept administrator and a strong willed leader. Trust me, proof 179 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 1: of that will come through. So does that mean that 180 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: when she was married to Henry she wasn't really wielding 181 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:41,320 Speaker 1: much political power? Well, maybe we know that when Henry 182 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 1: was away, Eleanor acted as an administrator, and we can 183 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 1: assume that she did it well enough for Henry to 184 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:53,319 Speaker 1: trust her. The unfortunate fact is the chronicler's writing about 185 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:57,080 Speaker 1: the twelfth century as it was happening, were monks who 186 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:00,320 Speaker 1: just weren't as intrigued by the life of a strong 187 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 1: female queen as we modern audiences are. They just didn't 188 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:09,439 Speaker 1: really think that anything Eleanor was doing aside from having 189 00:14:09,559 --> 00:14:16,880 Speaker 1: children was worth mentioning, but whatever her daily life was like. 190 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 1: In eleven sixty eight, sixteen years after Eleanor married Henry, 191 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:27,320 Speaker 1: she would leave England altogether and set up her own 192 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:31,440 Speaker 1: independent court back on the continent in her own duchy 193 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: at Poitier. It was actually a bit of a the 194 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:39,720 Speaker 1: parent trap situation. She took her favorite son, Richard with 195 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:43,720 Speaker 1: her because he was the heir to Aquitaine. Why did 196 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:48,680 Speaker 1: Eleanor leave her husband and England? Even her husband seemed 197 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:51,760 Speaker 1: to find it a little perplexing at the time, and 198 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:56,080 Speaker 1: historians have all come up with their own explanations and 199 00:14:56,280 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: counter explanations to try to understand something that we don't 200 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: really have primary source proof of in either direction. One 201 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:11,520 Speaker 1: of the big factors that possibly precipitated a falling out 202 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 1: between Henry and Eleanor was a woman named Rosamond de Clifford. Rosamond, 203 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:21,640 Speaker 1: the daughter of a knight, was the great love of 204 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: Henry's life, a mistress he seemed to just legitimately adore, 205 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:31,320 Speaker 1: and she's become a common fixture in art and poetry 206 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:36,720 Speaker 1: about the twelfth century. According to legend Henry built a 207 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:41,080 Speaker 1: labyrinth under his hunting lodge at Woodstock for Rosamond where 208 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: he could meet her without Eleanor finding out. That's just 209 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:50,760 Speaker 1: one of the romantic dramatic stories about their medieval love affair. 210 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:56,640 Speaker 1: The affair between Henry and Rosamond Clifford probably started around 211 00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 1: eleven sixty five, a few years before Eleanor would abscond 212 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 1: to the continent. Could that have been why Eleanor left? 213 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:12,320 Speaker 1: Was she heartbroken, jealous, angry? It's possible, but it doesn't 214 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:16,960 Speaker 1: quite ring true to me. Henry had had affairs before, 215 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: He had a number of acknowledged illegitimate children that Eleanor 216 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:25,680 Speaker 1: was well aware of. And even if Rosamond was different 217 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:29,720 Speaker 1: because Henry was in love, well, Henry had been in 218 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:34,440 Speaker 1: love with an earlier mistress named Rohesa declare. Was it 219 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:39,119 Speaker 1: the public humiliation, the fact that Henry was so openly 220 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:45,239 Speaker 1: involved with Rosamond. Well, Henry would openly flount his relationship 221 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:50,200 Speaker 1: with Rosamond, but not yet, not for years, not until 222 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 1: Eleanor was captured and in prison. But that was years 223 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:59,640 Speaker 1: down the line. So what made Eleanor leave England and Henry? 224 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:07,439 Speaker 1: We know that King Henry the second was a hard 225 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 1: man to live with, or at least it seems that 226 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:14,639 Speaker 1: way to me. The English court in the twelfth century 227 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:20,080 Speaker 1: was constantly moving, going from castle to castle, sometimes as 228 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:24,400 Speaker 1: frequently as every few days. It was partly to follow 229 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:29,960 Speaker 1: weather and to follow hunting, partly for sanitation reasons. Imagine 230 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: several hundred people spending an extended period of time in 231 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:39,560 Speaker 1: any one place without indoor plumbing. It was also partly 232 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:44,360 Speaker 1: because Henry was just restless and a slightly chaotic person. 233 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:49,879 Speaker 1: One effect of a scattershot, itinerant court was that it 234 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:54,520 Speaker 1: just wasn't very luxurious. It's hard to set up house 235 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:58,359 Speaker 1: if you're always moving, and Henry just didn't really care 236 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:03,280 Speaker 1: about expensive things, good wine or good food. There was 237 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:06,800 Speaker 1: a time when a group of monks from Saint Swithum's 238 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:11,200 Speaker 1: at Winchester came to the king complaining that their bishop 239 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:16,399 Speaker 1: was only letting them have ten course meals. Henry's reply, 240 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:20,400 Speaker 1: and I can't really blame him, Here was quote in 241 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:24,320 Speaker 1: my court. I am satisfied with three parish your bishop 242 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:27,480 Speaker 1: if he doesn't cut your dishes down to the same. 243 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 1: If I had to guess, I would imagine that eleanor 244 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:35,680 Speaker 1: simply preferred the power of being a duchess in her 245 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 1: own territory, then the limitations that came with being a 246 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:44,159 Speaker 1: queen in England. It was probably a lot of ceremonial 247 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 1: appearances and no real power. Henry was unquestionably the boss 248 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:55,760 Speaker 1: in England at Poitier, Eleanor was in charge. It had 249 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:58,360 Speaker 1: been a decade and a half since the two had 250 00:18:58,359 --> 00:19:02,040 Speaker 1: gotten married, and Eleanor had more than done her duty 251 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:07,680 Speaker 1: in providing Henry children. They had four surviving sons, and 252 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:11,800 Speaker 1: she had reached middle age, at least by medieval standards, 253 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:15,960 Speaker 1: past the age where she would likely have more children. 254 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:21,520 Speaker 1: If love or passion had once existed between Henry and Eleanor, 255 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:28,040 Speaker 1: it was almost certainly gone, seeing as he preferred his mistress. Plus, 256 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:31,840 Speaker 1: the people in Aquitaine and Poetout never really took to 257 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:36,240 Speaker 1: Henry as an overlord, and the region had descended into 258 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:40,520 Speaker 1: a little bit of chaos. Eleanor going back and reigning 259 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:44,639 Speaker 1: in her vassals was a smart strategic decision for a 260 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:49,680 Speaker 1: couple that was ruling over an incredibly vast and diverse empire. 261 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:55,960 Speaker 1: However understandable her reasons appear. Eleanor's move to her own 262 00:19:56,119 --> 00:20:00,440 Speaker 1: court in Poitier signaled a deep fissure growing in her 263 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:04,400 Speaker 1: marriage with Henry. Though we can't point to a single 264 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:10,040 Speaker 1: event or inciting incident, something had grown rotten between the 265 00:20:10,119 --> 00:20:14,159 Speaker 1: pair and it would lead to the most insidious kind 266 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:24,240 Speaker 1: of civil war, a family turned against itself. It was 267 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:28,280 Speaker 1: around the time that Eleanor moved her court to Poitier 268 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 1: that King Henry the second was settling the matter of 269 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:38,360 Speaker 1: inheritance between his sons. His oldest son, Henry, would receive England, 270 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:44,640 Speaker 1: Normandy and Anjou crown pickings. At fifteen, King Henry had 271 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:50,360 Speaker 1: a ceremony crowning his son, also Henry Henry, King of England, 272 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 1: not to take his place, but just as a sort 273 00:20:53,359 --> 00:20:58,159 Speaker 1: of junior king position. King in training. From this point on, 274 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,719 Speaker 1: to make things clearer, will refer to him as the 275 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:08,040 Speaker 1: young King. So the young King gets England, Normandy and Anjou, 276 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:11,280 Speaker 1: and he's married to King Louis of France's daughter from 277 00:21:11,359 --> 00:21:17,119 Speaker 1: his second marriage. Our next son, Richard, gets Acquitaine, which 278 00:21:17,119 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 1: is why he goes off with his mother Eleanor, and 279 00:21:20,359 --> 00:21:25,160 Speaker 1: he is betrothed to another French Princess, Alice of France. 280 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:29,199 Speaker 1: The next son, Jeffrey, will get Brittany and hold it 281 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:32,359 Speaker 1: as a vassal of his older brother Henry. The baby 282 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 1: John isn't factored in. Maybe he'll go into the church. 283 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:42,280 Speaker 1: Henry hasn't really decided yet. Perhaps you're asking yourself why 284 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:46,920 Speaker 1: King Henry is choosing to divide his property between his sons. 285 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:50,879 Speaker 1: He built an empire, doesn't it just go to the 286 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:56,680 Speaker 1: oldest son. Well, it was a really big and diverse kingdom, 287 00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: and King Henry was learning firsthand just how hard it 288 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: was to rule over that much land and that many 289 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:08,680 Speaker 1: different groups of people. He would rather his heirs all 290 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:13,280 Speaker 1: maintain clear power over smaller dominions than see his land 291 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:17,960 Speaker 1: crumble apart and fall into the hands of enemies. Plus, 292 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:21,720 Speaker 1: he really didn't think that any of his sons had 293 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 1: the ability to rule over an incredibly large and complex empire. 294 00:22:27,119 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: Henry's sons, young as they were, were also headstrong and spoiled, 295 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:36,920 Speaker 1: and though King Henry had granted them lands in theory, 296 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:41,639 Speaker 1: in practice he gave them no real power or control 297 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:45,760 Speaker 1: even as they got older. That would be a problem 298 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 1: for him later on. So remember that Henry gave his 299 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:53,639 Speaker 1: sons titles, but he didn't allow them the independent power 300 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: that went with those titles. Henry was especially restrictive with 301 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: the young King. You'd think that in having a full 302 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:08,400 Speaker 1: coronation ceremony for a teenage king, Henry was indicating that 303 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,520 Speaker 1: he was prepared to have his son begin to carry 304 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:15,800 Speaker 1: some responsibility for running the kingdom. You would be wrong. 305 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:21,680 Speaker 1: The coronation was entirely symbolic, and Henry was nowhere near 306 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:26,560 Speaker 1: ready to let the young King actually do anything. To 307 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:31,719 Speaker 1: be fair, the young King sounds well a little annoying. 308 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:37,600 Speaker 1: At the celebration dinner after this symbolic coronation, King Henry 309 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 1: came out with a boar's head on a platter to 310 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:44,240 Speaker 1: serve to his son. He joked, it's surely unusual to 311 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:47,679 Speaker 1: see a king wait upon a table. The Archbishop of 312 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:50,919 Speaker 1: York was nearby, and he got into the bit, ribbing 313 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,040 Speaker 1: the young King and adding, it's not every prince you 314 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:57,760 Speaker 1: can be served at table by a king. But the 315 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:02,199 Speaker 1: young King did not laugh, he didn't even smile. With 316 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:06,879 Speaker 1: a dead serious face, he replied, certainly, it can be 317 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:10,879 Speaker 1: no condescension for the son of a count to serve 318 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:16,400 Speaker 1: the son of a king. But soon spoiled sons would 319 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:21,280 Speaker 1: be the least of king Henry's problems, at least temporarily. 320 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:29,959 Speaker 1: If King Henry the Second of England is best known 321 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:33,760 Speaker 1: for one thing, although here in America I think it's 322 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:37,119 Speaker 1: a fair assumption that even that would be generous, it 323 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:43,360 Speaker 1: would be the possibly accidental murder of Thomas Beckett, Archbishop 324 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:49,240 Speaker 1: of Canterbury. The incredibly abridged version of it is Henry 325 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:53,119 Speaker 1: and Thomas Beckett were good friends. He appoints him Archbishop 326 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:57,840 Speaker 1: of Canterbury, and then Henry begins getting very annoyed at 327 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:00,680 Speaker 1: the way the Church was allowed to disapp in their 328 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 1: own if anyone broke the law. Basically, there was a 329 00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:08,600 Speaker 1: separate legal system that meant if someone committed a crime, 330 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:12,080 Speaker 1: if they had taken holy orders, even if they were 331 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,640 Speaker 1: just a clerk, the church would be the one who 332 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:22,440 Speaker 1: issued the punishment, and surprise, surprise, those penalties were incredibly light, 333 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:29,359 Speaker 1: even for bad crimes. So King Henry justifiably was annoyed 334 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:34,159 Speaker 1: that random clerks were committing manslaughter or even murder and 335 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:38,200 Speaker 1: getting away with a metaphorical slap on the wrist. While 336 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:41,679 Speaker 1: Beckett would get mad that King Henry was trying to 337 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:45,719 Speaker 1: infringe on the holy authority of the church. It is 338 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:49,920 Speaker 1: more complicated than that. But these two men would bicker 339 00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:53,040 Speaker 1: and slight each other, and then the King of France 340 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:55,440 Speaker 1: or the Pope would step in and they would kiss 341 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,240 Speaker 1: and make up, and then the psycho would start all 342 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:04,119 Speaker 1: over again. As the story goes, King Henry was venting 343 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:08,959 Speaker 1: about Beckett's latest disrespect, and he called out, will no 344 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:13,119 Speaker 1: one rid me of this troublesome priest. Well four of 345 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:17,800 Speaker 1: his men took that as an order and went to Canterbury, 346 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:22,199 Speaker 1: where they murdered Thomas Beckett. It was one of the 347 00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:27,480 Speaker 1: epic historical backfires. Thomas Beckett had been a thorn in 348 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:31,399 Speaker 1: King Henry's side when he was alive. Now that he 349 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:37,400 Speaker 1: was dead, he was King Henry's worst nightmare. Immediately, there 350 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:42,720 Speaker 1: was outcry from the Christian world. An archbishop slain outside 351 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:47,000 Speaker 1: his church in cold blood. Thomas Beckett was martyred and 352 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:51,399 Speaker 1: made a saint. People made pilgrimages to his shrine and 353 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:56,479 Speaker 1: celebrated miracles that they ascribed to him. Thomas Beckett's blood 354 00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:00,880 Speaker 1: would be a stain on King Henry's reputation for the 355 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:05,840 Speaker 1: rest of his life. Eleanor had defended Henry throughout his 356 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:10,119 Speaker 1: assorted quarrels with Beckett, but we don't know how she 357 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:15,240 Speaker 1: felt once Beckett had been killed. Even though Henry claimed 358 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:19,359 Speaker 1: it had been inadvertent on his part, it was still 359 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:24,520 Speaker 1: just an incredibly bad look all around, and we have 360 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:29,360 Speaker 1: to assume that Eleanor probably didn't look too kindly on it. 361 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:37,560 Speaker 1: While Eleanor was at her own court in Poitier with 362 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:42,119 Speaker 1: her favorite son Richard, Henry was making a marriage arrangement 363 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:46,879 Speaker 1: for their youngest son John. It was decided that John, 364 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:49,920 Speaker 1: who was five years old at this point, wouldn't enter 365 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,919 Speaker 1: the church. After all, he would marry the daughter of 366 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:56,640 Speaker 1: the Count of Marianne, and as his inheritance he would 367 00:27:56,680 --> 00:28:01,480 Speaker 1: get three castles on the continent and some estate in England. Well, 368 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:05,639 Speaker 1: that's all well and good, except the land that the 369 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:09,719 Speaker 1: king was giving to John had already been given to 370 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:15,159 Speaker 1: Henry's oldest son, the Young King. At this point, it 371 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:19,040 Speaker 1: was too much for the young King. He was frustrated 372 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:22,920 Speaker 1: about being stymied at every turn by his father, all 373 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:27,120 Speaker 1: of the authority he was supposed to have always being undermined, 374 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:31,320 Speaker 1: and now this land that were his just being taken 375 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:34,960 Speaker 1: out from under him, as if he didn't exist. King 376 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,959 Speaker 1: Henry sensed the seeds of mutiny in his son, and 377 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,760 Speaker 1: so he made it his business not to let his 378 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 1: oldest boy out of his sight. He left his other sons, 379 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:50,800 Speaker 1: Richard and Jeffrey, with Eleanor at Poitier, because surely the 380 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:56,160 Speaker 1: only insubordination was coming from the young king. In the 381 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:59,600 Speaker 1: middle of the night, the young king slipped away from 382 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:03,760 Speaker 1: his father's camp and absconded to Paris, to the Kingdom 383 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:06,720 Speaker 1: of France, where he met with his father in law, 384 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:12,840 Speaker 1: King Louis the Seventh, yes Eleanor's first husband. As luck 385 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:15,840 Speaker 1: would have it, the King of France was more than 386 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,560 Speaker 1: a willing ear to listen to the young king complain 387 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:23,640 Speaker 1: about the King of England, and Louis encouraged the boy 388 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:28,120 Speaker 1: to rebel against his father. He crowned, you, didn't he, 389 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:33,400 Speaker 1: King Louis said, already salivating at the prospect of Henry 390 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:38,280 Speaker 1: the Second Empire coming tumbling down. You should be the 391 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:43,400 Speaker 1: one in charge, he whispered. The young king agreed. King 392 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:47,560 Speaker 1: Henry wrote to Paris, demanding that Louis give his son 393 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:51,880 Speaker 1: back by the order of the King of England. You 394 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,960 Speaker 1: must be mistaken, Louis wrote back. The King of England 395 00:29:56,080 --> 00:30:01,280 Speaker 1: is here. It was a declaration of war. Henry would 396 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:05,120 Speaker 1: have to fight King Louis the Seventh, fight all of 397 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:07,880 Speaker 1: the nobles who had turned against him over the years, 398 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:13,680 Speaker 1: and fight his own son in order to protect his throne. 399 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:16,840 Speaker 1: What he didn't suspect was that soon he would be 400 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:25,800 Speaker 1: fighting three of his sons. The young king managed to 401 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:30,160 Speaker 1: sneak to Poitier, and he left with his brothers Richard 402 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:36,400 Speaker 1: and Jeffrey, fighting alongside him. According to one chronicler, the 403 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:41,560 Speaker 1: two boys quote chose to follow their brother rather than 404 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:46,600 Speaker 1: their father. In this, they say, following the advice of 405 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:52,520 Speaker 1: their mother, Eleanor Eleanor of Aquitaine. Whether it was out 406 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:57,600 Speaker 1: of personal hatred or frustration or bitterness, whether it was 407 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:02,280 Speaker 1: because she disagreed with Henry's or with the murder of Beckett, 408 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:06,000 Speaker 1: or whether it was simply because she wanted her sons 409 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:09,800 Speaker 1: to have the power that was due to them turned 410 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:15,640 Speaker 1: against her husband. Once she had chosen her side, Poitier 411 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:20,600 Speaker 1: was too dangerous. It did, after all, still belong to Henry. 412 00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:25,360 Speaker 1: Eleanor's sons had already made it to the safety of Paris. 413 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:29,720 Speaker 1: Eleanor would follow them back to the hospitality of the 414 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:36,240 Speaker 1: court of her ex husband war makes strange bedfellows, sometimes 415 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:42,640 Speaker 1: even past literal bedfellows, and for all their history and baggage, 416 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:46,240 Speaker 1: Eleanor and Louis were united in this case by a 417 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:51,720 Speaker 1: common enemy. But Eleanor never made it to Paris. Though 418 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:56,240 Speaker 1: she changed from women's clothes and disguised herself as a man, 419 00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:01,080 Speaker 1: she was intercepted and arrested by Henry said men, who 420 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:05,280 Speaker 1: sent her straight to her husband. It's likely that there 421 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:10,840 Speaker 1: were spies in her camp. Immediately after Eleanor's arrest, four 422 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:16,280 Speaker 1: prominent men from Poitou were given suspiciously generous grants from Henry. 423 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:23,160 Speaker 1: Henry quietly transported Eleanor back to England, possibly on a 424 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:29,480 Speaker 1: ship from Henry's private fleet called Esneca or Snake. The 425 00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:35,120 Speaker 1: symbolism there very Taylor Swift, would have been a complete coincidence. 426 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:41,880 Speaker 1: The Queen of England was imprisoned secretly in a fortified castle, 427 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:48,640 Speaker 1: likely either Winchester or Old Sauum. Henry understood rebellion coming 428 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:53,040 Speaker 1: from his own sons. It was unfortunate, but it happened. 429 00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:59,760 Speaker 1: But a wife rising up against her husband with something else, entirely, 430 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:07,320 Speaker 1: something unspeakable, It had taken Henry completely by surprise. And 431 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:18,719 Speaker 1: he would never let that happen again. For a moment, 432 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:22,560 Speaker 1: it seemed as though the young King would be successful 433 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:26,000 Speaker 1: in his rebellion, that the chaos of all of the 434 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:30,040 Speaker 1: rebel forces rising up against Henry the Second would take 435 00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:33,200 Speaker 1: him down. And of course the King of Scots had 436 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:37,320 Speaker 1: chosen that exact moment to try to invade England, seeing 437 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:41,880 Speaker 1: as Henry was otherwise occupied. But Henry was an adept 438 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:47,280 Speaker 1: military leader, and the young King was inexperienced. And though 439 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:51,200 Speaker 1: King Louis took control from the young King, he was 440 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:54,840 Speaker 1: as bad at organizing rebels as he had been in 441 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:59,600 Speaker 1: organizing a crusade all those years ago. When the walls 442 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:02,920 Speaker 1: had been closing in on Henry, he had ridden to 443 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:06,720 Speaker 1: Canterbury to pay penance for the part that he played 444 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:11,279 Speaker 1: in the death of Thomas Beckett, now sainted. Perhaps this, 445 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:15,520 Speaker 1: his son's rebelling against him, his wife turned against him, 446 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:20,440 Speaker 1: was some sort of divine punishment. Henry walked to the 447 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:25,680 Speaker 1: cathedral barefoot, wearing the itchy woolen smunk of a pilgrim, 448 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:29,960 Speaker 1: and he stayed all day fasting in prayer. He had 449 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:35,000 Speaker 1: every bishop present give him lashes. He would cleanse his 450 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:39,800 Speaker 1: soul of sin once and for all, and like a miracle, 451 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:43,680 Speaker 1: as he rose from his knees, he got word that 452 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:48,839 Speaker 1: his men had just won a decisive victory and that 453 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:54,120 Speaker 1: the opportunist King of the Scots had been captured. The 454 00:34:54,239 --> 00:34:58,640 Speaker 1: tide had changed, and Henry's sons had no choice but 455 00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:03,120 Speaker 1: to accept peace. Though Richard fought until the bitter end, 456 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:08,920 Speaker 1: eventually he threw himself weeping at his father's feet. Henry 457 00:35:08,960 --> 00:35:14,400 Speaker 1: forgave him. Considering the circumstances, the terms Henry settled with 458 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:18,080 Speaker 1: were more than generous. He gave the young king a 459 00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:23,080 Speaker 1: reasonable allowance and two castles in Normandy, Richard half the 460 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:27,000 Speaker 1: revenues of Poitou and some castles, and Geoffrey half the 461 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:30,239 Speaker 1: revenues of Brittany. But there would be no more talk 462 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:34,160 Speaker 1: of them wielding more power, and young John would get 463 00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:37,080 Speaker 1: those estates from his brother that had been such a 464 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:40,960 Speaker 1: point of contention in the first place. In fact, John 465 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:44,920 Speaker 1: would get even more land because John, still a child 466 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:48,640 Speaker 1: at this point, had been the only legitimate son who 467 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:52,400 Speaker 1: didn't rise up against his father. He would be his 468 00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:56,719 Speaker 1: father's favorite from that point on. But still Henry forgave 469 00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,880 Speaker 1: all of his children. He said they were of a 470 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:03,719 Speaker 1: quote tender age, and that they had been led astray 471 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:08,040 Speaker 1: by the people around them, by the scheming King of France, 472 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:14,040 Speaker 1: and by their mother, Eleanor. Henry would forgive everyone who 473 00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:20,680 Speaker 1: had risen up against him in rebellion, except his wife. 474 00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:26,160 Speaker 1: Eleanor of Aquitaine would remain in custody, cut off from 475 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:30,960 Speaker 1: the outside world completely, and at her husband's mercy, for 476 00:36:31,080 --> 00:36:36,000 Speaker 1: the rest of Henry's life. She likely moved from castle 477 00:36:36,040 --> 00:36:40,719 Speaker 1: to castle, Her movements kept secret because Henry was well 478 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:44,360 Speaker 1: aware that if word of her mistreatment got back to 479 00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:48,279 Speaker 1: her home duchies, they might rise up in support of her. 480 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,800 Speaker 1: One of the castles, Old Sarum, was located on a bleak, 481 00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:58,480 Speaker 1: cold hill near what now is Salisbury. Apparently the castle 482 00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:03,440 Speaker 1: was so drafty that clerks singing in the cathedral couldn't 483 00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:07,080 Speaker 1: hear each other over the wind. We know from the 484 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:11,040 Speaker 1: pipe rolls the financial records that the money being spent 485 00:37:11,239 --> 00:37:15,919 Speaker 1: on Eleanor was meager. She was allowed one personal maid, 486 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:20,960 Speaker 1: and they shared a bed. Eleanor, queen of two countries, 487 00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:25,480 Speaker 1: mother of a brood of dukes, and well married daughters. 488 00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:29,719 Speaker 1: Once the richest woman in Europe, who had dazzled the 489 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:34,000 Speaker 1: world as she had set out on Crusade, was fifty 490 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:39,120 Speaker 1: two years old. At this point. Perhaps you're wondering, why 491 00:37:39,160 --> 00:37:43,960 Speaker 1: didn't Henry just annul his marriage with Eleanor. They were cousins, 492 00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:47,120 Speaker 1: after all, there would be a way to annul the 493 00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:53,239 Speaker 1: marriage without making his children illegitimate. Well, Henry tried. He 494 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:56,959 Speaker 1: took the first few steps to annul his marriage, even 495 00:37:57,080 --> 00:38:00,640 Speaker 1: going so far as to begin making moves to marry 496 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:04,640 Speaker 1: Alice of France, the young woman that had been officially 497 00:38:04,719 --> 00:38:10,520 Speaker 1: betrothed to his own son Richard. But Eleanor still owned 498 00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:14,680 Speaker 1: her vast and wealthy property if she wasn't married, and 499 00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:17,440 Speaker 1: Henry would lose claim to that if he and Eleanor 500 00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:22,440 Speaker 1: were divorced. Perhaps more troubling, if Eleanor were no longer 501 00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:26,320 Speaker 1: his wife, she would revert to just being a vassal 502 00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:29,480 Speaker 1: of the King of France, and Henry would have no 503 00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:33,520 Speaker 1: authority for keeping her prisoner. She could go back to 504 00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:37,760 Speaker 1: Aquitaine to raise her own armies to betray Henry again, 505 00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:42,480 Speaker 1: and worse, if they were divorced, she could marry again 506 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:45,480 Speaker 1: to someone else who could help her do it. The 507 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:49,960 Speaker 1: last thing Henry wanted was a rich and powerful enemy 508 00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:54,160 Speaker 1: on the southern flank of his empire. Henry tried to 509 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:58,200 Speaker 1: get Eleanor to become an abbess, but she refused, and 510 00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:03,360 Speaker 1: the archbishop she appealed to backed her up. Henry couldn't 511 00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:07,560 Speaker 1: force Eleanor to become a nun against her will. Eleanor 512 00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:10,360 Speaker 1: wasn't willing to give up her claim to her land 513 00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:15,440 Speaker 1: or her power. She would rather be alone, imprisoned and 514 00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:22,440 Speaker 1: completely isolated, waiting Henry out. Eleanor was allowed no contact 515 00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:26,080 Speaker 1: with her family or the outside world to prevent the 516 00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:30,520 Speaker 1: chance that she would undermine her husband yet again. A 517 00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:33,960 Speaker 1: sympathetic jailer might have told her that her daughter had 518 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:39,239 Speaker 1: become engaged to William of Sicily. Maybe Eleanor overheard the 519 00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:42,640 Speaker 1: gossip when her first husband, King Louis the seventh of 520 00:39:42,719 --> 00:39:48,799 Speaker 1: France died of a stroke. After six years of complete imprisonment, 521 00:39:49,360 --> 00:39:55,000 Speaker 1: Henry allowed Eleanor slightly more comfort, a slightly bigger household, 522 00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:59,959 Speaker 1: according to the records, and eventually, after years, Henry would 523 00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:04,880 Speaker 1: permit Eleanor back to make appearances at court, even to 524 00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:09,880 Speaker 1: see her sons again, though even then Henry's motive was 525 00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:14,680 Speaker 1: always political. Eleanor was invited to see her children again 526 00:40:14,719 --> 00:40:19,400 Speaker 1: for the first time in eleven eighty four, after Henry 527 00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:25,919 Speaker 1: had once again redistributed their inheritance and he wanted Eleanor's 528 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:32,759 Speaker 1: help in assigning Aquitaine to the baby John instead of Richard. Eleanor, 529 00:40:33,040 --> 00:40:45,880 Speaker 1: even after years of imprisonment and isolation, refused. Eventually, after years, 530 00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:49,719 Speaker 1: Henry would allow Eleanor to go back to Aquitaine to 531 00:40:49,800 --> 00:40:52,880 Speaker 1: help him get her vassals in line, but she was 532 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:56,880 Speaker 1: an administrator for him. Though she was getting a modicum 533 00:40:56,960 --> 00:41:01,400 Speaker 1: of freedom in exchange for political service, Henry would never 534 00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:08,760 Speaker 1: grant Eleanor real power. Henry's problems with bickering, selfish sons 535 00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:12,200 Speaker 1: that had plagued him throughout his life didn't end with 536 00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:16,799 Speaker 1: that one rebellion. In fact, in eleven eighty three, the 537 00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:21,440 Speaker 1: young King would rebel again against both his father and 538 00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:26,680 Speaker 1: his brother Richard. It was a disastrous campaign, with the 539 00:41:26,719 --> 00:41:30,719 Speaker 1: young King forced to pillage monasteries in order to try 540 00:41:30,719 --> 00:41:35,160 Speaker 1: to raise the funds to pay his mercenary soldiers. In 541 00:41:35,239 --> 00:41:39,560 Speaker 1: the end, the young King would contract dysentery. As he 542 00:41:39,640 --> 00:41:43,360 Speaker 1: lay dying, he tried to absolve himself of his sins. 543 00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:47,160 Speaker 1: He slept in ashes and sent a message to his 544 00:41:47,280 --> 00:41:51,440 Speaker 1: father begging for his forgiveness and asking him to come 545 00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:55,799 Speaker 1: and see him to say goodbye. King Henry was conflicted. 546 00:41:56,480 --> 00:41:59,560 Speaker 1: He loved his son still, but he was worried it 547 00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:04,480 Speaker 1: might be a trap. Henry sent a sapphire ring and 548 00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:08,600 Speaker 1: a letter telling his son that he forgave him, but 549 00:42:09,120 --> 00:42:13,400 Speaker 1: he didn't come in person. The young king read his 550 00:42:13,480 --> 00:42:17,560 Speaker 1: father's letter before he died. He said he wanted all 551 00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:22,120 Speaker 1: of his possessions donated to the poor, except the ring. 552 00:42:22,880 --> 00:42:25,800 Speaker 1: He wanted to keep the ring so that his maker 553 00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:29,719 Speaker 1: would know before he judged him that his father had 554 00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:34,799 Speaker 1: forgiven him. When Henry heard that his son died, the 555 00:42:34,840 --> 00:42:38,720 Speaker 1: son that had brought arms up against him again and again, 556 00:42:39,480 --> 00:42:42,200 Speaker 1: he wept like a child and fell to the floor. 557 00:42:43,200 --> 00:42:46,320 Speaker 1: He cost me much, but I wish he had lived 558 00:42:46,680 --> 00:42:51,680 Speaker 1: to cost me more, Henry said. According to legend, a 559 00:42:51,719 --> 00:42:56,000 Speaker 1: messenger came to tell Eleanor that her son had died. 560 00:42:57,040 --> 00:43:02,440 Speaker 1: Unlike her husband. Eleanor didn't. She said she had already 561 00:43:02,560 --> 00:43:05,720 Speaker 1: mourned that she had seen a vision in a dream, 562 00:43:06,280 --> 00:43:10,600 Speaker 1: her son lying on his back with his fingers intertwined 563 00:43:10,800 --> 00:43:14,399 Speaker 1: like an effigy on a tomb. In her dream, her 564 00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:19,440 Speaker 1: son wore his crown, and also a circlet of bright white, 565 00:43:19,880 --> 00:43:24,560 Speaker 1: heavenly light, and on his finger she could see the 566 00:43:24,640 --> 00:43:28,000 Speaker 1: sapphire ring that she would have had no way of 567 00:43:28,120 --> 00:43:34,200 Speaker 1: knowing Henry had sent along. His heir was dead, but 568 00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:39,080 Speaker 1: still Henry's sons would fight him. Richard was angry that 569 00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:42,480 Speaker 1: he hadn't been yet married to Alice of France, and 570 00:43:42,520 --> 00:43:47,120 Speaker 1: so he publicly allied with Philip, Alice's half brother, the 571 00:43:47,200 --> 00:43:51,400 Speaker 1: new King of France. By this point, Henry was fifty 572 00:43:51,440 --> 00:43:55,359 Speaker 1: six years old and suffering from a bleeding ulcer that 573 00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:59,879 Speaker 1: would eventually kill him. Too sick to continue to fight, 574 00:44:00,600 --> 00:44:05,160 Speaker 1: he gave in to Richard's demands, which were mostly just 575 00:44:05,239 --> 00:44:09,960 Speaker 1: a matter of pride. Before Henry died, he got word 576 00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:14,879 Speaker 1: that even his youngest son John had turned against him 577 00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:18,200 Speaker 1: in the end and sided with Richard in the fighting. 578 00:44:18,760 --> 00:44:21,600 Speaker 1: Once it was obvious that Richard was going to win, 579 00:44:22,719 --> 00:44:27,799 Speaker 1: Henry's last words, according to legend, were shame on a 580 00:44:27,920 --> 00:44:33,919 Speaker 1: conquered king. Richard, the first Eleanor's favorite son, who would 581 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:38,200 Speaker 1: eventually be known as Richard the Lion Heart, was finally 582 00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:42,839 Speaker 1: King of England. He immediately sent a messenger sailing up 583 00:44:42,840 --> 00:44:47,000 Speaker 1: from France as fast as possible to order Eleanor's release 584 00:44:47,160 --> 00:44:52,160 Speaker 1: from her imprisonment. Now that Henry was dead, Eleanor would 585 00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:55,840 Speaker 1: finally be free, and she would be installed as ruler 586 00:44:55,920 --> 00:45:00,359 Speaker 1: of England in Richard's name until Richard could get there himself. 587 00:45:01,280 --> 00:45:05,719 Speaker 1: But when the messenger arrived to free her, he was confused. 588 00:45:06,560 --> 00:45:12,800 Speaker 1: Eleanor was already free. Eleanor had heard that her husband 589 00:45:12,880 --> 00:45:16,959 Speaker 1: had died, and everyone knew that her son, Richard was king. 590 00:45:17,600 --> 00:45:21,879 Speaker 1: Her release was a foregone conclusion, and so Eleanor had 591 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:27,040 Speaker 1: just demanded that the guards release her. She had freed herself. 592 00:45:33,160 --> 00:45:37,520 Speaker 1: That's the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine's imprisonment during her 593 00:45:37,560 --> 00:45:41,520 Speaker 1: marriage to Henry the Second. But keep listening after a 594 00:45:41,560 --> 00:45:45,120 Speaker 1: brief sponsor break to hear a little bit more about 595 00:45:45,160 --> 00:45:50,560 Speaker 1: the way Eleanor and Henry's relationship is told in legend. 596 00:45:55,600 --> 00:45:59,680 Speaker 1: It was during Eleanor's imprisonment that Henry stopped trying to 597 00:45:59,760 --> 00:46:05,000 Speaker 1: high his affair with Rosamond. Clifford chroniclers would enjoy the 598 00:46:05,200 --> 00:46:09,720 Speaker 1: pun on her name Rosa mundy meaning rose of the world, 599 00:46:10,200 --> 00:46:17,360 Speaker 1: to Rosa immundi or immodest. In eleven seventy five, Rosamond 600 00:46:17,440 --> 00:46:21,080 Speaker 1: was sent to a nunnery, probably not because she had 601 00:46:21,120 --> 00:46:23,880 Speaker 1: a change of heart about her lifestyle of being a 602 00:46:23,920 --> 00:46:27,920 Speaker 1: mistress and decided to become a nun but more likely 603 00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:32,239 Speaker 1: because she was ill and needed care. She died a 604 00:46:32,320 --> 00:46:36,680 Speaker 1: year later of illness, though that wouldn't stop poets and 605 00:46:36,880 --> 00:46:41,240 Speaker 1: balladers from telling the story that she was actually murdered 606 00:46:41,360 --> 00:46:47,320 Speaker 1: by Eleanor. Stories have Eleanor finding the secret labyrinth where 607 00:46:47,560 --> 00:46:52,520 Speaker 1: Henry was keeping Rosamond and forcing Rosamond to choose between 608 00:46:52,600 --> 00:46:56,600 Speaker 1: either a dagger or a bull of poison. It's a 609 00:46:56,719 --> 00:47:02,800 Speaker 1: dramatic piece of medieval folklore, but its complete fiction. Eleanor 610 00:47:03,040 --> 00:47:08,440 Speaker 1: was completely accounted for in custody when Rosamond died locked 611 00:47:08,480 --> 00:47:13,560 Speaker 1: away in a remote fortress castle. It seems that every 612 00:47:13,640 --> 00:47:18,800 Speaker 1: woman in Henry's life was imprisoned, his wife Eleanor, of course, 613 00:47:19,360 --> 00:47:23,120 Speaker 1: but also poor Alice of France, the daughter of the 614 00:47:23,200 --> 00:47:27,360 Speaker 1: King of France, who was betrothed to Henry's son Richard. 615 00:47:28,360 --> 00:47:32,680 Speaker 1: Instead of allowing that wedding to go forward, Henry used 616 00:47:32,719 --> 00:47:37,560 Speaker 1: Alice as a pawn, keeping her like a glorified hostage, 617 00:47:38,120 --> 00:47:42,399 Speaker 1: contemplating marrying her, and in the end, likely turning her 618 00:47:42,520 --> 00:47:47,880 Speaker 1: into his own mistress. According to legend, the labyrinth that 619 00:47:48,080 --> 00:47:52,000 Speaker 1: Rosamond was forced to stay in was inspired by the 620 00:47:52,040 --> 00:47:58,080 Speaker 1: maze in Greek mythology that Daedalus built to contain the minotaur. Except, 621 00:47:58,160 --> 00:48:03,080 Speaker 1: of course, Rosamond wasn't a man eating monster. She was 622 00:48:03,200 --> 00:48:07,520 Speaker 1: a beautiful woman whose crime was the king being madly 623 00:48:07,640 --> 00:48:13,000 Speaker 1: in love with her, queen, princess and mistress. They all 624 00:48:13,040 --> 00:48:25,799 Speaker 1: shared the same fate in Henry's story. Noble Blood is 625 00:48:25,840 --> 00:48:30,800 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankee. 626 00:48:31,440 --> 00:48:35,239 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is created and hosted by me Dana Schwortz, 627 00:48:35,560 --> 00:48:40,359 Speaker 1: with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, 628 00:48:40,800 --> 00:48:45,200 Speaker 1: Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The show is 629 00:48:45,400 --> 00:48:49,719 Speaker 1: edited and produced by Noemi Griffin and rima Il Kahali, 630 00:48:50,200 --> 00:48:55,479 Speaker 1: with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Manke, 631 00:48:55,880 --> 00:49:00,800 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 632 00:49:01,320 --> 00:49:05,840 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 633 00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:06,880 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.