1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:10,680 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. In eleven 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,320 Speaker 1: forty one, Eleanor of Aquitaine went with her little sister 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:19,360 Speaker 1: Petronilla on the summer holiday in Poitou. This wasn't unusual, 5 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: as the two were inseparable throughout their lives. Petronilla and 6 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 1: Eleanor spent their childhood joined at the hip. Even when 7 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: Eleanor got married to the King of France, Louis the Seventh. 8 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:37,479 Speaker 1: Petronilla joined her household, following her from orlean to parents, 9 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: but Eleanor was a little worried about her little sister. 10 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: By eleven forty one, Petronilla had reached, as historian Marian 11 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: Meade puts it, quote, the spinsterly age of nineteen without 12 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: finding a husband. Petronilla was an attractive bachelorette. She was 13 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: known for her beauty, She had plenty of property to 14 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,080 Speaker 1: her name in Burgundy, and she wielded political power by 15 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: nature of her position in the royal court. But no 16 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: one had come calling on her and she remained single. 17 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: That was all about to change on this trip. Petronilla's 18 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 1: brother in law Louis the seventh had brought along the 19 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:25,759 Speaker 1: dashing Count Ralph of Vermandois, Sanchell of France. Petronilla and 20 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: Ralph had actually met before at Louis and Eleanor's wedding, 21 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,839 Speaker 1: but it wasn't until this trip that sparks really began 22 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 1: to fly. Even though he was thirty five years older 23 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 1: than Petronilla and had one eye missing from battle, Ralph 24 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 1: was known for being quite the seducer. According to a 25 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: contemporary he was quote always dominated by lust. Petronilla also 26 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: had a reputation for quote possessing a strong sex drive 27 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: and few inhibitions, in the words of Marion Meade. As 28 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: the court noticed them getting closer and closer, it was 29 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 1: clear that this affair was hardly platonic. It seemed, after 30 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:16,800 Speaker 1: all this time Petronilla had found her winning suitor. But 31 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: there was one big problem. Ralph of Vermandois was already married. 32 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 1: His wife was Eleanor of Blois, either a sister or 33 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: a niece of Count Theobald, the fourth of Plois, one 34 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: of the most powerful nobles in France. That did nothing 35 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: to deter Petronilla, who insisted that she would have no 36 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: other husband, regardless of the cost. I'm Dana Schwartz, and 37 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 1: this is noble blood. Even though it was certainly controversial 38 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: to set up her sister with a married man, Eleanor 39 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: of Aquitaine actually supported Petronilla's union if you discount the 40 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: whole already married thing. Ralph was a good match for 41 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 1: Petronilla as a close relative of the king and one 42 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:14,079 Speaker 1: of the most powerful lords in France. Moreover, a marriage 43 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:20,040 Speaker 1: between Petronilla and Ralph would have several political advantages. Eleanor 44 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: hated Theobald, the relative of Ralph's current wife, and she 45 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: took particular pleasure in the thought of potentially alienating him 46 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: from the royal family. Her sister's union would also shore 47 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: up King Louis succession plan, because if Eleanor failed to 48 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: produce a child, Ralph could have claimed the ducal title. 49 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 1: Better that he be married to Eleanor's little sister to 50 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 1: keep the title and power within the close family, so 51 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: to speak. Besides, if Petronilla married Ralph, Eleanor would get 52 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: to keep her sister near by, and so Eleanor encouraged 53 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 1: Ralph to have his current marriage annulled and worked on 54 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: getting her own husband to throw his weight behind that decision. 55 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: At Eleanor's prompting, King Louis agreed to the match, and 56 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: so with the royal blessing, Ralph left his wife and 57 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:16,440 Speaker 1: moved in with Petronilla. Now all they needed to do 58 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: was wait for Ralph's annulment to be officially granted. At 59 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: the end of fourteen eleven, Louis found three bishops, one 60 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: of whom was Ralph's own brother, who were willing to 61 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: perform the annulment on grounds of consanguinity. They alleged that 62 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: Ralph and his soon to be ex wife shared a 63 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:41,880 Speaker 1: common ancestor, rendering their marriage forbidden, even though there was 64 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: no actual evidence that proved it. No matter, the annulment 65 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,799 Speaker 1: was performed, and shortly after, in the beginning of eleven 66 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:56,479 Speaker 1: forty two, those same bishops officiated Ralph's wedding to Petronilla. 67 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:59,640 Speaker 1: But the happy couple wouldn't have longed to enjoy the 68 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: honey moonfase Ralph's ex wife moved in with her powerful relative, 69 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:08,600 Speaker 1: Count Theobald, the fourth of Plois, who was not at 70 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:12,720 Speaker 1: all pleased with the way the situation had unfolded. Theobald 71 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: drew up documents aiming to reverse the bishop's decision. He 72 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: alleged that Ralph's annulment and remarriage were invalid because Ralph 73 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 1: had not asked for the Pope's permission and had in 74 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: fact gone behind the Church's back by appealing to King 75 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:34,600 Speaker 1: Louis Instead. Louis, by conscripting three bishops to perform the annulment, 76 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:38,719 Speaker 1: was flouting the authority of the church and interfering with 77 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: what was clearly a spiritual matter. Bernard of Clervaux, a 78 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:48,359 Speaker 1: powerful abbot, intervened in the conflict on the side of 79 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: Count Theobald. But Bernard wasn't exactly unbiased. A decade earlier, 80 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: he had actually beefed with Eleanor and Petronilla's father, Duke 81 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 1: William the Tix, because the Duke initially refused to support 82 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 1: Pope Innocent the Second. This only fueled Bernard's resentment of 83 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: Ralph's marriage to Petronilla, and he wrote an angry letter 84 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: to Pope Innocent decrying the marriage. That summer, the Pope 85 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:22,479 Speaker 1: arranged a church council in Champagne. He sent over a 86 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 1: papal legate from Rome to preside over the council, who, 87 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 1: in the end reaffirmed the validity of Ralph's first marriage 88 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: and excommunicated Ralph, Petronilla and the three bishops who had 89 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 1: performed the annulment. Louis and Eleanor were incensed. Separating Ralph 90 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:47,919 Speaker 1: and Petronilla could potentially cause even more drama now in 91 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: the royal household, because Petronilla was pregnant. Louis refused to 92 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: acknowledge the legate's sentence, which he saw as a threat 93 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:01,599 Speaker 1: to his authority. He would stop at nothing to keep 94 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: Ralph and Petronilla together and to get revenge on Theobold, 95 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: even if it meant turning to war. In January eleven 96 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:16,000 Speaker 1: forty three, Louis the Seventh led an army into Champagne. 97 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:21,000 Speaker 1: This was Theobold's domain, and Louis aimed to punish him 98 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: for meddling in the Petronilla and Ralph affair. Louis took 99 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 1: refuge in an encampment on the Lfortia Hills, watching his 100 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: troops march towards Theobold's castle. Arrows reined down on Louis's 101 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: forces from the castle towers, but his archers fired back 102 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 1: by launching flaming arrows over the walls. The castle burst 103 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: into flames, which soon engulfed the entire town. Townspeople took 104 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: shelter in the parish church, but soon it caught fire 105 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: as well, burning to death several hundred people trapped inside, 106 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: among them many women and child children. By the end 107 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:06,000 Speaker 1: of the battle, over a thousand people had died. It 108 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:10,960 Speaker 1: was a gruesome scene, according to Marian Mead, Louis's army 109 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:16,680 Speaker 1: left behind a carpet of ravaged fields and smoking villages, 110 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:22,680 Speaker 1: corpses pierced by lances, and disemboweled horses lying in frozen 111 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 1: raspberry pools. King Louis watched from his encampment, filled with 112 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 1: guilt and grief. For many days after, he would not 113 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:36,800 Speaker 1: get out of bed, refusing to speak. He returned to 114 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 1: Paris ashamed and depressed, haunted by the massacre. Eleanor was 115 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: dismayed to find her husband so traumatized by the events 116 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 1: that had taken place at Vitry. The King would wake 117 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: up in the middle of the night sobbing, or spend 118 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: hours of the day staring into space, completely numb. Eleanor 119 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: tried to convince him that the massacre was not his fault, 120 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 1: and that this war against Theobald was warranted given that 121 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:09,880 Speaker 1: it protected the honor of their family, but Louis was 122 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 1: not convinced. He didn't think that victory over count Theobold 123 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:20,040 Speaker 1: had called for so much bloodshed and so much innocent bloodshed. Still, 124 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:24,160 Speaker 1: he went back to Champagne, and the war continued, and 125 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: his army marched through the countryside. After months of fighting, 126 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:34,079 Speaker 1: Louis and Eleanor presented a peace treaty to count Theobold. 127 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:38,560 Speaker 1: The royal couple promised to restore his possessions if he 128 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 1: reversed Ralph and Petronilla's excommunication and allowed them to marry. 129 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:49,679 Speaker 1: Abbot Bernard again stepped into the conflict, suggesting that Pope 130 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 1: Innocent accept Louis and Eleanor's demands for long enough for 131 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: Louis to recall his troops and then reinstate Petronilla and 132 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 1: Ralph's excommunication immediately after he wrote quote. Thus, artifice would 133 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:08,880 Speaker 1: be outwitted by artifice, and peace obtained without the tyrant 134 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:14,960 Speaker 1: gaining anything. Sure Enough, according to Bernard's plan, the Pope 135 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: undid the excommunication and Louis extracted his troops from Theobald's territory. 136 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:25,760 Speaker 1: Then the Pope asked Ralph to leave Petronilla. Ralph refused, 137 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:31,119 Speaker 1: and the Pope excommunicated them both again. Louis, in a frenzy, 138 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:34,840 Speaker 1: sent his army back to Champagne, and the war continued. 139 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 1: Bernard wrote Louis a letter condemning him for the destruction 140 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:42,040 Speaker 1: he had wrought, writing quote, I can tell you that, 141 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:47,079 Speaker 1: provoked by constant excesses you commit almost daily, I am 142 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:49,160 Speaker 1: determined that in the future, to the best of my 143 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: limited capacity, I shall expose the whole truth about you. 144 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:56,880 Speaker 1: I have spoken harshly because I fear an even harsher 145 00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 1: fate for you. By this summer of a life forty three, 146 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:04,559 Speaker 1: it seemed as though the conflict would never be resolved. 147 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: Louis the Seventh refused to back down, and Theobold was 148 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:12,280 Speaker 1: threatening to involve the entire north of France in the war. 149 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:17,280 Speaker 1: The enmity between Louis and Theobold grew even stronger when 150 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:22,160 Speaker 1: Louis accused Theobold of hypocritically flouting the Church's rules by 151 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 1: setting up consanguineous marriages for his relatives. Bernard fired back 152 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 1: at Louis, quote, how has the king got the effrontery 153 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 1: to try so hard to lay down laws for others 154 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:37,560 Speaker 1: about consanguinity when it is clear that he himself is 155 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,560 Speaker 1: living with his cousin with the third degree. There actually 156 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,679 Speaker 1: was nothing to back up his allegation that Louis and 157 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 1: Eleanor were related, but Bernard figured that if Louis and 158 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 1: Eleanor could make up false rumors, he could too. Any 159 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:57,360 Speaker 1: attempt to resolve this impasse stalled. When Pope Innocent died 160 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,599 Speaker 1: on September twenty fourth, eleven forty three, there was the 161 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:05,680 Speaker 1: opportunity for his successor to lift the second excommunication on 162 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:09,719 Speaker 1: Petronilla and Ralph and finally put an end to this conflict, 163 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: but the new pope refused. In early fourteen forty four, 164 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:19,440 Speaker 1: Bernard arranged a peace conference that devolved into chaos when 165 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:24,200 Speaker 1: a baron accused Louis of being Ralph's puppet. Finally, in 166 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:29,079 Speaker 1: October eleven forty four, Eleanor of Aquitaine had it towards 167 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:32,440 Speaker 1: a deserted chamber of the Abbey of Saint Denis to 168 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:37,120 Speaker 1: meet privately with Bernard of Clervaux. We don't know whether 169 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: Louis or Bernard, or even the Queen herself had been 170 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,720 Speaker 1: the one to call the meeting, but its results would 171 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:47,439 Speaker 1: determine once and for all if the war would continue. 172 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 1: It was in Eleanor's hands. Despite being two of the 173 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:58,280 Speaker 1: most powerful figures in France. Before this meeting, Bernard and 174 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 1: Eleanor of Aquitaine had actually never met. When they were 175 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:04,840 Speaker 1: in the same room together, they had regarded each other 176 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:09,320 Speaker 1: from a distance. Bernard was suspicious of women in general, 177 00:13:09,679 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 1: seeing them as quote Snares of Satan. Legend has it 178 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 1: that Bernard once looked at an attractive girl and was 179 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 1: filled with such shame that he threw himself into an 180 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,640 Speaker 1: icy pond and stayed there until he almost froze. Because 181 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 1: no one else was in the room during this meeting 182 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 1: between Bernard and Eleanor, we don't know for sure how 183 00:13:33,559 --> 00:13:38,440 Speaker 1: things went down. That said one of Bernard's hey geographers 184 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:42,280 Speaker 1: recorded an account of what happened as the more powerful 185 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:47,000 Speaker 1: one in the room. Allegedly, Eleanor started off emphatically pleading 186 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: her case, trying to convince Bernard to pardon Petronilla and 187 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:55,160 Speaker 1: Ralph and allow them to marry, But over the course 188 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:59,880 Speaker 1: of their conversation Bernard took the other hand. Bernard ordered 189 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: Eleanor to stop interfering in political matters, perhaps shocked by 190 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 1: his harshness, or perhaps realizing that her sister's marriage was 191 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:14,200 Speaker 1: a lost cause. Eleanor allegedly burst into tears. She explained 192 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,640 Speaker 1: that she had thrown herself into politics as a means 193 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: of escaping her personal woes. She had a miscarriage during 194 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:25,760 Speaker 1: the first months of her marriage and had not gotten pregnant. 195 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: Since she worried that her infertility was God's punishment for 196 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:35,840 Speaker 1: defending Petronilla's bigamous marriage, she asked Bernard if he could 197 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:39,440 Speaker 1: plead to God on her behalf to grant her a child. 198 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:43,880 Speaker 1: Bernard replied that if she convinced Louis to make peace 199 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:49,160 Speaker 1: with Theobald, she would have a child within weeks. Louis 200 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 1: removed his troops from Theobold's territory, while the pope continued 201 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:57,800 Speaker 1: to hold his ban on Petronilla and Ralph's union. Even 202 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:01,960 Speaker 1: though Eleanor did not successful campaigned for her sister's marriage, 203 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 1: she did get something she wanted. In eleven forty five, 204 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:10,600 Speaker 1: Eleanor conceived and gave birth to a daughter, Marie, Countess 205 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:15,920 Speaker 1: of Champagne. Meanwhile, even though Ralph and Petronilla were still excommunicated, 206 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:18,640 Speaker 1: they tried to remain in the good graces of the 207 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:24,200 Speaker 1: church by establishing religious houses Eleanor and Louis continued to 208 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: press the couple's case before they left on Crusade in 209 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: eleven forty seven. Finally, when Ralph's first wife died in 210 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:37,640 Speaker 1: eleven forty eight, Pope Eugenius the Third recognized the validity 211 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 1: of Ralph and Petronilla's marriage. This good news was likely 212 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: a relief to Petronilla, Ralph, Eleanor, and Louis, who had 213 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 1: all been fighting tirelessly for the couple's official recognition for years. 214 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:57,480 Speaker 1: But Bernard of Clervaux couldn't help but interfere one more time. 215 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:03,000 Speaker 1: He responded with two ominous predictions that their marriage would 216 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 1: not last long and that their children would have no 217 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: children of their own. Both of these predictions would ultimately 218 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:17,000 Speaker 1: come true. Ralph died just four years later on October fourteenth, 219 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: eleven fifty two, and though the couple had three children, 220 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 1: they would not have any grandchildren. Their son died in 221 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 1: his early twenties, and their two daughters married four times 222 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:33,840 Speaker 1: between them, but did not produce any children of their own. 223 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 1: It seems that God might have had something to say 224 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:43,400 Speaker 1: about their marriage, after all, that's the story of Petronilla 225 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:47,000 Speaker 1: of Aquitaine. But stick around after a brief sponsor break 226 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,760 Speaker 1: to hear about how a charged interaction between Bernard of 227 00:16:50,760 --> 00:17:03,360 Speaker 1: Clervaux and Petronilla's father became a myth. In eleven thirty one, 228 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 1: Eleanor and Petronilla's father, Duke William the tenth of Aquitaine, 229 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 1: refused to support Pope Innocent after a conflict about papal succession. 230 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:17,760 Speaker 1: Bernard of Clervaux, a fierce supporter of Pope Innocent, headed 231 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:22,879 Speaker 1: to Aquitaine to change his mind. According to legend, Bernard 232 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: invited Duke William to a mass at the Church of 233 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,760 Speaker 1: La Caldre. William stood by the door since he was 234 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:35,160 Speaker 1: under threat of excommunication because of his refusal to align 235 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:39,240 Speaker 1: with the new pope. In a dramatic flourish, right as 236 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:43,359 Speaker 1: communion was being passed out, Bernard marched right up to 237 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 1: the Duke and begged him not to despise God as 238 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: he did God's servants. At that moment, William fell to 239 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:57,320 Speaker 1: his knees and pledged his allegiance to Pope Innocent. Dramatic 240 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,560 Speaker 1: as that scene sounds, it's unlikely that it actually happened. 241 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,880 Speaker 1: In reality, Duke William didn't yield to Pope Innocent. Authority 242 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:10,119 Speaker 1: until eleven thirty five, but this image of Duke William's 243 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:15,960 Speaker 1: quote conversion became a common motif in Catholic art. Depictions 244 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:20,720 Speaker 1: of Bernard placidly offering the Eucharist while William is fainting 245 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: or falling over appear in churches and museums throughout Europe. 246 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,560 Speaker 1: In most of these images, William's crown lies on the 247 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:33,480 Speaker 1: ground as a symbol of his submission. It makes for 248 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:44,359 Speaker 1: a pretty good painting. Noble Blood is a production of 249 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:49,040 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood 250 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:52,880 Speaker 1: is hosted by me Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and 251 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:57,520 Speaker 1: research by Hannah Johnston, Hannaswick, Courtney Sender, Amy Hit and 252 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:01,200 Speaker 1: Julia Milani. The show is at It Did and produced 253 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:06,439 Speaker 1: by Jesse Funk, with supervising producer rima il Kaali and 254 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 1: executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For 255 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:16,560 Speaker 1: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 256 00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:18,919 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.