Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine (c. 1122 in Bordeaux, France – April 1, 1204 in Fontevrault, Anjou) was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Europe during the Middle Ages.

The eldest of three children, her father was William X, Duke of Aquitaine, and her mother was Aenor Aimery, the daughter of Aimeric I, Vicomte of Chatellerault and a woman named Dangerosa. William and Aenor's marriage had been arranged by his father and her mother, as Dangerosa was the long-time mistress of William IX of Aquitaine, the Troubador. Eleanor was named after her mother and called Aliénor, which means "other Aenor", but it became "Eleanor" in English.

She was raised in one of Europe's most cultured courts, the birthplace of Courtly Love, which had been invented by her grandfather. She was highly educated for a woman of the time, and knew how to read, how to speak Latin, was well versed in music and literature, and enjoyed riding, hawking, and hunting. She became heiress to Aquitaine, the largest and richest of the provinces that would become modern France.

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