Louis VI was so overjoyed when he heard the news of William's request. It abounds with riches of many kinds, so excelling other parts of the western world that it is considered by historians one of the most fortunate and prosperous provinces of Gaul.' (5) Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII Its lands are fertile, its vineyards productive and its forests team with wild life. The chronicler, Ralph de Diceto, wrote: 'Aquitaine overflows with riches of many kinds, excelling other parts of the western world. He told his friends to approach King Louis VI of France about the possibility of his son, Louis, marrying Eleanor. Realising he was dying, he made his will, bequeathing his domains of Poitou, Aquitaine and Glascony to Eleanor. (3)Īliénor died in 1130 and even though he did not have a male heir, William did not remarry and during a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, he was taken ill after drinking contaminated water. William of Newburgh said she had a lively mind but was rebellious and headstrong.

Eleanor was also introduced to music and literature, and was considered to be a good dancer. She developed domestic skills such as household management and learnt the traditional feminine arts of embroidery, needlepoint, sewing, spinning, and weaving. (2)Įleanor received a good education and although her native tongue was Poitevin, she was taught to read and speak in Latin. It is claimed that by 'eight years of age, she was old enough to realise that she was a very important little girl - indeed the most important in Christendom'. Richard of Poitiers states that she was 'brought up in delicacy and reared with abundance of all delights, living in the bosom of wealth'.

Her younger sister, Petronilla, who was born in 1125, also survived into adulthood. Their only son, William, died as a child. Her mother, Aenor de Châtellerault, was the daughter of Aimery, Viscount of Châtellerault. Eleanor, the daughter of William X, eighth count of Poitou, and tenth duke of Aquitaine, was born in 1122.

Marion meade eleanor of aquitaine