This blog summarizes a tour I took through northwestern France and southern England in the autumn of 2015, following the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. The goal was to touch and see whatever Eleanor is likely to have touched and seen. I went to churches and palaces primarily, as they are what have survived. I focused on objects within such as baptismal fonts, stained glass windows, tombs and anything else she might have touched or looked at.
My travels took me to: in France: Paris, Rouen (including Gisors and Chateau Gaillard), Caen (including Bonneville-sur-Touques, Barfleur, Bayeux, Falaise, Domfront, Argentan and Mont Saint-Michel) Bordeaux, Le Mans, and the Loire Valley (Poitiers, Chinon, Angers, Saumur and Fontevraud); and in England: London (including Windsor, Dover Castle, Orford Castle, Berkhamsted, Reading and Runnymede) and Salisbury (including Old Sarum, Clarendon and Winchester).
My travels took me to: in France: Paris, Rouen (including Gisors and Chateau Gaillard), Caen (including Bonneville-sur-Touques, Barfleur, Bayeux, Falaise, Domfront, Argentan and Mont Saint-Michel) Bordeaux, Le Mans, and the Loire Valley (Poitiers, Chinon, Angers, Saumur and Fontevraud); and in England: London (including Windsor, Dover Castle, Orford Castle, Berkhamsted, Reading and Runnymede) and Salisbury (including Old Sarum, Clarendon and Winchester).
BIG NEWS: The main part of this tour covered by this blog took place in 2015. A few years later, I went to Bordeaux and saw the cathedral where Eleanor was married, and also to the wonderful Puivert chateau in southwestern France, a site I had never seen referred to in other Eleanor tours (sorta like Orford in England, which we saw and discussed in 2015), and which she visited not once but twice, and on the first visit in 1170 hosted what has been called the greatest meeting of troubadours in Eleanor's time. Saint-Andre Cathedral in Bordeaux and Puivert are covered at the bottom of the blog.
I went to the effort of preparing this blog because it is clear, from other blogs and sources on the internet, that many people are interested in Eleanor and learning about where she went and what she did. In addition to the well-known sites, my tour took me to places that don't make most "Eleanor lists", but were important to her.
My results presented below are organized in chronological order by Eleanor's life. Specifically, I decided to arrange things by where Eleanor spent her Christmases, Christmas Court being a big festival and spectacle during Eleanor's era. A debt of gratitude is owed to the writer of the blog "If It's Christmas, It Must Be Chinon": http://the-history-girls.blogspot.com/2013/12/if-its-christmas-it-must-be-chinon.html. That blog tracked where Eleanor and her husband, England's King Henry II, spent their Christmases until Henry's death in 1189. My blog puts the results of my trip in the same chronological order, and takes it on to Eleanor's own death. Needless to say, my actual travels were based on geography not chronology.
Another debt of gratitude is to the writer of the blog "In The Footsteps of Eleanor of Aquitaine": http://eleanorfootsteps.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2012-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&updated-max=2013-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&max-results=12 The writer of that blog traveled with the author Sharon Kay Penman to sites associated with Eleanor and wrote eloquently about what she saw.
I assume you know the basics about Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most amazing woman of the 12th Century. The movie "Lion in Winter" with Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole, is a must-see: Hepburn plays Eleanor and one gets a good sense of her intelligence, determination and individuality. Besides reading easily searchable sources on the internet, I recommend reading any of the books listed at the end of my blog.
Katherine Hepburn won an Oscar award for her performance in "Lion in Winter". It is currently on display at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., and is surely a critical stop for Eleanor-philes!
Marriage
1137: PARIS
You can see her name "ANOR" in the lower picture.
The full text of the engraving: Hoc vas Sponsa dedit aanor regi ludovico, mitadolus avo, mihi Rex, sanctisque Sugerus
The Latin has been translated as follows: "As a bride, Eleanor gave the vase to King Louis, Mitadolus to her grandfather, the King to me, and Suger to the Saints."
http://eleanorfootsteps.blogspot.com/2012/06/paris-musee-du-louvre.html
The display cases in the room where Eleanor's vase is located contain other 12th Century artifacts, including vases and other items known to be owned by Abbot Suger, the builder of the Basilica at St. Denis, about which more below.
While at the Louvre, inspect the 12th Century foundations, laid by King Philip II, a/k/a Philip Augustus, son and successor to Louis VII. He had commenced construction by the 1180s, when Eleanor and Henry's sons Geoffrey, Richard and John were battling Henry in internecine family feuds and were befriended by Philip Augustus. So it is likely Eleanor's sons saw those foundations.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame was started during Eleanor's era. Here are pictures of 3 panels at the Cathedral that show its construction:
Now it looks like this:
Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany and son of Eleanor and Henry II, died in 1186 in Paris during a jousting tournament. He was buried at Notre Dame, but we couldn't find any reference to his grave.
North of Paris a few miles is the Basilica of St. Denis. St. Denis was martyred in about 250 A.D. by beheading in downtown Paris. A plucky corpse, his headless body picked up his head and strolled six miles to his home. Sadly, Rue Saint-Denis in downtown Paris, near Les Halles, is a seedy street that its namesake would have avoided, even headless. But, out in the suburb of St. Denis, the Basilica is important for our purposes because French kings are buried there. Eleanor had to have visited with Louis VII to see his ancestors' tombs and to visit with Abbot Suger.
Some of the stained glass windows date to Eleanor's time, to wit:
Finally, the relics of St. Denis himself, pictured above, would have been an important pilgrimage for Eleanor.
Oh, and Eleanor's first husband is buried here:
(His tomb does not hang from the ceiling; I had to turn the picture 180 degrees so his name could be read.)
DIVORCE 1152: POITIERS --
Waiting for Henry
After her divorce from Louis VII in March 1152 in Beaugency, Eleanor fled to Poitiers and sent word to Henry she was waiting. She stayed at the Maubergeon Palace, and would have used its great hall for banquets, including the wedding banquet after Henry arrived two months later and married her. (The building is now the Palace of Poitiers. You enter the main door, go through the metal detector for security, and find yourself in the great hall, which is a truly marvelous space.)
The story goes that while Eleanor waited for Henry, she gazed out the palace window at the bridge across the Clain river, knowing that was Henry's route to her. We found a bridge, obviously a replacement. Then we found another bridge, also probably a replacement.
When in Poitiers, Eleanor probably attended services at the church of Notre Dame la Grande. It was part of the palace enclosure at the time. Eleanor was a patron of the church, and one of its windows features a double-eagle, Eleanor's motif, to honor her. The frescoed pillars date to her era as well.
Eleanor and Henry married at the Cathedral Saint-Pierre. Eleanor would have dipped her fingers into the font after she entered the Cathedral, then walked down the altar, staring at the stained-glass window in the apse. All 12th Century. At the bottom of the window is an inset showing Henry and Eleanor themselves staring at this window, which they installed in 1165 when the cathedral was rebuilt.
You can see Eleanor and Henry themselves gazing at this stained glass window, a neat picture-within-picture.
The nearby Church of Saint-Jean-de-Montierneuf was built by Eleanor's great-grandfather, William VII of Poitiers and Duke of Aquitaine. His tomb is there, so Eleanor surely visited. In 1146, while he was married to Eleanor, King Louis VII visited Poitiers and granted this church special privileges, shown on the manuscript.
The Baptistry Saint-Jean de Poitiers was initially built in 360 A.D. It was still in use in Eleanor's time and featured the frescoes still seen on the walls. Now it serves as a museum.
The Church of Saint-Hilaire, whose frescoes date to Eleanor's time. In 1172, Richard was made Duke of Aquitaine here when he was 14 years old.
Henry apparently kept Eleanor at Poitiers from 1168 to 1173, in part so her presence would placate the locals who were not keen on Henry, and in part to keep Eleanor away from Henry's favorite mistress Rosamund.
CHRISTMAS 1154: LONDON, BERMONDSEY
Nothing of this manor house still exists. Bermondsey Square, in south London, is the location.
CHRISTMAS 1155: LONDON, WESTMINSTER
Westminster was the largest hall in Europe during Eleanor's era. Imagine Eleanor with Henry at the head of a room full of tables filled with Christmas guests.
CHRISTMAS 1156: BORDEAUX, FRANCE
Eleanor married Louis in Bordeaux at the Cathedral Saint-Andre in 1137. I was in Bordeaux several years ago and stupidly did not go to that cathedral. Also, if there is any remnant of a palace where Eleanor and Henry spent Christmas Court in 1156, I didn't go there either. (What was I thinking?) However, we did enjoy the esplanade along the river, and the mind-blowing statue by Jaume Plensa.
CHRISTMAS 1157: LINCOLN
Didn't make Lincoln.
PILGRIMAGE 1158: MONT SAINT-MICHEL
Henry II, Eleanor's current husband, and Louis VII, Eleanor's ex-husband, journeyed together to the most important pilgrimage site in northern France. Eleanor had to have visited there at some point.
The top picture is a model of the site as it appeared during Eleanor's era. What is now the main entrance floods during particularly high tides; during Eleanor's era, it would have been a race against the tide to assure safe passage across the mud flats to the island.
The cathedral entrance as it appears today. The room with the vaulted ceiling is the Hall of Guests, where Eleanor would have been entertained and fed. The massive columns in the other picture are in the basement and support the weight of the sanctuary above.
The cathedral's cloister is inspired and inspiring, as is the fenestration in the chapter hall.
We stayed on the island overnight, to get a feel for the place after the tour groups had gone. There are few hotels on the island. We settled for relatively simple lodgings and dinner, just like the pilgrims of yesteryear. We did not avail ourselves of the opportunity to pay 49 euros for an omelette at the island's best restaurant: I'm sure those omelettes are scrumptious, though!
CHRISTMAS 1159: FALAISE
Falaise is a cute town in Normandy, in the Calvados region. During your visit to the region, have a sip of the local Calvados liqueur. Logistically, we stayed at Caen and made day trips to Falaise, Domfront, Argentan, Bayeux and Barfleur, all of which are discussed below.
William the Conqueror, Henry II's great-grandfather, was born in Falaise, and the townsfolk are proud of this fact. This statute of William greets you in the town square.
The castle at Falaise has been extensively rebuilt. One can still get a sense of the strength of the place as it existed during Eleanor's era. The exterior walls enclose a large yard where potentially hundreds of people could have lived and worked in safety.
The interior of the palace has also been rebuilt. It now features interesting and occasionally amusing technology to reconnect us with Eleanor-era life. For example, we wandered around with borrowed computer pads that, when facing an object such as a fireplace or church altar, would show how it looked during Eleanor's time. There were also videos projected on the walls in various rooms. Well worth the visit.
The Church of Notre-Dame de Guibray in Falaise is worth a stop to see its 12th C. font, which Eleanor surely dipped her fingers into when she came for services.
The altar in the apse is interesting and, I believe, dates to Eleanor's era:
And we do love the carvings on the column capitals!
CHRISTMAS 1160: LE MANS
Henry II was born in Le Mans. Only bits and pieces survive of the Palace of the Counts of Maine. In the second picture, look at the double-arched window on the left side. That is original, and presumably Eleanor looked out of it?
The Museum of Queen Berengaria, Richard the Lionheart's widow, has scale models and pictures that show what the Palace of the Counts of Maine looked like in the days of yore and Eleanor.
In one picture, you can see the double-arched window that dates to Eleanor's time:
The Cathedral Saint-Julien is where Henry's father, Geoffrey Plantagenet "le Bel" (the Fair) married the Empress Matilda, daughter of English King Henry I and granddaughter of William the Conqueror. Henry II was baptized here. The stained glass window in the apse depicts Christ Ascending and dates to Eleanor's time, so, by gum, she looked at it!
The flying buttresses supporting the Cathedral are marvelous. Do circumambulate the church and feast your eyes.
One of the more relevant (to us) objets d'art in Le Mans is an enamel plaque of Geoffrey le Bel. It was commissioned by Geoffrey's widow, the Empress Matilda, shortly after his death and presumably accurately shows what he looked like. The plaque now resides in the Carre Plantagenet Museum near the cathedral, but it used to hang in the cathedral itself. We decided it must have hung in a prominent place, and found the perfect spot for it on a column on the left side of the nave, closest to the transept. There are holes in the column's stonework exactly the size of the plaque. It would be fitting to hang the plaque there, as Geoffrey's eyes would turn toward the altar, and you can see the Plantagenet zig-zag pattern carved into the column, climbing towards heaven.
The Carre Plantagenet is a museum of archaeology and history. It's fairly new and is a "must see" in Le Mans. The sword and keys date to Eleanor's time. Notice the elaborate shape of the keys.
The Carre Plantagenet museum also has a wonderful statue of St. Denis, discussed above, carrying his head. The glass horn dates to the 5th Century and may have been part of the collection of the Palace of the Counts of Maine, meaning Eleanor could have examined it.
South of downtown Le Mans is the Abbaye de L'Epau. Richard's widow, Berengaria is entombed there.
Le Mans is known for its 24-hour endurance car race, and it is also a rewarding city for tourists who may not be race enthusiasts. The old town area is wonderful to wander through, and is surrounded by walls built by the Romans that Eleanor herself probably appreciated for their strength. They are among the best preserved Roman walls in Europe. The neolithic menhir sits outside the Cathedral; one would like to think Eleanor graced it with a glance, but alas, according to Wikipedia, the menhir was move here in the 18th C.
CHRISTMAS 1161: BAYEUX
I only took one picture in Bayeux, of a pretty mill by a stream. The Bayeux Tapestry was already well-known in Eleanor's day; she had to have seen it, so anyone on an Eleanor tour should see it as well. One panel, below, depicts Henry's great-grandfather, William the Conqueror, leading his men into battle. There is an exceedingly good replica of the tapestry at the Reading Museum in England which we also saw (discussed below), and it lacks the crowds that the original endures in Bayeux, so if you wish to linger over the tapestry, the replica allows more comfort.
Near Caen and Bayeux are the beaches and cemetery from World War II's D-Day. Take a day off from Eleanor and reflect on the massive undertaking and sacrifice involved in June 1944.
CHRISTMAS 1162: CHERBOURG
We didn't actually go to Cherbourg, oops! But we did to go Barfleur very nearby. Barfleur was the main port for ships crossing the Channel to England during Eleanor's time. (You may ask, were there not ships from Calais to Dover? Was the journey not shorter? "Yes" to both questions, but Henry's rule over Normandy did not extend up to Calais. Rather than travel into "foreign" territory for a shorter voyage to England, he sailed from ports in Normandy such as Barfleur and Bonneville-sur-Touques, discussed below.) William the Conqueror left from Barfleur for his invasion of England in 1066.
Here is a map of the harbor as it exists today. You can have a nice lunch (I recommend the moules frites, mussels with french fries) on the harbor front and imagine Eleanor boarding ship to go to England.
The White Ship departed from Barfleur and promptly foundered on rocks in 1120 (the ones behind me?), killing the only son of England's King Henry I. His daughter, Matilda (Henry's mother), and cousin Stephen battled for the English throne until Stephen died in 1154 and Henry II was crowned. Thus, Barfleur: exceedingly important historically.
CHRISTMAS 1163: BERKHAMSTED
Berkhamsted is northwest of London. A fortification with residence was built just after William the Conqueror arrived in England. It was a motte-and-bailey castle, the standard for the era. The ruins that remain today give a good idea what it looked like. Henry II gave the castle to Thomas Becket in 1155. By Christmas 1163, Henry and Becket were feuding over Becket's actions as Archbishop of Canterbury. See the movie "Becket" with Richard Burton as Archbishop Becket and Peter O'Toole as Henry II. (The movie dates to 1964; in "Lion in Winter", released in 1968, O'Toole appeared again as Henry II; amazing!) At any rate, in 1163 Henry and Eleanor spent Christmas with Becket, but Henry evicted Becket the next year and reclaimed Berkhamsted for himself.
Logistically, Berkhamstead is on a rail line from London's Euston station. It is about a 45 minute ride to Berkhamsted station, which is right across the street from the ruins of the castle, so it would be an easy railway day trip. We were somewhat pressed for time, and rather than do there-and-back trips to Berkhamsted and also to Reading (discussed below), we hired a car and driver through our London hotel (Uber or Lyft would probably provide the same service now) to take us to those two locations, and stop by Runnymede (where the Magna Carta was signed in 1215 by Eleanor's son King John) on the way back. Thus, we were able to hit three sites in one day quite efficiently. The cost wasn't much higher than multiple round-trip train tickets for two people would have been. Our driver had never been on an Eleanor of Aquitaine pilgrimage before, and indeed had never heard of Eleanor of Aquitaine. What are the schools teaching?
Berkhamsted, Dover Castle, Orford and Old Sarum, all sites discussed in this blog, are managed by English Heritage, as is the tower at Salisbury Cathedral. It might be cheaper to buy an annual membership to obtain free admission, rather than buy individual tickets at each site.
CHRISTMAS 1164: MARLBOROUGH
Didn't make Marlborough this trip.
CHRISTMAS 1165: ANGERS
According to the "If It's Christmas, It Must Be Chinon" blog, Eleanor spent Christmas 1165 at Angers. Henry was at Oxford. The chateau at Angers has an imposing view over the River Maine.
Below is a model of how the Chateau d'Angers looked in Eleanor's time. The large hall closest to us remains in ruin form. The second photograph is the doorway to the hall from within the walls, and the third photo is what you see when you look through that doorway.
You could see in the model the rounded fortifications built into the walls on the side perpendicular to the river (on the right side of the model). They still exist.
Inside the chateau is housed the gigantic "Apocalypse Tapestry", which dates to the 14th century. In the same space one can see, through glass panels in the floor, the original chapel that dates to Eleanor's time, where she knelt to pray.
One surprising feature of the chateau is that it had a system of steam heat. We know about Roman-era baths and steam rooms. The ruins of the Chateau d'Angers show the same type of piped-heat system, the only medieval example in existence. Good for Eleanor!
You can see how the terra cotta pot-piping was stacked to direct the steam heat to various rooms.
La Cathédrale Saint-Maurice in Angers, where Eleanor would have gone for public worship:
Inside, the 12th century font where Eleanor (probably) dipped her fingers, and stained glass dating to Eleanor's time so she could gaze on the depictions of Henry's condemnation of Thomas Becket, the legend of Saint Vincent of Spain, the Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin, and the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria.
Relics of saints were revered by the devout of Eleanor's era, and this skull was surely no exception!
You may have noticed in the picture of the cathedral above that the front door was covered by scaffolding . Artisans are busily restoring the 12th Century colorful paintings that covered the entry portal with polychrome. Eleanor would have enjoyed looking at those paintings, and we will too as soon as they are restored.
Last stop in Angers: Saint-John Hospital, paid for by Henry, so presumably Eleanor dropped by to inspect during construction. Now the Jean-Lurcat Museum.
CHRISTMAS 1166: OXFORD FOR ELEANOR
POITIERS FOR HENRY
Didn't make it to Oxford; see 1152 for Poitiers.
CHRISTMAS 1167: ARGENTAN
The Tour Marguerite dates to the 12th Century and still stands. The donjon (fortified tower) built by Henry II exists only in its exterior walls.
CHRISTMAS 1167: ROUEN,
NOT ARGENTAN?
The "If It's Christmas it must be Chinon" blogger notes confusion about whether Eleanor spent Christmas of 1167 at Argenten or at Rouen. So, on to Rouen:
Its cathedral is breathtaking, inside and out. We visited during a "son et lumiere" show projected on the facade of the cathedral.
Richard the Lionheart is buried at Rouen. Sort of. His heart is in a lead box in the Cathedral's Treasury. An empty tomb in the apse has an effigy on top to commemorate him:
But the rest of his body is at Fontevraud (discussed at the end of this blog). Except his entrails, which remained in Chalus where he died in 1199.
Eleanor and Henry's first son, Henry, died in 1183. All of him is buried at the Rouen Cathedral.
The Empress Matilda, Henry's mother, died nearby at Bec-Hellouin Abbey and was buried there. Her remains suffered indignities over the centuries, but in 1846 they were "conclusively identified" and moved to Rouen Cathedral, and a plaque in the wall famously refers to her as "daughter, wife and mother of Henry".
ROUEN DAY TRIPS
Sliding slightly outside of our "Christmas court" chronology, I have to include two sites near Rouen that must be visited by any Eleanor-phile, and a third site that was important for her family's most loyal retainer, William Marshal.
GISORS
Gisors was a critical castle for the Duke of Normandy to defend the area. It has been called a "fiercesome stronghold". Now mostly in ruins, but well worth a visit, it sits at the top of a hill overlooking the town of the same name. In 1190, Richard Lionheart met Philip II here to hammer out the terms of their Crusade to the Holy Land.
Gisors, as of this writing, is closed Tuesdays and may not be open at all during the colder months. As with all tourist sites, check before going. Also, many indoor sites close for lunch.
TANCARVILLE
Tancarville is important because it is where William Marshal spent his formative years. In the bibliography at the end of this blog I cite a book "The Greatest Knight", about Marshal, who served Henry II, his eldest son Henry, Eleanor, Richard Lionheart, John and John's son Henry III. An illustrious career and a well-done biography. The chateau at Tancarville still exists, but it seems to be privately owned, not open to the public that I could tell, and in declining condition. Drive up a dirt road, park and peer in the gates, imagining Marshal practicing his jousting skills as a teenager.
If you are interested in civil engineering (and who isn't?), Tancarville is close to where the stupendous Pont de Normandie crosses the Seine. Stop at the Tancarville (north) side of the bridge to stroll through the museum that celebrates the bridge's construction. Then cross the bridge, head into the seaside town of Honfleur, wander about and look at the boats, and have lunch on the harbor.
CHATEAU GAILLARD
The greatest construction achievement of Richard Lionheart's reign, lost by his brother King John to the French in 1204. The siege that resulted in that loss caused King John's men to toss the civilians who had taken refuge in the castle outside its walls. There they were pinned down by the French on the hillside above, and made easy targets. They were called "Les Bouches Inutiles", the Useless Mouths.
Chateau Gaillard is now largely in ruins, but one gets an idea of its strength and brilliant location overlooking the Seine.
If you have ever seen a television advertisement for Viking River Cruises, you may recognize the view below from those ads. You can see a river cruise ship tied up on the bank.
CHRISTMAS 1168: ARGENTAN, AGAIN
CHRISTMAS 1169: POITIERS, AGAIN, FOR ELEANOR; NANTES FOR HENRY
CHRISTMAS 1170: BURES
Near Bayeux. I couldn't find any reference to any relevant structures still in existence at Bures, so we skipped. It was at this Christmas Court where Henry asked his knights about Thomas Becket, "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?" Or so they say.
CHRISTMAS 1171: POITIERS FOR ELEANOR; DUBLIN FOR HENRY
CHRISTMAS 1172: CHINON
Chinon was the heart of Henry's possessions in France. He kept the royal treasure here from 1160 to 1180. It served as Eleanor's first prison in 1173. In the model below, the light brown structure pre-existed Henry's time. He added the dark charcoal-colored structures.
The town of Chinon nestles between the chateau and the Vienne river.
Besides serving as a short-term prison for Eleanor, Chinon also was the prison for Jacques DeMolay and his fellow Knights Templars in 1308, until they were burned at the stake in Paris. They left this carving in their cell:
This view of a building in the castle shows how "indoor plumbing" worked from the point of view of the peasant outside!
The Chapelle Saint-Radegonde de Chinon is an ancient troglodytic (underground) chapel Eleanor surely visited. But not us. The chapel is closed from mid-September until May. The chapel is eloquently written about in the blog "In the Footsteps of Eleanor of Aquitaine", dated February 9, 2013. It has a mural dated to the 12th Century that may or may not depict Eleanor. Here is the front (locked) door of the troglodytic chapel:
Farmers and others still use hillside caves on the outskirts of Chinon for storage.
CHRISTMAS 1173: CAEN
William the Conqueror began construction of his castle at Caen in 1060 and it was his main residence. Henry spent time here, we know. Surely Eleanor did too!
However, not in 1173. By Christmas she was imprisoned, at Chinon, then Falaise, then at various locations in the south of England. In 1173 Henry celebrated Christmas at Caen without his beloved bride. Here is the exterior of the palace today, and a drawing and a picture of the ruins showing its probable extent during Henry's day.
William the Conqueror is buried in Caen, at the Cathedral Saint-Etienne of the Men's Abbey which he established. Here is the exterior:
The beautiful nave:
In the middle of the transept lies the tomb of William. Only his left thigh-bone is under the stone. The rest of his remains were scattered during France's Wars of Religion. We can't make this stuff up.
William's wife, Matilda (not the Empress Matilda, mother of Henry II) is buried nearby at the Women's Abbey:
ELEANOR'S IMPRISONMENT
From 1173 until he died in 1189, Henry generally kept Eleanor imprisoned or at least confined under guard. It is believed she spent most of her time at Old Sarum, just north of Salisbury, England, and at Winchester. The only known Christmas Court Eleanor attended was in 1184 at Windsor.
OLD SARUM is a motte-and-bailey castle, now an absorbing pile of ruins. The top picture is how it probably appeared during Eleanor's time; the lower picture is the ruins today.
Today one drives across the moat and onto the "motte" to the parking area. The palace was further protected in the middle by yet another moat. At the top right was the church, now only foundations.
We were fortunate to visit Old Sarum on a cold, rainy day. At first we found it unpleasant, but then we realized what Eleanor felt like for 15 years, away from Poitiers and Angers and the other places she preferred. She must have hated Henry for locking her up here.
The museum in Salisbury displays relics from the 12th Century -- coins, pins pendants, gold plaque, seals and a ring. It's tempting to think they belonged to Eleanor . . .
Near Old Sarum are the ruins of Clarendon, one of Henry's favorite palaces and the site of an early face-off between him and Archbishop Becket. Clarendon must have been quite a pile, with marble pillars and walls tinted with dyes from Aghanistan. Now its ruins host grazing llamas. One must park one's car at a pub a couple miles away, stroll down a "restricted byway" (but it's open to the public) and cut through some woods to reach the site.
The fabulous Salisbury Cathedral was built after Eleanor's time; construction began in 1220 and was finished in only 38 years. It features the tallest church spire in England (which the photo below stupidly cuts off, sorry), the largest cloister in England, the earliest working clock in the world, and the best surviving copy of the Magna Carta, signed by Eleanor's son King John.
The cloister:
The Magna Carta in the chapter house:
The nave. When we visited, a flower show was underway . .
WINCHESTER
Besides Old Sarum, Eleanor was imprisoned at Winchester. The palace's great hall dates to her grandson's era, Henry III, and still exists; one likes to think the great hall used by Eleanor was similar?
The chest is the type Henry used to protect treasure, royal documents and seals, jewels and coins. Winchester housed England's treasure until around 1180 when Henry moved everything to Westminster in London.
Winchester Cathedral: surely Eleanor was allowed out of confinement to attend services on important holy days. She would recognize the cathedral to this day. The baptismal font dates to her era, as do the crypt and the wall paintings showing the Deposition and Entombment of Christ.
By the by, if you are in the United States and can't currently travel to England and France for your Eleanor pilgrimage, go to New York's Morgan Library, where you can see a page from the Winchester Bible. Eleanor is everywhere . . .
Other fun facts about Winchester Cathedral. Jane Austen is buried there, and you can see her stone on the north aisle of the nave. William Rufus is buried there. Bloody Queen Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, married her Spanish husband there.
Other sites in Winchester:
Kingsgate, dating to Eleanor's time so presumably she passed through it to get to Winchester Palace:
Outside our normal Eleanor-era time frame, novelist Jane Austen spent her last years in Winchester, in this house:
DOVER CASTLE
There is no record that Eleanor ever visited Dover Castle. Henry turned it into the strongest fortress in England. Worth visiting to see how much he feared an invasion force arriving from Calais. The Great Tower was built between 1180 and 1184 and has been recreated to look like it might have those days.
Trains leave London St. Pancras for Dover Priory station very frequently. It's a short walk from Dover Priory to Dover Castle, or you may be able to catch a bus to avoid the steep uphill part of the walk. I'm sure a taxi would also be glad to help.
CHRISTMASES 1174 TO 1183 FOR HENRY
Argentan, Windsor, Nottingham, Angers, Windsor, Nottingham, LeMans, Winchester, Caen, LeMans
CHRISTMAS 1184: WINDSOR
The Salisbury Tower at Windsor existed in Eleanor's day. She may have been confined there for a while. Eleanor, Henry and other family members celebrated Christmas Court here in 1184.
CHRISTMAS 1185: DOMFRONT
Domfront was reputed to be one of Eleanor and Henry's favorite residences. She gave birth to daughter Eleanor there in 1161. Henry spent Christmas of 1185 there. The palace has fallen into ruin.
The gap here is apparently where the front door of the chateau stood.
The church of Notre-Dame-sur-l'Eau is just down the hill from Domfront. It is possible Eleanor baptized her daughter Eleanor there in 1161. The frescoes date to Eleanor's era. Thomas Becket led the Christmas service here in 1166.
CHRISTMASES 1186 AND 1187
Henry was at Guildford and Caen.
CHRISTMAS 1188: SAUMUR
Henry spent the last Christmas of his life at Saumur, in the Loire Valley. He rebuilt the palace to protect the crossing of the Loire. Virtually nothing remains of Henry's palace. The line drawing shows what the palace may have looked like in Henry's day. The more colorful drawing is from the illuminated manuscript Les Tres Riches Heures and allegedly accurately depicts Saumur Palace in about 1400.
The candlestick holder at Saumur castle dates to Eleanor's era. If one dusted it for fingerprints, would one find Eleanor's?
The Church of Notre Dame of Nantilly in Saumur dates to Eleanor's era. The wooden statute of the Virgin and Child was an object of pilgrimage at the time, so Eleanor and Henry probably gazed upon it.
The plaque on a wall in the nave is an epitaph to the wet nurse of Marie of Anjou, future wife of French King Charles VII. True tale.
READING ABBEY
Reading Abbey, just west of London, was founded by Henry I (Henry II's grandfather), and he is buried there. Eleanor and Henry II surely came to pay homage to Henry's ancestor. The Abbey itself is now largely ruins, and it is fenced off to prevent visitors from walking about in dodgy circumstances and having stones from the ancient walls falling on them.
I mentioned above that a very good replica of the Bayeux tapestry is at the Reading Museum, near the ruins of the Abbey.
Outside our Eleanor era, the Reading Museum displays a coin showing Roman Emperor Hadrian, famous for building the wall across the north of England to keep the feisty Scots out.
Two other non-Eleanor personages associated with Reading: Jane Austen went to school there, and Oscar Wilde was imprisoned there. The Reading Gaol is now a tourist site, but it opened after we visited. Maybe next trip.
Two more sites where Eleanor no doubt made visits, but I don't have dates:
ABBEY DE JUMIEGES
The Abbey de Jumieges is west of Rouen and was famous during Eleanor's time. She probably visited . . .
PILGRIMAGE TO ROCAMADOUR
Rocamadour was the most important pilgrimage site in France besides Mont St. Michel. I have read (but I can't remember where, sorry) that Eleanor and Henry made a pilgrimage here. Their eldest son Henry, a spiteful lad, went to Rocamadour in 1183, robbed it and died on the way home. That'll teach him.
CHRISTMAS 1192: BONNEVILLE-SUR-TOUQUES
Eleanor spent Christmas 1192 here, near Deauville on the Normandy coast. She stayed at the Chateau de Ducs de Normandie just outside of town. It is now a private residence. The second picture I grabbed off the internet; the photographer found the gates open. The third picture is how we found the chateau -- gates closed, forcing us to peer through like devoted voyeurs. From a satellite picture you can see the standard motte-and-bailey layout of the chateau and surrounding grounds.
The village at the time was a port from which ships traveled to and from England. Henry V landed here with his invasion force in 1415, eager to demonstrate that, borrowing from Shakespeare, he loved France so much he "would not part with a single village of it; I will have it all mine". There is still a street called "Quai Monrival", and you can see bollards for tying up Eleanor's (and Henry V's) boats along the location of the inlet, now filled in and turned into a road.
The village of Bonneville-sur-Touques is the home of two churches at which Thomas Becket allegedly preached:
1199-1204: ABBAYE DE FONTEVRAUD
I went to the effort of preparing this blog because it is clear, from other blogs and sources on the internet, that many people are interested in Eleanor and learning about where she went and what she did. In addition to the well-known sites, my tour took me to places that don't make most "Eleanor lists", but were important to her.
My results presented below are organized in chronological order by Eleanor's life. Specifically, I decided to arrange things by where Eleanor spent her Christmases, Christmas Court being a big festival and spectacle during Eleanor's era. A debt of gratitude is owed to the writer of the blog "If It's Christmas, It Must Be Chinon": http://the-history-girls.blogspot.com/2013/12/if-its-christmas-it-must-be-chinon.html. That blog tracked where Eleanor and her husband, England's King Henry II, spent their Christmases until Henry's death in 1189. My blog puts the results of my trip in the same chronological order, and takes it on to Eleanor's own death. Needless to say, my actual travels were based on geography not chronology.
Another debt of gratitude is to the writer of the blog "In The Footsteps of Eleanor of Aquitaine": http://eleanorfootsteps.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2012-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&updated-max=2013-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&max-results=12 The writer of that blog traveled with the author Sharon Kay Penman to sites associated with Eleanor and wrote eloquently about what she saw.
I assume you know the basics about Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most amazing woman of the 12th Century. The movie "Lion in Winter" with Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole, is a must-see: Hepburn plays Eleanor and one gets a good sense of her intelligence, determination and individuality. Besides reading easily searchable sources on the internet, I recommend reading any of the books listed at the end of my blog.
Katherine Hepburn won an Oscar award for her performance in "Lion in Winter". It is currently on display at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., and is surely a critical stop for Eleanor-philes!
Marriage
1137: PARIS
The only physical item known to be associated with Eleanor that survives is a glass vase she gave her first husband, who shortly after their marriage became French King Louis VII. The vase is now at the Louvre, in the Richelieu wing.
You can see her name "ANOR" in the lower picture. The full text of the engraving: Hoc vas Sponsa dedit aanor regi ludovico, mitadolus avo, mihi Rex, sanctisque Sugerus
The Latin has been translated as follows: "As a bride, Eleanor gave the vase to King Louis, Mitadolus to her grandfather, the King to me, and Suger to the Saints."
http://eleanorfootsteps.blogspot.com/2012/06/paris-musee-du-louvre.html
While at the Louvre, inspect the 12th Century foundations, laid by King Philip II, a/k/a Philip Augustus, son and successor to Louis VII. He had commenced construction by the 1180s, when Eleanor and Henry's sons Geoffrey, Richard and John were battling Henry in internecine family feuds and were befriended by Philip Augustus. So it is likely Eleanor's sons saw those foundations.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame was started during Eleanor's era. Here are pictures of 3 panels at the Cathedral that show its construction:
Now it looks like this:
North of Paris a few miles is the Basilica of St. Denis. St. Denis was martyred in about 250 A.D. by beheading in downtown Paris. A plucky corpse, his headless body picked up his head and strolled six miles to his home. Sadly, Rue Saint-Denis in downtown Paris, near Les Halles, is a seedy street that its namesake would have avoided, even headless. But, out in the suburb of St. Denis, the Basilica is important for our purposes because French kings are buried there. Eleanor had to have visited with Louis VII to see his ancestors' tombs and to visit with Abbot Suger.
Some of the stained glass windows date to Eleanor's time, to wit:
Finally, the relics of St. Denis himself, pictured above, would have been an important pilgrimage for Eleanor.
Oh, and Eleanor's first husband is buried here:
(His tomb does not hang from the ceiling; I had to turn the picture 180 degrees so his name could be read.)
DIVORCE 1152: POITIERS --
Waiting for Henry
After her divorce from Louis VII in March 1152 in Beaugency, Eleanor fled to Poitiers and sent word to Henry she was waiting. She stayed at the Maubergeon Palace, and would have used its great hall for banquets, including the wedding banquet after Henry arrived two months later and married her. (The building is now the Palace of Poitiers. You enter the main door, go through the metal detector for security, and find yourself in the great hall, which is a truly marvelous space.)
The story goes that while Eleanor waited for Henry, she gazed out the palace window at the bridge across the Clain river, knowing that was Henry's route to her. We found a bridge, obviously a replacement. Then we found another bridge, also probably a replacement.
When in Poitiers, Eleanor probably attended services at the church of Notre Dame la Grande. It was part of the palace enclosure at the time. Eleanor was a patron of the church, and one of its windows features a double-eagle, Eleanor's motif, to honor her. The frescoed pillars date to her era as well.
Eleanor and Henry married at the Cathedral Saint-Pierre. Eleanor would have dipped her fingers into the font after she entered the Cathedral, then walked down the altar, staring at the stained-glass window in the apse. All 12th Century. At the bottom of the window is an inset showing Henry and Eleanor themselves staring at this window, which they installed in 1165 when the cathedral was rebuilt.
You can see Eleanor and Henry themselves gazing at this stained glass window, a neat picture-within-picture.
The nearby Church of Saint-Jean-de-Montierneuf was built by Eleanor's great-grandfather, William VII of Poitiers and Duke of Aquitaine. His tomb is there, so Eleanor surely visited. In 1146, while he was married to Eleanor, King Louis VII visited Poitiers and granted this church special privileges, shown on the manuscript.
The Baptistry Saint-Jean de Poitiers was initially built in 360 A.D. It was still in use in Eleanor's time and featured the frescoes still seen on the walls. Now it serves as a museum.
The Church of Saint-Hilaire, whose frescoes date to Eleanor's time. In 1172, Richard was made Duke of Aquitaine here when he was 14 years old.
Henry apparently kept Eleanor at Poitiers from 1168 to 1173, in part so her presence would placate the locals who were not keen on Henry, and in part to keep Eleanor away from Henry's favorite mistress Rosamund.
CHRISTMAS 1154: LONDON, BERMONDSEY
Nothing of this manor house still exists. Bermondsey Square, in south London, is the location.
CHRISTMAS 1155: LONDON, WESTMINSTER
Westminster was the largest hall in Europe during Eleanor's era. Imagine Eleanor with Henry at the head of a room full of tables filled with Christmas guests.
Outside our Age of Eleanor, other notable events have taken place in Westminster Hall over the centuries. To see Westminster Hall, one purchases a pass in advance to tour Parliament. We did the self-guided tour as we knew what we wanted to see and didn't need a guide.
A fascinating on-line "video tour" of Westminster Hall is here: http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/online-tours/virtualtours/westminster-hall-tours/westminster-hall/
A fascinating on-line "video tour" of Westminster Hall is here: http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/online-tours/virtualtours/westminster-hall-tours/westminster-hall/
In the passageway just beyond Westminster Hall before entering the Parliament building itself are statues of early English rulers, including Eleanor, Henry, Richard II and his wife Berengaria, and John.
There are also striking wall panels in this room. The first shows Richard leaving on his Crusade to the Holy Land; he is strong and noble. The second shows John meeting his barons at Runnymede, looking haggard and evil.
CHRISTMAS 1156: BORDEAUX, FRANCE
Eleanor married Louis in Bordeaux at the Cathedral Saint-Andre in 1137. I was in Bordeaux several years ago and stupidly did not go to that cathedral. Also, if there is any remnant of a palace where Eleanor and Henry spent Christmas Court in 1156, I didn't go there either. (What was I thinking?) However, we did enjoy the esplanade along the river, and the mind-blowing statue by Jaume Plensa.
CHRISTMAS 1157: LINCOLN
Didn't make Lincoln.
PILGRIMAGE 1158: MONT SAINT-MICHEL
Henry II, Eleanor's current husband, and Louis VII, Eleanor's ex-husband, journeyed together to the most important pilgrimage site in northern France. Eleanor had to have visited there at some point.
The top picture is a model of the site as it appeared during Eleanor's era. What is now the main entrance floods during particularly high tides; during Eleanor's era, it would have been a race against the tide to assure safe passage across the mud flats to the island.
The cathedral entrance as it appears today. The room with the vaulted ceiling is the Hall of Guests, where Eleanor would have been entertained and fed. The massive columns in the other picture are in the basement and support the weight of the sanctuary above.
The cathedral's cloister is inspired and inspiring, as is the fenestration in the chapter hall.
We stayed on the island overnight, to get a feel for the place after the tour groups had gone. There are few hotels on the island. We settled for relatively simple lodgings and dinner, just like the pilgrims of yesteryear. We did not avail ourselves of the opportunity to pay 49 euros for an omelette at the island's best restaurant: I'm sure those omelettes are scrumptious, though!
CHRISTMAS 1159: FALAISE
Falaise is a cute town in Normandy, in the Calvados region. During your visit to the region, have a sip of the local Calvados liqueur. Logistically, we stayed at Caen and made day trips to Falaise, Domfront, Argentan, Bayeux and Barfleur, all of which are discussed below.
William the Conqueror, Henry II's great-grandfather, was born in Falaise, and the townsfolk are proud of this fact. This statute of William greets you in the town square.
The castle at Falaise has been extensively rebuilt. One can still get a sense of the strength of the place as it existed during Eleanor's era. The exterior walls enclose a large yard where potentially hundreds of people could have lived and worked in safety.
The interior of the palace has also been rebuilt. It now features interesting and occasionally amusing technology to reconnect us with Eleanor-era life. For example, we wandered around with borrowed computer pads that, when facing an object such as a fireplace or church altar, would show how it looked during Eleanor's time. There were also videos projected on the walls in various rooms. Well worth the visit.
The Church of Notre-Dame de Guibray in Falaise is worth a stop to see its 12th C. font, which Eleanor surely dipped her fingers into when she came for services.
The altar in the apse is interesting and, I believe, dates to Eleanor's era:
And we do love the carvings on the column capitals!
CHRISTMAS 1160: LE MANS
Henry II was born in Le Mans. Only bits and pieces survive of the Palace of the Counts of Maine. In the second picture, look at the double-arched window on the left side. That is original, and presumably Eleanor looked out of it?
The Museum of Queen Berengaria, Richard the Lionheart's widow, has scale models and pictures that show what the Palace of the Counts of Maine looked like in the days of yore and Eleanor.
In one picture, you can see the double-arched window that dates to Eleanor's time:
The Cathedral Saint-Julien is where Henry's father, Geoffrey Plantagenet "le Bel" (the Fair) married the Empress Matilda, daughter of English King Henry I and granddaughter of William the Conqueror. Henry II was baptized here. The stained glass window in the apse depicts Christ Ascending and dates to Eleanor's time, so, by gum, she looked at it!
The flying buttresses supporting the Cathedral are marvelous. Do circumambulate the church and feast your eyes.
One of the more relevant (to us) objets d'art in Le Mans is an enamel plaque of Geoffrey le Bel. It was commissioned by Geoffrey's widow, the Empress Matilda, shortly after his death and presumably accurately shows what he looked like. The plaque now resides in the Carre Plantagenet Museum near the cathedral, but it used to hang in the cathedral itself. We decided it must have hung in a prominent place, and found the perfect spot for it on a column on the left side of the nave, closest to the transept. There are holes in the column's stonework exactly the size of the plaque. It would be fitting to hang the plaque there, as Geoffrey's eyes would turn toward the altar, and you can see the Plantagenet zig-zag pattern carved into the column, climbing towards heaven.
The Carre Plantagenet is a museum of archaeology and history. It's fairly new and is a "must see" in Le Mans. The sword and keys date to Eleanor's time. Notice the elaborate shape of the keys.
The Carre Plantagenet museum also has a wonderful statue of St. Denis, discussed above, carrying his head. The glass horn dates to the 5th Century and may have been part of the collection of the Palace of the Counts of Maine, meaning Eleanor could have examined it.
South of downtown Le Mans is the Abbaye de L'Epau. Richard's widow, Berengaria is entombed there.
Le Mans is known for its 24-hour endurance car race, and it is also a rewarding city for tourists who may not be race enthusiasts. The old town area is wonderful to wander through, and is surrounded by walls built by the Romans that Eleanor herself probably appreciated for their strength. They are among the best preserved Roman walls in Europe. The neolithic menhir sits outside the Cathedral; one would like to think Eleanor graced it with a glance, but alas, according to Wikipedia, the menhir was move here in the 18th C.
CHRISTMAS 1161: BAYEUX
I only took one picture in Bayeux, of a pretty mill by a stream. The Bayeux Tapestry was already well-known in Eleanor's day; she had to have seen it, so anyone on an Eleanor tour should see it as well. One panel, below, depicts Henry's great-grandfather, William the Conqueror, leading his men into battle. There is an exceedingly good replica of the tapestry at the Reading Museum in England which we also saw (discussed below), and it lacks the crowds that the original endures in Bayeux, so if you wish to linger over the tapestry, the replica allows more comfort.
Near Caen and Bayeux are the beaches and cemetery from World War II's D-Day. Take a day off from Eleanor and reflect on the massive undertaking and sacrifice involved in June 1944.
CHRISTMAS 1162: CHERBOURG
We didn't actually go to Cherbourg, oops! But we did to go Barfleur very nearby. Barfleur was the main port for ships crossing the Channel to England during Eleanor's time. (You may ask, were there not ships from Calais to Dover? Was the journey not shorter? "Yes" to both questions, but Henry's rule over Normandy did not extend up to Calais. Rather than travel into "foreign" territory for a shorter voyage to England, he sailed from ports in Normandy such as Barfleur and Bonneville-sur-Touques, discussed below.) William the Conqueror left from Barfleur for his invasion of England in 1066.
Here is a map of the harbor as it exists today. You can have a nice lunch (I recommend the moules frites, mussels with french fries) on the harbor front and imagine Eleanor boarding ship to go to England.
The White Ship departed from Barfleur and promptly foundered on rocks in 1120 (the ones behind me?), killing the only son of England's King Henry I. His daughter, Matilda (Henry's mother), and cousin Stephen battled for the English throne until Stephen died in 1154 and Henry II was crowned. Thus, Barfleur: exceedingly important historically. CHRISTMAS 1163: BERKHAMSTED
Berkhamsted is northwest of London. A fortification with residence was built just after William the Conqueror arrived in England. It was a motte-and-bailey castle, the standard for the era. The ruins that remain today give a good idea what it looked like. Henry II gave the castle to Thomas Becket in 1155. By Christmas 1163, Henry and Becket were feuding over Becket's actions as Archbishop of Canterbury. See the movie "Becket" with Richard Burton as Archbishop Becket and Peter O'Toole as Henry II. (The movie dates to 1964; in "Lion in Winter", released in 1968, O'Toole appeared again as Henry II; amazing!) At any rate, in 1163 Henry and Eleanor spent Christmas with Becket, but Henry evicted Becket the next year and reclaimed Berkhamsted for himself.
Logistically, Berkhamstead is on a rail line from London's Euston station. It is about a 45 minute ride to Berkhamsted station, which is right across the street from the ruins of the castle, so it would be an easy railway day trip. We were somewhat pressed for time, and rather than do there-and-back trips to Berkhamsted and also to Reading (discussed below), we hired a car and driver through our London hotel (Uber or Lyft would probably provide the same service now) to take us to those two locations, and stop by Runnymede (where the Magna Carta was signed in 1215 by Eleanor's son King John) on the way back. Thus, we were able to hit three sites in one day quite efficiently. The cost wasn't much higher than multiple round-trip train tickets for two people would have been. Our driver had never been on an Eleanor of Aquitaine pilgrimage before, and indeed had never heard of Eleanor of Aquitaine. What are the schools teaching?
Berkhamsted, Dover Castle, Orford and Old Sarum, all sites discussed in this blog, are managed by English Heritage, as is the tower at Salisbury Cathedral. It might be cheaper to buy an annual membership to obtain free admission, rather than buy individual tickets at each site.
CHRISTMAS 1164: MARLBOROUGH
Didn't make Marlborough this trip.
CHRISTMAS 1165: ANGERS
According to the "If It's Christmas, It Must Be Chinon" blog, Eleanor spent Christmas 1165 at Angers. Henry was at Oxford. The chateau at Angers has an imposing view over the River Maine.
Below is a model of how the Chateau d'Angers looked in Eleanor's time. The large hall closest to us remains in ruin form. The second photograph is the doorway to the hall from within the walls, and the third photo is what you see when you look through that doorway.
You could see in the model the rounded fortifications built into the walls on the side perpendicular to the river (on the right side of the model). They still exist.
Inside the chateau is housed the gigantic "Apocalypse Tapestry", which dates to the 14th century. In the same space one can see, through glass panels in the floor, the original chapel that dates to Eleanor's time, where she knelt to pray.
One surprising feature of the chateau is that it had a system of steam heat. We know about Roman-era baths and steam rooms. The ruins of the Chateau d'Angers show the same type of piped-heat system, the only medieval example in existence. Good for Eleanor!
You can see how the terra cotta pot-piping was stacked to direct the steam heat to various rooms.
La Cathédrale Saint-Maurice in Angers, where Eleanor would have gone for public worship:
Inside, the 12th century font where Eleanor (probably) dipped her fingers, and stained glass dating to Eleanor's time so she could gaze on the depictions of Henry's condemnation of Thomas Becket, the legend of Saint Vincent of Spain, the Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin, and the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria.
Relics of saints were revered by the devout of Eleanor's era, and this skull was surely no exception!
You may have noticed in the picture of the cathedral above that the front door was covered by scaffolding . Artisans are busily restoring the 12th Century colorful paintings that covered the entry portal with polychrome. Eleanor would have enjoyed looking at those paintings, and we will too as soon as they are restored.
Last stop in Angers: Saint-John Hospital, paid for by Henry, so presumably Eleanor dropped by to inspect during construction. Now the Jean-Lurcat Museum.
CHRISTMAS 1166: OXFORD FOR ELEANOR
POITIERS FOR HENRY
Didn't make it to Oxford; see 1152 for Poitiers.
CHRISTMAS 1167: ARGENTAN
The Tour Marguerite dates to the 12th Century and still stands. The donjon (fortified tower) built by Henry II exists only in its exterior walls.
CHRISTMAS 1167: ROUEN,
NOT ARGENTAN?
The "If It's Christmas it must be Chinon" blogger notes confusion about whether Eleanor spent Christmas of 1167 at Argenten or at Rouen. So, on to Rouen:
Its cathedral is breathtaking, inside and out. We visited during a "son et lumiere" show projected on the facade of the cathedral.
Richard the Lionheart is buried at Rouen. Sort of. His heart is in a lead box in the Cathedral's Treasury. An empty tomb in the apse has an effigy on top to commemorate him:
But the rest of his body is at Fontevraud (discussed at the end of this blog). Except his entrails, which remained in Chalus where he died in 1199.
Eleanor and Henry's first son, Henry, died in 1183. All of him is buried at the Rouen Cathedral.
The Empress Matilda, Henry's mother, died nearby at Bec-Hellouin Abbey and was buried there. Her remains suffered indignities over the centuries, but in 1846 they were "conclusively identified" and moved to Rouen Cathedral, and a plaque in the wall famously refers to her as "daughter, wife and mother of Henry".
Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in a square in downtown Rouen, and this plaque shows the exact spot of the pyre:
ROUEN DAY TRIPS
Sliding slightly outside of our "Christmas court" chronology, I have to include two sites near Rouen that must be visited by any Eleanor-phile, and a third site that was important for her family's most loyal retainer, William Marshal.
GISORS
Gisors was a critical castle for the Duke of Normandy to defend the area. It has been called a "fiercesome stronghold". Now mostly in ruins, but well worth a visit, it sits at the top of a hill overlooking the town of the same name. In 1190, Richard Lionheart met Philip II here to hammer out the terms of their Crusade to the Holy Land.
Gisors, as of this writing, is closed Tuesdays and may not be open at all during the colder months. As with all tourist sites, check before going. Also, many indoor sites close for lunch.TANCARVILLE
Tancarville is important because it is where William Marshal spent his formative years. In the bibliography at the end of this blog I cite a book "The Greatest Knight", about Marshal, who served Henry II, his eldest son Henry, Eleanor, Richard Lionheart, John and John's son Henry III. An illustrious career and a well-done biography. The chateau at Tancarville still exists, but it seems to be privately owned, not open to the public that I could tell, and in declining condition. Drive up a dirt road, park and peer in the gates, imagining Marshal practicing his jousting skills as a teenager.
If you are interested in civil engineering (and who isn't?), Tancarville is close to where the stupendous Pont de Normandie crosses the Seine. Stop at the Tancarville (north) side of the bridge to stroll through the museum that celebrates the bridge's construction. Then cross the bridge, head into the seaside town of Honfleur, wander about and look at the boats, and have lunch on the harbor.
CHATEAU GAILLARD
The greatest construction achievement of Richard Lionheart's reign, lost by his brother King John to the French in 1204. The siege that resulted in that loss caused King John's men to toss the civilians who had taken refuge in the castle outside its walls. There they were pinned down by the French on the hillside above, and made easy targets. They were called "Les Bouches Inutiles", the Useless Mouths.
Chateau Gaillard is now largely in ruins, but one gets an idea of its strength and brilliant location overlooking the Seine.
If you have ever seen a television advertisement for Viking River Cruises, you may recognize the view below from those ads. You can see a river cruise ship tied up on the bank.
CHRISTMAS 1168: ARGENTAN, AGAIN
CHRISTMAS 1169: POITIERS, AGAIN, FOR ELEANOR; NANTES FOR HENRY
CHRISTMAS 1170: BURES
Near Bayeux. I couldn't find any reference to any relevant structures still in existence at Bures, so we skipped. It was at this Christmas Court where Henry asked his knights about Thomas Becket, "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?" Or so they say.
CHRISTMAS 1171: POITIERS FOR ELEANOR; DUBLIN FOR HENRY
CHRISTMAS 1172: CHINON
Chinon was the heart of Henry's possessions in France. He kept the royal treasure here from 1160 to 1180. It served as Eleanor's first prison in 1173. In the model below, the light brown structure pre-existed Henry's time. He added the dark charcoal-colored structures.
The town of Chinon nestles between the chateau and the Vienne river.
Besides serving as a short-term prison for Eleanor, Chinon also was the prison for Jacques DeMolay and his fellow Knights Templars in 1308, until they were burned at the stake in Paris. They left this carving in their cell:
This view of a building in the castle shows how "indoor plumbing" worked from the point of view of the peasant outside!
The Chapelle Saint-Radegonde de Chinon is an ancient troglodytic (underground) chapel Eleanor surely visited. But not us. The chapel is closed from mid-September until May. The chapel is eloquently written about in the blog "In the Footsteps of Eleanor of Aquitaine", dated February 9, 2013. It has a mural dated to the 12th Century that may or may not depict Eleanor. Here is the front (locked) door of the troglodytic chapel:
Farmers and others still use hillside caves on the outskirts of Chinon for storage.
CHRISTMAS 1173: CAEN
William the Conqueror began construction of his castle at Caen in 1060 and it was his main residence. Henry spent time here, we know. Surely Eleanor did too!
However, not in 1173. By Christmas she was imprisoned, at Chinon, then Falaise, then at various locations in the south of England. In 1173 Henry celebrated Christmas at Caen without his beloved bride. Here is the exterior of the palace today, and a drawing and a picture of the ruins showing its probable extent during Henry's day.
William the Conqueror is buried in Caen, at the Cathedral Saint-Etienne of the Men's Abbey which he established. Here is the exterior:
The beautiful nave:
In the middle of the transept lies the tomb of William. Only his left thigh-bone is under the stone. The rest of his remains were scattered during France's Wars of Religion. We can't make this stuff up.
William's wife, Matilda (not the Empress Matilda, mother of Henry II) is buried nearby at the Women's Abbey:
ELEANOR'S IMPRISONMENT
From 1173 until he died in 1189, Henry generally kept Eleanor imprisoned or at least confined under guard. It is believed she spent most of her time at Old Sarum, just north of Salisbury, England, and at Winchester. The only known Christmas Court Eleanor attended was in 1184 at Windsor.
OLD SARUM is a motte-and-bailey castle, now an absorbing pile of ruins. The top picture is how it probably appeared during Eleanor's time; the lower picture is the ruins today.
Today one drives across the moat and onto the "motte" to the parking area. The palace was further protected in the middle by yet another moat. At the top right was the church, now only foundations.
We were fortunate to visit Old Sarum on a cold, rainy day. At first we found it unpleasant, but then we realized what Eleanor felt like for 15 years, away from Poitiers and Angers and the other places she preferred. She must have hated Henry for locking her up here.
The museum in Salisbury displays relics from the 12th Century -- coins, pins pendants, gold plaque, seals and a ring. It's tempting to think they belonged to Eleanor . . .
Near Old Sarum are the ruins of Clarendon, one of Henry's favorite palaces and the site of an early face-off between him and Archbishop Becket. Clarendon must have been quite a pile, with marble pillars and walls tinted with dyes from Aghanistan. Now its ruins host grazing llamas. One must park one's car at a pub a couple miles away, stroll down a "restricted byway" (but it's open to the public) and cut through some woods to reach the site.
The fabulous Salisbury Cathedral was built after Eleanor's time; construction began in 1220 and was finished in only 38 years. It features the tallest church spire in England (which the photo below stupidly cuts off, sorry), the largest cloister in England, the earliest working clock in the world, and the best surviving copy of the Magna Carta, signed by Eleanor's son King John.
The cloister:
The Magna Carta in the chapter house:
The nave. When we visited, a flower show was underway . .
WINCHESTER
Besides Old Sarum, Eleanor was imprisoned at Winchester. The palace's great hall dates to her grandson's era, Henry III, and still exists; one likes to think the great hall used by Eleanor was similar?
The chest is the type Henry used to protect treasure, royal documents and seals, jewels and coins. Winchester housed England's treasure until around 1180 when Henry moved everything to Westminster in London.
Winchester Cathedral: surely Eleanor was allowed out of confinement to attend services on important holy days. She would recognize the cathedral to this day. The baptismal font dates to her era, as do the crypt and the wall paintings showing the Deposition and Entombment of Christ.
Winchester Cathedral is home to the Winchester Bible, created between 1160 and 1174. It is a huge illuminated manuscript, the finest in England. The second picture shows Noah in his Ark. It was the most important Bible in Henry's realm. Legend has it that he liked it so much he asked for it as a gift. Who could turn him down? But later he gave it back to the Cathedral. If Henry liked the Winchester Bible so much, Eleanor had to have seen it as well. 
By the by, if you are in the United States and can't currently travel to England and France for your Eleanor pilgrimage, go to New York's Morgan Library, where you can see a page from the Winchester Bible. Eleanor is everywhere . . .
Other fun facts about Winchester Cathedral. Jane Austen is buried there, and you can see her stone on the north aisle of the nave. William Rufus is buried there. Bloody Queen Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, married her Spanish husband there.
Other sites in Winchester:
Kingsgate, dating to Eleanor's time so presumably she passed through it to get to Winchester Palace:
Outside our normal Eleanor-era time frame, novelist Jane Austen spent her last years in Winchester, in this house:
DOVER CASTLE
There is no record that Eleanor ever visited Dover Castle. Henry turned it into the strongest fortress in England. Worth visiting to see how much he feared an invasion force arriving from Calais. The Great Tower was built between 1180 and 1184 and has been recreated to look like it might have those days.
Trains leave London St. Pancras for Dover Priory station very frequently. It's a short walk from Dover Priory to Dover Castle, or you may be able to catch a bus to avoid the steep uphill part of the walk. I'm sure a taxi would also be glad to help.
CHRISTMASES 1174 TO 1183 FOR HENRY
Argentan, Windsor, Nottingham, Angers, Windsor, Nottingham, LeMans, Winchester, Caen, LeMans
CHRISTMAS 1184: WINDSOR
The Salisbury Tower at Windsor existed in Eleanor's day. She may have been confined there for a while. Eleanor, Henry and other family members celebrated Christmas Court here in 1184.
CHRISTMAS 1185: DOMFRONT
Domfront was reputed to be one of Eleanor and Henry's favorite residences. She gave birth to daughter Eleanor there in 1161. Henry spent Christmas of 1185 there. The palace has fallen into ruin.
The gap here is apparently where the front door of the chateau stood.
The church of Notre-Dame-sur-l'Eau is just down the hill from Domfront. It is possible Eleanor baptized her daughter Eleanor there in 1161. The frescoes date to Eleanor's era. Thomas Becket led the Christmas service here in 1166.
CHRISTMASES 1186 AND 1187
Henry was at Guildford and Caen.
CHRISTMAS 1188: SAUMUR
Henry spent the last Christmas of his life at Saumur, in the Loire Valley. He rebuilt the palace to protect the crossing of the Loire. Virtually nothing remains of Henry's palace. The line drawing shows what the palace may have looked like in Henry's day. The more colorful drawing is from the illuminated manuscript Les Tres Riches Heures and allegedly accurately depicts Saumur Palace in about 1400.
The candlestick holder at Saumur castle dates to Eleanor's era. If one dusted it for fingerprints, would one find Eleanor's?
The Church of Notre Dame of Nantilly in Saumur dates to Eleanor's era. The wooden statute of the Virgin and Child was an object of pilgrimage at the time, so Eleanor and Henry probably gazed upon it.
The plaque on a wall in the nave is an epitaph to the wet nurse of Marie of Anjou, future wife of French King Charles VII. True tale.
READING ABBEY
Reading Abbey, just west of London, was founded by Henry I (Henry II's grandfather), and he is buried there. Eleanor and Henry II surely came to pay homage to Henry's ancestor. The Abbey itself is now largely ruins, and it is fenced off to prevent visitors from walking about in dodgy circumstances and having stones from the ancient walls falling on them.
I mentioned above that a very good replica of the Bayeux tapestry is at the Reading Museum, near the ruins of the Abbey.
Outside our Eleanor era, the Reading Museum displays a coin showing Roman Emperor Hadrian, famous for building the wall across the north of England to keep the feisty Scots out.
Two other non-Eleanor personages associated with Reading: Jane Austen went to school there, and Oscar Wilde was imprisoned there. The Reading Gaol is now a tourist site, but it opened after we visited. Maybe next trip.
Two more sites where Eleanor no doubt made visits, but I don't have dates:
ABBEY DE JUMIEGES
The Abbey de Jumieges is west of Rouen and was famous during Eleanor's time. She probably visited . . .
PILGRIMAGE TO ROCAMADOUR
Rocamadour was the most important pilgrimage site in France besides Mont St. Michel. I have read (but I can't remember where, sorry) that Eleanor and Henry made a pilgrimage here. Their eldest son Henry, a spiteful lad, went to Rocamadour in 1183, robbed it and died on the way home. That'll teach him.
CHRISTMAS 1192: BONNEVILLE-SUR-TOUQUES
Eleanor spent Christmas 1192 here, near Deauville on the Normandy coast. She stayed at the Chateau de Ducs de Normandie just outside of town. It is now a private residence. The second picture I grabbed off the internet; the photographer found the gates open. The third picture is how we found the chateau -- gates closed, forcing us to peer through like devoted voyeurs. From a satellite picture you can see the standard motte-and-bailey layout of the chateau and surrounding grounds.
The village at the time was a port from which ships traveled to and from England. Henry V landed here with his invasion force in 1415, eager to demonstrate that, borrowing from Shakespeare, he loved France so much he "would not part with a single village of it; I will have it all mine". There is still a street called "Quai Monrival", and you can see bollards for tying up Eleanor's (and Henry V's) boats along the location of the inlet, now filled in and turned into a road.
The village of Bonneville-sur-Touques is the home of two churches at which Thomas Becket allegedly preached:
1193: ORFORD CASTLE
I have never seen Orford Castle on a list of Eleanor-era must-see sites. But I found it one of the highlights of the trip. Orford Castle is on the English Channel northeast of London. It was built by Henry II and is still in spectacular condition. Eleanor would recognize it to this very day, the rooms, the privy, the bake-shop on the roof, everything.
Why did Eleanor come here in 1193? Her son, King Richard the Lionheart, was kidnapped in Austria while coming home from the Crusades in 1192. It took a year for Eleanor to collect sufficient ransom to free him. She stayed at Orford before she sailed across the English Channel to travel up the Rhine River and deliver the ransom.
This picture shows the great hall where Eleanor ate her meals. The royal bedroom was through the door you can see in the alcove on the left.
The castle had a small chapel where Eleanor would have attended services. The altar is at the left of this picture. I'm sitting on a small bench recessed into the wall where Eleanor herself may have sat.
Here is the castle's indoor privy. I couldn't resist.
The coin is in a display case in the great hall. Geoffrey was Eleanor and Henry's son who died in Paris and was buried at Notre Dame.
Logistically, Orford was a day-trip from London's Liverpool Street Station to Woodbridge. We had pre-arranged for a taxi to meet us at Woodbridge to take us to Orford (a 20-minute drive) and pick us up a few hours later, but as it turned out several taxis were waiting at Woodbridge, so advance planning wasn't necessary.
1202: MIREBEAU
Eleanor did not spend Christmas at Mirebeau, near Poitiers. Rather, she was briefly imprisoned here by her nephew Arthur while Arthur battled with her son King John over the family's possessions in France. John heard of her capture and marched his army to rescue her in short order.
So we stopped at Mirebeau. We found exterior walls of the old castle.
Wandering inside, through what appeared to be private houses' back yards and such, we found no evidence of a castle-like structure.
We did find a horse quietly at pasture within the old walls. The hazards of touring in the footsteps of somebody who died 800 years ago is that, well, change happens!
(1215: TEMPLE CHURCH IN LONDON; RUNNYMEDE)
We are out of chronological order now, but Temple Church is an important stop. King John holed up here while battling his barons over the Magna Carta. They were at Windsor at the time, so when an agreement was reached, everyone traveled on the Thames to Runnymede, in between, for signatures.
Here is the interior of the Temple's Round Church. Beautiful space. The Round Church's opening hours vary; check before you go.
William Marshal, faithful servant of the Plantagenets and discussed above for his teen jousting training at Tancarville near Rouen, is buried at Temple Church.
An effigy of King John is at Temple Church, but his tomb and remains are at Worcester Cathedral.
The sign is self-explanatory:
One can still arrive at Runnymede by boat, just like King John!
1199-1204: ABBAYE DE FONTEVRAUD
Eleanor moved to Fontevraud after Richard Lionheart died in 1199. It is believed she lived in a house near the abbey until her final illness, when she moved onto the abbey grounds. There were a few madcap adventures, such as her imprisonment at Mirebeau in 1202, mentioned above, but generally Fontevraud was her home.
There is a hotel on the abbey grounds. I recommend staying there. First, it's a nice hotel. Second, hotel guests can wander the grounds after they are closed to other visitors. This means one can view the tombs at one's leisure, at sunset or sunrise, and walk by oneself in Eleanor's footsteps.
The buildings at the abbey during Eleanor's day. The church is the right side of the square structure, top left.
The back side of that structure today. The church is on the right.
The front door of the church.
Looking from the apse towards the front door. Four tombs: Eleanor and Henry II further away, Isabella and Richard I closer.
Eleanor's tomb. She personally approved the effigies for herself, Henry and Richard, so presumably they bear some likeness. Eleanor reads a book.
Eleanor lies next to her husband, Henry II.
Richard I lies at the feet of his father.
King John's second wife, Isabella of Angouleme, lies at the feet of Eleanor.
The kitchen at Fontevraud has not changed since Eleanor's time. Perhaps she baked bread there before her death in 1204, aged 82, wife of two kings, mother of two more, the most eventful woman of the 12th Century.
Thank you for reading my blog. I hope it will inspire you to travel, in your own way, in the footsteps of Eleanor of Aquitaine.
TO BE CONTINUED?
Yes, continued! In 2019 I went back to Bordeaux and visited Saint-Andre Cathedral where Eleanor married the future Louis VII:
The cathedral contains a copy of Eleanor's tomb at Fontevraud:
Additionally, in Bordeaux do visit the Saint-Seurin Basilica, which existed in Eleanor's time and thus she no doubt visited. A far more Romanesque site.
Another feature of Bordeaux is the Museum of Aquitaine, an interesting afternoon.
Finally, in Bordeaux one can enjoy beer named after our heroine!
In 2021 I did a tour of the Pyrenees in southwestern France, focusing on castles used by the Cathar heretics in the 13th century. Eleanor visited one of them, not once, but twice! In 1170, she visited the Chateau de Puivert on a trip organized by Henry II to calm the local Aquitainian rabble. Puivert is southeast of Toulouse.
How it looked back in the day:
How it appears now, from the front gates:
The remaining keep, altered on the outside but the indoor rooms are exactly as Eleanor saw them in 1170.
And this is the room where Eleanor herself listened to her beloved troubadours sing their songs of love in 1170. This was called (okay, okay, by the self-promoting sign at Puivert) the greatest meeting of troubadours of the age.
The bases of the arches in the music room are carved with musicians playing their instruments.
Eleanor returned to Puivert three decades later, on her trek from Fontevraud where she had retired, to Spain to pick up a granddaughter for a wedding back in France. This was in late 1199 or early 1200.
So, like Orford in England, Puivert is an extant physical location with the rooms exactly as Eleanor saw them. Imagine Eleanor sitting in the music hall at Puivert enjoying music and conversation.
Eleanor-related, I went to Worcester Cathedral in England recently. Her son King John is entombed there.
Rosamund, Henry’s mistress, lived at Woodstock, a palace near Oxford, and died at Godstow nunnery (ruins only; her grave was apparently desecrated during Henry VIII’s reign). Woodstock was one of the most beloved and grandest Plantagenet residences in England. Apparently Blenheim Palace was built on the grounds of the former Woodstock. At any rate, a feature of the grounds at Blenheim is Rosamund's Well, where she (allegedly) bathed . . .
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Again, thank you for reading my blog. Happy traveling!
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Other places to visit:
Canterbury is critically important to visit to see where Thomas Becket was slain and where Henry II allowed himself to be flagellated by Becket's colleagues in penance.
Canterbury is critically important to visit to see where Thomas Becket was slain and where Henry II allowed himself to be flagellated by Becket's colleagues in penance.
The town of Devizes was terribly important, as Empress Matilda ruled from there in competition with King Stephen. Some thought it the most splendid castle in Europe at the time. One can see the remains of the motte of the motte-and-bailey, but the structure now on the site is a "Victorian Folly". http://www.pastscape.org/hob.aspx?hob_id=216161
Richard was born at Beaumont Palace at Oxford.
William Marshal, who served Henry Shortcoat, Henry II, Eleanor, Richard, John and Henry III, had his main residence at Striguil, near where the River Wye meets with the Severn. The fortress is relatively intact today. A gate from the 12th century is hanging in a porch.
Henry III was crowned (in a hurry) after John's death. Crowning was at Gloucester Abbey, a safe haven from insurrectionist forces.
Near Paris: Église de Saint-Germain-des-Prés. In the nineteenth century extensive repairs were carried out but there remain some elements that Eleanor would have recognized from her time in Paris as Louis' wife such as the marble columns in the triforium from the early 6th century church; the Romanesque portions of the early 11th century nave; and the porch tower that dates to the 10-11th centuries, making it one of the oldest bell towers in Paris. http://eleanorfootsteps.blogspot.com/2012/06/paris-5-june-2011.html
Henry II’s eldest son Henry died in Martel. The house he died in, Maison Fabri, apparently still exists.
Near Gisors: The book, cited below, Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings, says, p. 228, there was an elm tree on the boundary of the Vexin between Gisors and Trie (just east of Rouen), where for generations the French kings and Norman dukes met. Henry II and Philip met there, for example, in December 1183 and in 1188, when it was apparently cut down though whether by Philip or others is unclear. See “Cutting of the elm” in Wikipedia, and “The Fallen Elm of Gisors” chapter in the cited book, beginning p. 236. The elm tree was apparently on the Epte river which runs south out of Gisors but I don’t know where the elm tree was . .
Beaugency, at the Cathedral Notre Dame is where Eleanor’s marriage to Louis VII was annulled in 1152. There is also a “massive 11th C keep”, and the bridge, though not dating to 12 C is only a couple hundred years later and is in the same location and looks the same as the 12 C bridge.
Elizabeth was crowned queen of France at Bourges
CHALUS
southwest of Limoges. Richard was injured at the castle of Chalus
by the arrow. That’s the Castle Chalus
– Maulmont in Limousin, methinks, now in ruins. His entrails are in the chapel.
For another trip, visit Vienna, where Richard was captured on his way home from the Crusade in 1192. And then visit the Austrian castle of Durnstein, perched above the River Danube, where he was imprisoned. The Greatest Knight/Asbridge p. 232.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Michelin Green Guide, Normandy, printed December 2013
Desmond Seward, Eleanor of Aquitaine -- The Mother Queen of the Middle Ages, 1978 and 2014
Amy Kelly, Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings, 1950 and 1978
Eyewitness Travel, Loire Valley, 2013 edition
Thomas Asbridge, The Greatest Knight, 2014
Michelin Green Guide, Normandy, printed December 2013
Desmond Seward, Eleanor of Aquitaine -- The Mother Queen of the Middle Ages, 1978 and 2014
Amy Kelly, Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings, 1950 and 1978
Eyewitness Travel, Loire Valley, 2013 edition
Thomas Asbridge, The Greatest Knight, 2014
Thank you for all your work sharing your trip. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Catherine Lamb
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