Eleanor of Aquitaine

For some easy facts, here's a Wikipedia overview of one of the most powerful women in history. 

Eleanor of Aquitaine lived during a time where women were rarely figureheads of power, other than as queen consorts. Although Eleanor, unlike Elizabeth, was not queen in her own right, she was an extremely  influential political figure who navigated court life with an ambitious eye, seizing opportunities at the same power that Elizabeth was born into. She was described in one account as a, "dark-eyed beauty, disconcertingly articulate, strong-minded and even jocular and not at all the modestly veiled damsel in the tower."

It is because Eleanor did not have Elizabeth's advantages of inheriting a throne that makes her so interesting. She was born the Duchess of Aquitaine in 1122. Her birth ensured her a good marriage. When she was only 15 she married King Louis VII of France. She was criticized during her short reign of being indecorous by church leaders. During the second crusade, Eleanor and Louis realized that their marriage would not work. The pope agreed to annulment of their marriage after the birth of a daughter rather than a son. Later that year, Eleanor married again, this time to the soon-to-be King Henry II of England. 

Henry II

The couple had eight children. In 1173, their son decided to rebel against Henry and usurp the throne. Eleanor, who had had enough of Henry, supported her son's revolt. Some historians believe that she herself plotted it. The Queen attempted to flee court along with her sons, but was captured by the King. She was imprisoned by her own husband for sixteen years. As her son died of sickness while fighting, he begged the King to pardon Eleanor. He was not forgiving, however.

When Henry died, Eleanor was released from prison. She was already sixty seven years old. She was said to not have shed a tear when hearing of the tragic news. Her favorite son, Richard, had inherited the throne after her husband's death.  She was back in royal favor, and accepted at court once more. While her son fought in the third crusade, Eleanor ruled England for five years. She held down the throne while it was in it's most vulnerable state: unprotected by the King. Her younger son was also vying for power. 

Richard died in battle, leaving Eleanor's younger and less competent son, John, King of England. Eleanor, securing her line, devised a scheme to marry her granddaughter to an enemy, ensuring peace. She rode to bring the boy to England amongst fighting at the age of eighty. She later had to defend borders from her own grandsons through written agreements. 

Eleanor of Aquitaine was not silenced by her role as a woman and regnant. She schemed for power, and constantly ruled over more powerful men in order to make things happen. She was forced down by both her husbands and three of her sons as she attempted to rule, but in the end, she got her say in the matter. 

Eleanor was, "beautiful and just, imposing and modest, humble and elegant," someone wrote after her death. 

Elizabeth I

In accordance with not talking about myself, because I hate that, here is my first post about history (which I cleverly chose as my blog topic so I could be sure that no one would read it).

Elizabeth Tudor (Elizabeth I of England) was my my main introduction into history, so I'll start with her.

Elizabeth Tudor was the daughter of Henry VIII of England and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth was born with an older half-sister, Mary, the daughter of Henry's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Elizabeth's mother was executed for adultery when she was only three years old, leaving the toddler the rightful heir to the throne of England, as Mary had been removed from the line with her parent's divorce. This was all taken away from Elizabeth, however, when her father married again and his third wife, Jane Seymour, had a son. Edward, as a boy, was to inherit the throne, and his sons after him.

Although Elizabeth would never be a Queen, her father made sure that she was well-educated. She was an uncommonly gifted student, particularly gifted with languages. She was also recorded to be a lively girl, who loved to play outdoors with her younger brother and wished to gain her sister's appreciation.  She was favored by her father very highly at times, but would also often be banned from court for offences. Henry's fourth and sixth wives were close to Elizabeth and Edward, as they were the closest thing to maternal figures for the children.

When Elizabeth was fourteen, her father died, leaving England in turmoil. Elizabeth's brother, Edward, was first in the line of succession, but Edward was only ten years old, and therefore unfit to rule. Instead, Edward Seymour, a prominent noble, became Edward's lord protector, essentially leaving the ten-year-old a puppet King until old enough to rule in his own right.

Edward Seymour was a conniving and ambitious man who had a plan for his own family to come into power. Edward VI was always a sickly boy, and it was easy to see that he wouldn't live long. When he grew particularly ill, Seymour changed his will so as to skip over Mary and Elizabeth, declaring them bastards, and instead have the throne pass down to Henry's great-niece, who had recently married Seymour's son. He was successful in this, and Jane Grey inherited the throne and rules for nine days, until Mary overthrew her and had her executed.

Mary invited Elizabeth into her court, but forced her to practice Mary's Catholicism rather than her own Protestantism. Mary married a Spanish Prince, which angered many in the country. Elizabeth found herself the figurehead of rebellions against her own sister. She was interrogated by Mary countless times for leading rebellions against her. She was imprisoned all across England in order to stifle the outrage. Only when Mary died was Elizabeth finally able to live freely, as Mary had named her heir. At the age of 25, she became Queen.

England went on to defeat the Spanish Armada, one of the most feared powers in Europe. Elizabeth established no national religion, saying that everyone should practice their own beliefs. She never married, despite intense political pressure to do so. She said that her husband was England and that she did not wish to relinquish her power to a man, having seen it happen many times in her life.

Elizabeth successfully navigated court life at a young age, staying alive with deadly stakes at every turn. She went on to become the second Queen Regnant of England, and the first to rule without a husband.

Introduction

Unlike some of my peers report, I have a lot of passions. So narrowing them all down to one was difficult for me. I spent a lot of time thinking about a topic I could write about repeatedly, because I like consistency  Fortunately, I learned at a young age that one of my greatest passions is reading. When I was younger, I would pick up any book within arm's reach of me. Often they were my older sister's. And so it was with a book I stumbled upon in fourth grade, Beware Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer. The book was about a young woman learning to negotiate politics in the 16th century. And I found it fascinating.

This wasn't my introduction to loving history. For a long time I had been obsessed with the Magic Treehouse books. In fifth grade, I did a report where we were allowed choose any topic about gender roles in Ancient Egypt. Around the time I was eight and nine the most intriguing parts of history to me were ancient China and ancient Egypt. And I still love those periods. But this was different.

Rather than the culture of the times, a lot of books written about medieval and Renaissance periods focus more on the politics surrounding the monarchy. I was hooked. I read everything I could find about the Tudors and other nation's monarchs of the same period. I still know most about the Tudor period of English history, but my interests have broadened over time. I realized that what I loved most about Elizabeth from that first book was how she related to her femininity and used it to aid her where others thought it might hinder. As the first unmarried Queen of England, she faced many challenges. And a lot of them women still face today.

So for this blog, I want to write about history, but also the present. I want to write about women in power and how their roles have changed throughout history. By focusing each week on a different woman, past or present, and covering her story, I hope to show my passion while having fun.

Because I have fun writing about powerful women in charge. I'm a little odd.

(I tried to post this yesterday but it failed so I don't know what's up with this...)