Making Eleanor: Perceptions of Eleanor of Aquitaine in Film

Making EleanorThe Perception of Eleanor of Aquitaine

in FilmShannon Reeves 2014

Making Eleanor: The Perception of Eleanor of Aquitainein Film

Introduction

“Well behaved women seldom make history”1. From Deborah, a

Biblical warrior Judge, to Cleopatra in the Ancient period;

Matilda to Joan of Arc in the medieval period; and Queen

Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria, and Margaret Thatcher in the Modern

age, strong women have made their mark on mankind, whether

intentional or by chance. One woman stands out of the multitude,

Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Why is she remembered, and so remembered in a particular

way? What images are conjured when her name is mentioned?

Beautiful, seductress, scandalous, rebellious, intelligent, the

Court of Love, patron of the arts, powerful, prisoner, queen,

mother, matriarch of the Plantagenet dynasty; these are just a

few, the list could go on. Why, is the first thing that is

thought of beauty and bad behavior? She has been portrayed in

popular culture since the time in which she lived with verses

written in her honor. Shakespeare depicted her in his play King

John, and Alfred Lord Tennyson also included her in his play 1 Quote coined by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich in the 1970’s

2 | R e e v e s - M a k i n g E l e a n o r

Becket, of which the later screen play was loosely based. She is

depicted in tales such as Ivanhoe and Robin Hood, both of which

were made into television series in Britain; but what does she

look like on the “Silver Screen,” the popular entertainment of

the masses?

The primary goal of this work is to look at Eleanor of

Aquitaine in the different Twentieth-Century films in which she

is portrayed, or not (as is the case with one film). The four

films that are the basis for this paper include: The Crusades, made

in 1935; Becket, from 1964; The Lion in Winter, in 1968; and a made

for television re-make of The Lion in Winter from 2003. Why is she

viewed the way she is, and what is the reason behind such

portrayals. The bigger question is, are they portraying her as

accurately as possible, or do they simply perpetuate rumors and

legends to a salaciously greedy populous.

Biographical Essay

Eleanor of Aquitaine was born in the Bordeaux region of

provincial France, known as the Aquitaine in either 1122 or


11242; Her parents were William X Duke of Aquitaine and the

daughter of his father’s mistress, Anor of Châtellerault. She had

a brother who died young and a younger sister, Petronilla. With

no son, the rich Aquitaine would be succeeded to Eleanor, and her

father wanted to instill in his daughter the knowledge of the

lands she would one day rule. In Aquitaine the education of

well-born women was not unheard of. Her grandmother, Philippa of

Toulouse founded Fontevraud Abbey a monastery for both men and

women. She would have been aware and even educated in her ducal

genealogy and especially in the powerful women who had ruled it

before her.3 Turner goes on to discuss that while rulers and

Church leaders were decreasing the amount of power women held, in

her youth and early years, it had not yet become law and

certainly not in the more liberal and female empowering

Aquitaine.4 Going by the 1124 birth date, at the age of thirteen,

in 1137, her father died while on an Easter pilgrimage to the

shrine of Saint James at Compostella in Spain. As is customary

in the medieval feudal homage oath, the overlord, in this case,

2 Ralph V. Turner states that she was thirteen in 1137 when she married, whichwould make her birth year 1124, however most historians believe it is 1122.3 Ibid, p. 14.4 Ibid, p. 34-36


King Louis VI of France, would have taken Eleanor, the new

duchess, under his protection making him responsible for her

future welfare until such time as she is married.

Eleanor’s domain stretched from the “northern frontier just

below the River Loire to the Pyrenees and extending eastward from

the Atlantic coast into the Massif Central.”5 This much land

would prove too enticing for Louis VI to not take advantage of,

therefore, what better way to protect his ward and her land than

to have her marry his son, the heir to the Kingdom of France,

Louis VII. This marriage looked good on paper, but it was truly

ill-matched. Carefree and spirited Eleanor would be in essence

too much for Louis VII to handle, as he had previously to

becoming heir (his older brother Philip died) been studying for

priesthood. Eleanor is famous for supposedly saying, “I have

married a monk, rather than a king.”6 The pair were fond of one

another as they were both teenagers when they married,

essentially growing up together, however, due to Louis’ pious

nature, was not a sexually fulfilling marriage. As it seems that

due to Eleanor’s (later proved) fertility, it was Louis’ lack of 5 Turner, p. 11.6 Ibid, p. 47.


sexual interest that kept the pair from having more children.

Eleanor and Louis’ first child was born after seven years of

marriage, and was a daughter, whom they named Marie. Louis had,

by Eleanor’s suggestion, attempted several ill-fated endeavors at

warfare, which had left him in a steady state of depression. In

1145 Louis decided to go on the Second Crusade to do penance for

the innocent lives lost amid his warring attempts, and Eleanor

announced that she too would go, likely so that her vassals would

go and assist Louis.7 They left for the Holy Land in 1147.

It was in the Holy Land that their marriage truly began to

sour. Whether Eleanor was bored, disappointed, or simply unhappy,

it is here that she makes her first appeal for an annulment based

on consanguinity. After landing in Antioch, of which her uncle,

Raymond of Toulouse was Prince, is when much of the trouble

begins to arise. The legends of Eleanor that were made “over

there” are many, not the least of which was that she had an

incestuous relationship with Raymond. This is a rumor that will

follow her forever, truthful or not. By Eleanor suggesting, nay,

7 Amy Kelly, Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. 1950. 427 (includes notes and bibliography). Chapter 3 pp. 29-39.


demanding an annulment at this point, as well as her fondness for

her uncle gave rise to the rumor that she planned to renounce

Louis and marry Raymond. Louis kidnapped his wife and took her

with him to Jerusalem, after which they departed from the Holy

Land to return home separately. The Second Crusade ended badly,

yet another failed attempt at warfare for Louis. The pair after

having left separately both were shipwrecked and ended up in Rome

together and in the presence of the Pope, Eugenius who sought to

reconcile them back to one another. He bade them to sleep

together and had a room prepared, another daughter, Alix was born

nine months later.8

Talk of annulment had been subsided from their return to

France in 1149 until 1151. It was then brought up after Geoffrey

of Anjou and his son, nineteen year old Henry FitzEmpress,

visited Paris so that Henry could give homage to Louis and become

installed as the Duke of Normandy. The rumors surrounding this

visit are the most damning for Eleanor. Events would move

quickly, as this would be the first time, August of 1151, that

8 Alison Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England. Vintage, London,1999. 444 (including notes on sources, bibliography, notes and references, andgenealogical tables), pp. 68-74.


Eleanor and Henry met, it is likely that they became sexually

involved and sought to find a way to be together. Once Henry and

his father had left Paris, Eleanor busied herself with getting an

annulment. Officially, the couple separated at the bequest of

Louis so that he might remarry in hopes of having a male heir to

succeed him, however seeing that Eleanor was not yet thirty, she

still had time to fulfill that request, but this is how it

officially stands. The annulment was procured in March of 1152,

Louis kept the girls and Eleanor kept all of her ancestral

lands.9

Upon learning of Henry’s plans to marry Eleanor, Geoffrey

reportedly condemned it and warned his son to not pursue it any

further, as one, she was the wife of his overlord, and two,

because he had already “known her” to imply that he had already

had sexual relations with her on another occasion. Whether or not

this is fact, no one really knows. Geoffrey died in September of

1151 on his way home from Paris. Henry continued with his plans

despite his father’s wishes. In May of 1152 after nearly being

kidnapped three times on her way to Poitou, Henry and Eleanor

9 Weir, pp. 88-92.


married in secret, she was between nine and eleven years his

senior (either twenty-seven or twenty-nine).10

In 1154, Henry would win his campaigns in England to

retrieve his mother, Matilda’s birthright and become King of

England, a title stolen from her by her cousin Stephen of Blois.

Within two years, Eleanor would go from being Queen of France to

Queen of England. Eleanor ruled as regent in Henry’s stead as he

went on campaigns over the years, but that did not stop them from

having eight children together, five sons and three daughters

between the years of 1153-1166. In 1166, around the time of

John’s birth, Eleanor discovered that Henry had taken a mistress

named Rosamond Clifford. He had many mistresses, but this one he

flaunted and paraded her in such a way that she assumed Eleanor’s

place.11 Thomas Becket had long taken her place as Henry’s

confidant, but that fire quelled in 1163 when Becket, after being

made Archbishop of Canterbury, defied his king over the

Constitutions of Clarendon in 1164.12 Becket went into exile in

10 Turner, pp. 100, 107-108.11 Jean Markale, Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of the Troubadours. Inner Traditions, Rochester, VT, 2007. 260 (including notes and bibliography), p.47.12 Marion Meade, Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography. Penguin Books, New York, 1977. 389 (including Illustrations, notes and sources, and bibliography), pp. 175-176, 211, 223.


France until 1170, when he was allowed to return. He was

subsequently murdered in his chapel at Canterbury, after

Christmas court in 1170 after Henry made a drunken tirade against

the Archbishop. Penance for which was paid in 1174.13

Eleanor moved from England back to Poitou in France in

1167/68 and set up court there, it is known as the Court of Love,

and conjures up many images of free sexual expression. That

however, was not its purpose. The purpose of the Court of Love

was for her to finally have a chance to be herself. To be among

the troubadours, poets, and artists that were so prevalent in

Aquitaine.14 It was also a chance for her to rule her own

provinces on her own terms, as Henry basically left her alone.15

With her in Poitiers was Henry (the young king) after he had been

removed from the tutelage of Thomas Becket, Richard and Geoffrey,

and eventually her daughter by Louis, Marie of France.16 Her

older daughters were affianced by this time, and Joanne and John

13 Meade, pp. 255-259; Kelly, pp. 178.14 Meade, pp. 252-253.15 Meade, pp. 246-247.16 Meade, p. 249.


were likely at Fontevraud.17 She enjoyed considerable freedom

here until 1174.

The years of 1173-1174 were spent waging a family war. In

1173 the older three boys wanted to actually rule and reap the

financial benefits of the lands and titles they had been given.

Henry was not so inclined to let them have this much freedom with

his kingdom, and a yearlong nasty family feud ensued, with

Eleanor leading the charge in favor of her sons. Henry would win

this one, but Eleanor would be caught and imprisoned

(comfortably) for the next fifteen years. Richard and Geoffrey

would back down and wait until their time came, but Henry the

Young King, would eventually rise up against his father once

more, and he would die of an illness while doing so in 1183.18

Eleanor would finally be released from her prison upon the

death of Henry in 1189, and see her favorite son, Richard crowned

king. Richard spent very little time in England, and almost

immediately joined King Philip of France on the Third Crusade.

17 Andrew W. Lewis; edited by: Bonnie Wheeler and John Carmi Parsons, Chapter 7: “The Birth and Childhood of King John: Some Revisions,” in Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady, Palgrave-McMillan, New York, 2003, pp. 159-175 (including notes).pp 160, 166.18 Kelly, 179-220.


During this time Eleanor would be his regent and she would secure

Berengaria of Navarre as a wife for him. She made a second trip

to the Orient to unite the two, and would be shipwrecked yet

again. Upon Richard’s return home from the Holy Land in 1192 he

would be captured and held for ransom, which she took great pains

to raise. He returned to England in 1194 only to discover his

brother, John’s treachery in mismanaging his lands, and spent the

next five years getting things back in order. Eleanor was at his

side when he died in 1199 after he was struck by a friendly

arrow. She saw John to the throne next and did everything in her

power to help him rule properly. She retired to Fontevraud to

live out the remainder of her life in the solace of God, and

departed from this world April, 1204.19 This second chapter in

her life as Queen of England, then Dower Queen might seem brief,

however it is done this way in an attempt to abstain from

repeating events that will be discussed in further detail

forthwith in the various films.

The Crusades19 Elizabeth A.R. Brown; edited by: Bonnie Wheeler and John Carmi Parsons. Chapter 1: “Eleanor of Aquitaine Reconsidered: The Woman and Her Seasons,” in Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady, Palgrave-MacMillan, New York, 2003, pp. 1-54 (including notes). The entire chapter.


The Crusades, a 1935 Cecil B. DeMille film, is a film that is

included in this project for a couple of reasons. First, it is

the earliest film that was available in which Eleanor of

Aquitaine should have been a prominent character.20 The second

reason, knowing that she is not a character in the film, was to

find out if she is mentioned in the film, as her role in the

events upon which the film is based is a prominent one.

The film presents a manly, crude, yet refined (he has a

minstrel following him everywhere) Richard the Lion-hearted,

Richard I, King of England (r. 1189-1199)(Played by Henry

Wilcoxon). Richard seems rather un-kingly in comparison to his

royal peers who are depicted throughout the film. He is seen

drinking, carousing, and brawling in hunting/riding frocks. He is

informed that King Phillip II of France (C. Henry Gordon) has

arrived at his castle both unannounced and uninvited. Richard

takes his time in receiving Phillip, making him wait and

asserting his royal dominance over the slightly younger king.

Phillip has arrived with his sister Alys (Alice) (Katherine

20 Upon a quick look at IMDb, a website devoted to the film industry with castlists of nearly every movie made, did not list Eleanor as a character in the film. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026249/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm


DeMille), whom Richard has been betrothed to for most of his

life. Phillip, seeking a quickie marriage to make good on an

arrangement made between their fathers, Henry II of England and

Louis VII of France. Phillip is in a desperate hurry to solidify

the marriage, as he has “taken up the cross”, a phrase often used

to mean he had taken an oath to go on crusade to recapture the

Holy Land. Phillip’s desperation stems from his worry that

Richard will invade France while he (and his army) are away, in

the Holy Land. Richard has never had any intention of marrying

Alys, for reasons that will be discussed later. A man simply

known as “The Hermit” (C. Aubrey Smith) is going about preaching

for a Third Crusade, and that all oaths and agreements made among

men would be dissolved if a man takes up the cross. Richard,

seeing this as a way out of his father’s agreement with Louis VII

regarding Alys, hastily takes up the cross. At this, Prince John

(Ramsey Hill) makes a deal with Conrad, Marquis of Montferrat

(Joseph Schildkraut) to make it so that Richard dies in the Holy

Land.

The Crusade begins immediately, it seems, and all armies are

at the ready. Now in Navarre, preparing to cross the sea to the 14 | R e e v e s - M a k i n g E l e a n o r

Orient, Richard’s men are hungry and he has no way to feed them.

In haste (again), he makes a deal with Sancho, King of Navarre

(George Barbier), exchanging cattle and food stuffs with

Richard’s agreement to marry his daughter Berengaria (Loretta

Young). Berengaria, who had had preconceived notions of Richard’s

chivalry, earlier that day had her infatuation crushed as she

witnessed his guiling, crude behavior. Her reaction to her

father’s agreement was thus one of disgust. This was made worse

by Richard sending his sword to be his proxy at the ceremony,

while he spent the evening drinking and being merry with his

troops, and as of yet not even being bothered to know what his

new wife looks like.

Richard later sees Berengaria and is instantly smitten with

her, still not knowing that he is married to her, but is later

informed of the fact by his minstrel. Meanwhile, Berengaria is

still distraught over the fact that she is married to such an

awful man. Richard does his best throughout the remainder of the

film to win her affections, and while she becomes more endeared

toward him, it is implied that their marriage is yet to be

unconsummated. This is still the case when she attempts to 15 | R e e v e s - M a k i n g E l e a n o r

sacrifice herself for the Cause. She is injured and taken

captive by Saladin (Ian Keith), the Islamic prince the Crusaders

have been fighting. He tries to persuade her to marry him, as

her Christian marriage is not recognized by him, as a follower of

Islam.

Richard attempts to rescue her from Saladin, but is himself

captured. Berengaria’s love for Richard begins to truly show as

she agrees to marry Saladin in exchange for Richard’s release.

Richard is released, but so too is Berengaria as Saladin realizes

he could never make her happy, and she would never love him as

her heart now fully belonged to Richard. Richard’s sword breaks

at the end of the film. This was vital to their happiness as the

sword had been a source of contention since their wedding,

Berengaria even stating once that she was married to the sword as

opposed to the man who owned it. Therefore once the sword breaks

they are free to be together, uninhibited by said sword. The End

(Roll Credits).21

Slightly awkward is the fact that Eleanor of Aquitaine is

not mentioned even once in reference to or in passing during the 21 Cecil B. DeMille, The Crusades. Cecil B. DeMille DVD Collection. (1935).


entirety of the film. So, why still use the film in regards to

her? The film is being used to show her as a silenced figure of

incredible importance. The whole film is completely Hollywood,

with not much regard for historical accuracy. Although that is

not altogether surprising, it is frustrating nonetheless. In

regards to Eleanor’s documented involvement in Richard’s life,

she should have been a staple in this film, from running his

cherished duchy of Aquitaine to delivering his wife Berengaria of

Navarre to him in the Holy Land, to raising the ransom for his

release as the “guest” of Leopold of Austria.

Eleanor raised Alys, Richard’s betrothed, from her girlhood

until Eleanor’s imprisonment by Henry, at which time Alys

remained in Henry’s household.22 The reason Richard had never

intended to marry Alys, as mentioned previously, is because of

her assumed (and likely) sexual relationship with Richard’s

father.23 For Richard to have married Alys under these

pretenses, would have put them within the degrees of

consanguinity or blood relation, which was not well regarded by

the Church, although it happened frequently. The match was also 22 Weir, pp. 183, 212.23 Kelly, p. 192; Turner, p. 265; Meade, p. 307.


not well supported by Eleanor as she would block John from

marrying her as well.24 What Hollywood failed to realize when

they silenced Eleanor in this film, was her importance in

Richard’s life. Richard was his mother’s son, reared by her,

favored by her and molded by her. He was the heir to her beloved

duchy of Aquitaine, which she taught him to love as well as the

culture of the Troubadour. Richard was known for his chivalry as

much as he was known as a warrior.25 The film seems to try to

dispel the rumors of Richard’s sexuality by portraying him in the

crassest way (in 1935) as possible. Using his preference of

being in the company of men as hanging out with his buddies as

opposed to the idea that he had homosexual tendencies, possibly

even with Phillip II. 26

“The Hermit”, whom can only be assumed to represent Peter

the Hermit, who led the Peasant’s Crusade in 1096 and helped

spread the word of the First (official) Crusade which began in

1098, is completely fictitious in Richard’s decision to go to the

Holy Land. Richard had been preparing to join Phillip on the

24 Turner, p. 268.25 Meade, p. 263.26 ibid, p. 308-309.


Third Crusade before even becoming king.27 Upon becoming king,

Richard used England to fund his journey and accounts say he bled

England dry.28 Richard appointed Eleanor as his regent, to rule

for him in his absence. While she delegated the majority of the

duties to others, they still deferred to her as a final decision

maker.29

Berengaria, and her marrying Richard was all of Eleanor’s

doing.30 The accidentalness of their marriage, and it being

marriage of convenience as depicted in the film is completely

unfounded and Hollywood fiction. Eleanor arranged the marriage

and brought her to Richard, who was already fighting in the Holy

Land.31 By Papal Bull, there were to be no women to be of

accompaniment on the Crusade, as the last time women joined the

crusading efforts it ended in absolute disaster, and Eleanor was

the main cause of it.32 As with the film however, it is unclear

as to whether Richard and Berengaria of Navarre ever consummated

their marriage. It seems that they were quite fond of each other,

27 Kelly, p. 233.28 Weir, p. 261.29 Kelly, pp. 252-254.30 Meade, p. 309.31 Meade, p. 310.32 Weir, p. 263.


and he did rescue her, Eleanor, and his sister, Joanna from the

despot of Cyprus, not from Saladin.33 Richard and Berengaria in

reality returned to Europe from the Crusade separately, and while

Berengaria made it home safely, Richard was taken captive by

Leopold of Austria in 1192 then handed over to Henry VI of the

Holy Roman Empire and held for ransom.34 It was Eleanor who

raised the money for his release in 1194. 35 Richard returned

home only to go to war once more. There had been several

territories that had been mismanaged in his absence mainly by his

brother John who had conspired with King Phillip, and Richard had

to bring them back under his control.36 He was killed by a

friendly arrow in 1199, never to be reunited with Berengaria,

thus their marriage was childless and she never remarried.37

While the return trip from the Crusade, and the events thereafter

are not depicted in the film, it is important nevertheless to

stress the importance of Eleanor in Richard’s life. A valid

point that Hollywood deemed unimportant in 1935.

33 Kelly, p. 267.34 Meade, p. 317.35 Turner, pp. 272-273.36 Meade, p. 320; Turner, pp. 269-270.37 Turner, p. 278; Weir, pp. 320-321.


Becket

The next film, Becket, is a 1964 film directed by Peter

Glenville. However in 1884, Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote a play of

the same title which was turned into a silent film in 1923. The

Tennyson version is much more fictitious than the Glenville

adaptation. In the 1964 version of this film, Eleanor is a minor

figure relegated to needle point with her mother-in-law, the

Empress Matilda.

The film opens with Henry II (Peter O’Toole), King of

England (r.1154-1189) coming to Canterbury Cathedral in 1174 to

pay penance for the murder of the Archbishop, Thomas Becket

(Richard Burton) which had occurred in 1170 and not by Henry’s

own hand. Henry holds a one-sided conversation with Becket which

takes him from the current situation in a “flashback” to c.1161.

It is the flashback that makes up the bulk of the film in

which the years of 1161-1170 culminate in a matter of just over

an hour. The flashback portion of the film begins with Becket

playing “wingman” while Henry is sewing his royal oats with a

village maiden. With her father hearing the ruckus and on his


way to investigate, Henry makes a quick escape heading to the

castle to freshen-up, with Becket also serving as a valet. They

converse as they walk through the castle for a meeting with the

barons and bishops where Henry makes a startling announcement

that Becket will become his new Chancellor and wear the king’s

seal. Becket is humbled and throws a feast in honor of his king.

Although Becket is of common birth, he was taken under the wing

of Thibault of Canterbury and educated at the university in

Paris.38 Though Thomas Becket was an archdeacon, he was quite

worldly, possibly wealthier than the king, and was extravagant.

In 1161, Thibault, Archbishop of Canterbury died and Henry

needing a “yes” man in the highest church position in England,

decided on appointing Becket to the position. Becket asks to be

overlooked for the position, as he fears the job will bring an

end to their friendship. Henry insists and Becket is created

Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162.

Becket is then seen to be giving away all of his worldly

possessions to the poor, and dons the frocks of a lowly priest.

Becket, before becoming Archbishop had become the master of the

38 Kelly, p. 96.


Young Henry, and this continued until about 1163 when the King

and Archbishop came to a head over the Constitutions of

Clarendon, which had to do with the jurisdiction of Church and

State. Fearing Henry, Becket escapes England across the Channel

to France to seek protection under King Louis VII, Henry’s

biggest rival, and ex-husband of the Queen Eleanor. The Young

Henry is removed from Becket’s care, and to add insult to injury,

when the Young Henry was made the Young King Henry and coroneted

by the Archbishop of York, rather than that of Canterbury (which

was his right), tensions grew worse.

During Becket’s time first, as a dedicated cleric and then,

in exile, Henry is depicted as being lost without his friend. He

looks out the window waiting for him to come, and it is during

this time that Eleanor (Pamela Brown) is finally introduced in

the film. She is not necessarily attractive, but has a nice

figure. Her comments toward Henry are biting and resentful, Henry

returns the sentiments. He tells her he is bored with her, and

does not love her. She admonishes him for his whoring and laughs

at him for his schoolboy behavior of having lost his best friend.


Eventually, Henry agrees to let Becket come back to England

and return to his post at Canterbury after six years in exile in

1170. That Christmas, a drunken Henry spews forth the fateful

words, “I have nourished and promoted in my realm idle and

wretched knaves, disloyal to their lord, whom they suffer to be

mocked thus shamefully by a low-born priest.” Four barons,

sensing the king was asking them to do an abominable act,

dispatched quickly to Canterbury and murdered Thomas Becket on

December 29, 1170 on the floor of the alter while in prayer. It

is for this act that the flashback ceases and he is brought back

to reality by the scourging he received from the monks. Henry

walks out of the cathedral to a crowd, both humbled and liberated

of guilt.39

Several inaccuracies arise immediately, based on years

versus events. In 1161, the time in which Henry first flashes

back to, Eleanor is still in union with Henry. In the film there

are four young boys running about the castle, though no girls,

all between the ages of eleven and seven. In 1161, Henry had

only three surviving boys, as the first born, William had died at39 Pamela Brown, Becket. Directed by Peter Glenville, Amazon Instant Video (Owned), 1964.


age three c.1156, Young Henry was born in 1155, making him now

the eldest child and only six in 1161. Matilda would have been

five, while Richard would have been four and Geoffrey, aged

three. In 1161 Eleanor gave birth to her namesake, and the

younger two, Joanne and John would not be born until 1165 and

1166 respectively.40

Eleanor had served as regent for Henry on several occasions,

beginning in 1156 while he was away in Normandy.41 This shows

that he had some regard for her abilities. There is little known

about Eleanor’s true feelings toward Thomas Becket. It can be

assumed that she despised him for carousing with her husband, but

more likely it is the close council he had with her husband that

she was most jealous of. 42 Whatever her thoughts and feelings

were for Thomas Becket, they were most assuredly taken to the

grave, or discussed privately, as there survives no proof of the

matter. Later in the film, Henry accuses Eleanor of sedition,

which would not occur until the time of his penance in 1174.

Eleanor also discusses complaining about Henry’s treatment of her

40 Turner, pp. 138-141.41 ibid, p. 133.42 ibid, p. 139.


to her male kin, including her father whom had died when Eleanor

was only thirteen. The fallacies are numerable, but also

numerable are the accuracies of the main events such as Henry’s

appointment of Becket first to Chancellor and then to Archbishop,

against Becket’s wishes and the events that ensued. Eleanor’s

part in this film was minor and not necessarily vital to the film

as her role should have been in The Crusades. She could have

easily been left out, but Glenville chose to incorporate her,

giving her a voice, although limited.

The Lion in Winter (1968)

By far the best film in existence that depicts Eleanor of

Aquitaine is the 1968 Anthony Harvey film, The Lion in Winter, with

Peter O’Toole reprising his 1964 role of Henry II, and with

Katherine Hepburn as Eleanor. A young Anthony Hopkins is

introduced in this film for the first time, playing the role of

Richard, as well as a young Timothy Dalton playing the role of

King Philip of France. Alys of France, now spelled Alais, (Jane


Merrow) is once again in the cast list, but this time as Henry’s

lover, yet also betrothed to Richard.

The film opens in 1183 with Henry and Alais enjoying one

another’s company, while watching a pustule-faced, sixteen year

old John (Nigel Terry) as he practices his swordsmanship. This

is the year in which the Young King, Henry the previously crowned

heir apparent has died. Henry, wishing to settle the issue of

inheritance quickly, calls everyone together for a Christmas

court at Chinon in Anjou, France. This includes the imprisoned

Eleanor, the new King Philip II of France (Alais’ brother),

Richard and Geoffrey (John Castle), and already present are Alais

and John.

All three of Henry’s sons want to be king, laws of

succession say it should be Richard, and Richard is Eleanor’s

favored son, so naturally she casts her lot for him. John is now

Henry’s favorite and so he is pushing for John to succeed over

his two older brothers. Rooting for Geoffrey is Geoffrey, he is

favored by no one, and thus feels loyal to no one, save for

himself. Alais is caught in a love hexagon as she is the lover


of the king, whose wife, now present, raised her as her own, who

is betrothed to his son Richard, but her lover wants her to marry

his other son John so he can continue to use her as he wishes,

but he really wants her all to himself… oh and her brother either

wants her married or her dowry, the Vexin (narrow strip of land

between Normandy and France) returned.

Eleanor arrives at Chinon and is an aging beauty still full

of spirit, and spite. Henry greets her with affection, while

Alais looks on them with jealousy. She and Richard had

previously been at odds, so his greeting of her is respectful,

yet short. John cannot stand his mother and knowing how his

father feels about her, does not feel the need to greet her in

any way but with contempt. Geoffrey plays off his ruthlessness

well, although the bitterness he feels from rejection is

apparent. Alais refuses to greet Eleanor, yet Eleanor insists

that she “greet me like you used to, when I was your mother.”

This sets the stage for what will be the most awkward and

duplicitous of Christmases.


Eleanor is cunning, spiteful, forgiving, bantering, hurt,

compassionate, insulting, indifferent, playful, desperate,

gullible, powerful, political, motherly, and tired. She wears so

many different faces to protect the only one she has, the one

that says she is vulnerable; which she reveals when she is alone

and again as she sits with Alais in their room late in the night.

Duplicity is the theme of this film. Everyone has something to

gain at the losses of another. Sons against their parents,

husband and wife against one another, and trust is to be found

nowhere.

The boys all secretly attempt to conspire with Philip

against their father, and so too Henry conspires with Philip

against his sons, or at least he pretends to, to get Philip off

his guard. Eleanor fights with Henry and old rumors of her trysts

resurface, including the one regarding Henry’s father, which

infuriates Henry. Eleanor has a touching scene with Richard in

which she declares her undying love for her son, which he

eventually accepts and returns, only to find out that she had

pretended so that she could get the Aquitaine as a tool with

which to bargain with Henry. Henry calls her bluff, she calls 29 | R e e v e s - M a k i n g E l e a n o r

his and nothing is resolved. Henry finds out about his sons’

treachery and locks them in the wine cellar. He tells Eleanor he

will divorce her, disinherit the boys, marry Alais, and have a

new brood of boys to choose as his successor. Eleanor cunning as

she is, told him even if he were to die with a baby boy in the

cradle, she would urge Richard to kill him and take his rightful

place as king. Henry eventually sees his foolishness, and lets

the boys out. Christmas is over, nothing is resolved, and they

depart as though old friends, laughing and affectionate toward

one another.43

Katherine Hepburn won an Oscar for her performance as

Eleanor, and a brilliant performance it was. She encapsulated

the many emotions that Eleanor must have been feeling during that

time in her life. She had been put aside publicly, although not

formally which must have been humiliating for her. She is

reported to have been stunning in her youth, and even in her

young adult years was still quite attractive to have seduced a

man ten years her junior.44 She also continued to have sexual 43 Katherine Hepburn, The Lion in Winter, Directed by Anthony Harvey, accessed online through Amazon Instant Video (owned) 1968.44 Douglas Boyd, April Queen: Eleanor of Aquitaine. The History Press, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, 2011. 360 (including illustrations, appendix A: The


relations with him well into her forties, still bearing him

children, as John would be born when she was forty-two.

Mistresses came with the territory, they came and went, or were

one night stands, nothing serious; but when Rosamond Clifford and

later Alais stood in her place, sat in her chair, and had her

husband’s ear, the total rejection was what the film portrayed,

she could not live with. Her heart turned from her husband to

her sons, Richard in particular.

There is no record of a Christmas court being held in 1183,

making the entire scenario fictitious, which is why nothing was

resolved, because it never really happened. This is preferable,

as the film makers do not attempt to re-create an event that

actually happened; with which they would likely make mistakes,

either unwittingly or willingly for the sake of time. While the

favoritism that exists between Henry and John and between Eleanor

and Richard is accurate, those events cannot be known, and Henry

likely knew that it would be Richard without a doubt that would

Search for Eleanor’s Face, appendix B: Eleanor’s Poetry and Song, maps, notes and sources, and further reading), p.9.


succeed him, as neither John, nor Geoffrey would stand a chance

against their stronger, war tested older brother.45

There was rumor that Henry wished to put Eleanor aside and

marry Alais, for what reason other than to further humiliate her

for her treason is not known. Henry had two choices as to how he

could deal with Eleanor after plotting against him in their sons’

rebellion. The first choice was to execute her for treason and

the second was imprisonment. The first option of death would

have been most favorable to him, as it would have freed him to

remarry, however her vassals in Aquitaine, an already unruly

bunch would have made him pay dearly for executing their duchess.

That was reason enough for him to choose the second option of

imprisonment. As far as the relationship and the banter that

occurs between Henry and Eleanor, it is pure speculation. He was

known to bring her out of imprisonment, under guard for special

occasions.46 Otherwise, he likely gave her little thought as he

was pre-occupied with his sons’ ambitions as well as his own

lusty desires for Alais, who it is believed bore him a child.47 45 W.L. Warren, Henry II. University of California Press, Berkley, 1973. 693 (including illustrations, glossary, and bibliography). P. 622.46 Warren, p. 602.47 Weir, p. 254.


Some of the events depicted did take place, just not at Christmas

court in 1183.

According to Henry II’s biographer, W.L. Warren, there was a

Michaelmas Court (in September) in 1183. There Henry tried to

persuade Richard to give John the Aquitaine which Richard

adamantly refused, at which time Richard rode hastily off to

Poitiers.48 He also adds that Henry had decided that John should

become King of Ireland so that Richard would have England.49

Because of Richard’s unwillingness to let go of the Aquitaine,

Henry brought Eleanor out of her imprisonment to Normandy to get

Richard to give up the Aquitaine. Richard eventually relented and

surrendered the Aquitaine to his mother.50

The issue with Alais and the Vexin came about in 1186 in

Gisors. Geoffrey’s double dealings with the French king also

come to Henry’s attention during this time. Geoffrey died in

Paris from wounds sustained in a tournament in the same year.51

In May of the following year, Philip and Henry take the Crusader

48 Warren, p. 596.49 Ibid, p. 597.50 Ibid, p. 598.51 Ibid, pp. 598-599.


Vow for the Third Crusade, but so too does Richard without

telling his father, this would be the cause of great angst for

Henry over the next couple of years and would drive a wedge

between them once again. Richard went to Paris with Philip and

the gossip, Gerald of Wales, wrote: “Philip so honored him that

every day they ate from the same dish, and at night the bed did

not separate them.” However, Warren suggests that the writings of

Gerald of Wales cannot be trusted.52 While there was no one

instance such as the Christmas Court of 1183, it does seem that

the events depicted in the film did indeed stem from actual

events, making this the best historiographical film, thus far.

The Lion in Winter (2003)

The 2003, made-for-television, remake of the 1968 classic is

well done. Starring Glenn Close as Eleanor and Patrick Stewart

as Henry II, with no other notable actors portraying the others

aside from Jonathan Rhys Myers who, plays an effeminate Philip

II. This film is word for word identical to the 1968 original,

with an added prologue. In the prologue it shows the family

enthralled in the war of 1173-1174. Eleanor is shown in armor 52 Ibid, pp. 616-617.


assumedly leading the troops on the battlefield. She is depicted

as a warrior queen having just been defeated, she rides away only

to be captured and imprisoned in a meagerly furnished tower.

Henry seemingly forgives his sons of their folly.

Glenn Close as Eleanor mimics the original Hepburn to a

large degree. She is less attractive than Hepburn was playing

the role, although Hepburn seemed to be older than Close. Close

wears headdresses that do not seem correct for the time period,

whereas Hepburn’s did. Close’s rendition does make Eleanor appear

softer and less harsh than Hepburn’s portrayal. Which portrayal

is most accurate, no one can know. Patrick Stewart’s Henry II is

also much softer than O’Toole’s vociferousness in the original.

Everyone is dressing better in this version and the castle is

nice and shiny, compared to the dingy and damp castle from 1968.

This remake also shows Alais’ breasts as she awakes with Henry on

the morning of everyone’s arrival, which portrays her in a

scandalous light. This is an aspect that is not shown in the

original, although she is shown in his bed, but with sheets

wrapped around her, in the next scene she is dressed, where as in

the remake it shows her getting dressed. 35 | R e e v e s - M a k i n g E l e a n o r

There are three scenes in both films that seem to truly

depict Eleanor as a person. The first, is just after Henry

attempts to marry Alais off to Richard, but cannot stand to do

it. Henry is holding a crying Alais as Eleanor looks on. She

wants to see him kiss her, and after he does it, the pain is all

too apparent. The second, is her soliloquy in her room surrounded

by all of her royal jewelry and crowns. She is all alone with no

one to put a show on for, this seems to be the truest version of

herself. The third, takes place in the wine cellar as she

attempts to free her sons. Henry arrives with Alais and he tells

the boys and Eleanor of his plans to disinherit the lot, marry

Alais and have new, better sons to inherit. It is when Eleanor

realizes that Henry cannot possibly bring himself to go through

with it that he sits with her on the floor and they talk sweetly

to one another of their fears, they share a brief moment of

civility in which they relish each other once more.53

Conclusion

53 Glenn Close, The Lion in Winter, DVD, Directed by: Andrey Konchalovskiy, [Universal City, CA. Universal Studios]: 2006.


As stated before, well behaved women seldom make history.

Ill-behaved or a product of her liberal upbringing clashing with

a paternalistic world remains to be seen. Eleanor of Aquitaine,

as seen from three very different films and two that are nearly

identical has clearly changed over time. She was at first non-

existent, then moved into the sphere of the known, until she is

finally heard. The final construction is what most people think

of when they think of Eleanor of Aquitaine, a bitter old woman,

hell-bent on getting her way, with bouts of sarcasm and a smile.

As her voice is captured, what is it that she is saying? She says

she is lonely, hungry for power, deprived of love from her sons

and husbands. She is saying she was a woman with loose morals in

her younger years, and even confessing to all the rumors that

were ever spread about her. From sleeping with Henry’s father to

riding bare-breasted through the Holy Land, and the incest with

Raymond, her uncle. She even made up that she slept with Thomas

Becket to get Henry’s goat.54 The voice she finally has says that

she is a strumpet and a liar, an abhorrent wife and neglectful

mother. This is the way she will forever be viewed until such a

54 Hepburn, Lion in Winter, 1968.


time comes that someone who has a desire to show her in a more

appropriate light makes a box-office hit about her in a way that

does not make her out to be “the dragon in the corner.”55 While

The Lion in Winter does show moments of sincerity, insecurity, and

vulnerability, she is still seen as too domineering to possibly

be the carefree spirit that had once been Louis’ teenage queen.

While many people do not even know who Eleanor of Aquitaine

is, they certainly know who Richard and John are, as they are

immortalized in the many different versions of the story of Robin

Hood. It is important to note that Eleanor was so much more than

her juicy rumors. The rumors about her are spread for two

reasons; either because there is some symbolism of truth to them,

or because she posed some sort of threat to the misogynistic

world that surrounded her. Men are often afraid of powerful

women, and to assert their dominance, they steal her voice. It

is up to historians, not Hollywood to set the record straight, to

dig in deep and right the errors of the past.

55 Peter O’Toole, Patrick Stewart as Henry II, The Lion in Winter. Both 1968 and 2003, respectively.


Jacqueline Murray said this of Eleanor in a medieval video

series, Women of the Middle Ages, “the remarkable Eleanor of

Aquitaine, wife of two kings and mother of two kings, and a

powerful ruler in her own right.” But Miriam Shadis and Constance

Hoffman Berman, have this to add:

“But Eleanor was also the mother of two queens and the

grandmother of many more. Through her daughters and their

female descendants, Eleanor had a lasting influence—cultural

and political as well as genetic—over a wider Europe than

the empire built by her second husband, Henry II of England,

and lost by their youngest son, King John.

Eleanor of Aquitaine has been seen as the last powerful

French queen—or rather, as a postscript to a series of

earlier, more powerful women. Indeed, Eleanor’s perceived

ability to rule, or the lack thereof, first in France and

then in England, has signified the demise of women’s power

after the 1180’s.”56

56 Miriam Shadis and Constance Hoffman Berman; Edited by Bonnie Wheeler and John Carmi Parsons. Chapter 8: “A Taste of the Feast: Reconsidering Eleanor ofAquitaine’s Female Descendants,” in Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady. Palgrave-MacMillan, New York, 2003. 177-211 (includes notes). p.177.


BibliographyBerman, Miriam Shadis and Constance Hoffman. 2002. "A Taste of the

Feast: Recosidering Eleanor of Aquitaine's Female Descendants." Chap. 8 in Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady, by Bonnie Wheeler and JohnCarmi Parsons, 177-211. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

Boyd, Douglas. 2011. April Queen: Eleanor of Aquitaine. 3rd. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press.

Brown, Elizabeth A. R. 2002. "Eleanor of Aquitaine Reconsidered: The Woman and Her Seasons." Chap. 1 in Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady, byBonnie Wheeler and John Carmi Parsons, 1-54. New York: Palgrave McMillian.

1964. Becket. Web. Amazon Instant Video (owned by author). Directed by Peter Glenville. Performed by Pamela Brown. Accessed 2014.

2003; 2006. The Lion in Winter. DVD. Directed by Andrey Konchalovskiy. Performed by Glenn Close.

1935. The Crusades. DVD. Directed by Cecil B. DeMille.

1968. The Lion in Winter. Web. Amazon Instant Video (Owned by Author). Directed by Anthony Harvey. Performed by Katharine Hepburn. Accessed 2014.

Kelly, Amy. 1956. Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings. 2nd. Cambridge, MA: Harvard. Accessed illustrations, notes and bibliography.

Lewis, Andrew W. 2002. "The Birth and Childhood of King John: Some Revisions." Chap. 7 in Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady, by Bonnie Wheeler and John Carmi Parsons, 159-175. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

Markale, Jean. 2007. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of the Troubadours. 3rd. Translated by Jon E. Grahm. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions.

Meade, Marion. 1977. Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography. London: Penguin Books.

Turner, Ralph V. 2009. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France, Queen of England. paperback 2nd ed. 2011. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

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Making Eleanor: Perceptions of Eleanor of Aquitaine in Film

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