Super excited to show another “artistic” version of a famous figure, especially since you all request her so often: Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor is the famous Medieval Queen of the 1100s who is remembered for her beauty, personality, and iron will. She was a truly incredible woman who desired independence, power, and the freedom to make her own choices. She is famously the Queen of King Henry II and the mother to King John and Richard the Lionheart.
Now in the case of Eleanor, we have no true images of her. She lived before the time of realistic portraits being painted. There are many romantic images of her that have been painted throughout the years, but there’s really no way they can be accurate. The closest thing we have to accuracy for the nearly 1000 year old queen is her tomb effigy from Fontevraud Abbey, which she may have had a hand in designing. It shows a tall, thin woman, with long and somewhat sharp features. Since we lack even any references to her hair or eye color, what I’ve done is create an artistic interpretation of her, based on several of these images of her.
Of course it’s normal for contemporaries to laud the beauty of their queen, but it seems that in Eleanor’s case, she was truly the jewel of Aquitaine. She was described by a traveling musician as being “The embodiment of charm...with lovely eyes.” A German poet who briefly caught sight of the Queen writes: “Were all the world mine / from the sea to the Rhine / I’d give it all / if so be the Queen of England lay in my arms.”
Thank you to @mooreannaa for the research on Eleanor. Left image: Creative Commons, photo by Elanor Gamgee.
