Eleanor of Aquitaine was iconic and one blog post cannot do justice to the many interesting facets of her life, so today we’re going to focus on her later life during the reign of her sons Richard and John. Portrait in a 12th-century psalter thought to be an older Eleanor). When her husband Henry II died in … Continue reading Eleanor of Aquitaine: An Icon
Tag: French History
Lessons for my Daughter: Anne of France & Suzanne of Bourbon
“My daughter, the perfect natural love that I have for you…gives me the desire and the determination to prepare a few little lessons for you while I am still with you, knowing well your inexperience and extreme youth and hoping that in time you will recall these lessons and that they will help you a … Continue reading Lessons for my Daughter: Anne of France & Suzanne of Bourbon
How do you solve a problem like Marie?
This appears to be a question asked by Marie Theresa about her daughter Marie Antoinette in a letter she wrote to her on the 30th July 1775. At this time Marie Antoinette was nineteen and had been Queen of France for a year, with her husband Louis having ascended to the throne as Louis XVI … Continue reading How do you solve a problem like Marie?
The Accursed Kings
“Accursed! Accursed! You shall be accursed to the thirteenth generation!” This was the curse roared from the flames of Jacques de Molay’s pyre in Maurice Druon’s classic novel The Iron King. In 1314 the death of Molay, last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, symbolized the end of this powerful organisation of “holy soldiers”. This … Continue reading The Accursed Kings
Some Sources Say 