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Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of the Troubadours
A comprehensive view of the mythical and historic significance of the great medieval queen
• Explains that courtly love was not a platonic and intellectual affectation but an initiatic process of male transcendence akin to Tantra
• Shows that Eleanor’s embodiment of divine power undermined the pattern of patriarchy
• Reveals how Eleanor inspired the powerful influence of the Arthurian cycle’s figures
Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) has been long noted for her political and cultural achievements that profoundly shaped twelfth-century Europe. Culturally, beyond her role as wife of kings Louis VII of France and Henry II of England and mother of kings Richard and John, she inspired the huge diffusion of the Arthurian cycle and the Celtic myths underpinning it. Without Eleanor, figures such as Merlin, Arthur, and Guinevere (for whom Eleanor served as model) would never have assumed the enormous symbolic value they now possess. Politically, she embodied divine power that ended the dark age of patriarchy, playing a crucial role not only in the development of the Plantagenet Empire, but also in the granting of charters to merchants and craftsmen that led to the birth of the modern middle class.
But her greatest influence, still shaping modern sensibilities, was her role as the symbol of courtly love, which was not a mere diversion of the aristocracy but a process of male initiation and transcendence that bore a close resemblance to Indian Tantra. While the Virgin Mary was restoring a feminine face to medieval religious life, Eleanor embodied the adulterous queen who incarnates sovereignty--the woman who shares authority with the men who act in her name, but only after that power has been transmitted to them through an initiatory process leading to sexual union.
• Explains that courtly love was not a platonic and intellectual affectation but an initiatic process of male transcendence akin to Tantra
• Shows that Eleanor’s embodiment of divine power undermined the pattern of patriarchy
• Reveals how Eleanor inspired the powerful influence of the Arthurian cycle’s figures
Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) has been long noted for her political and cultural achievements that profoundly shaped twelfth-century Europe. Culturally, beyond her role as wife of kings Louis VII of France and Henry II of England and mother of kings Richard and John, she inspired the huge diffusion of the Arthurian cycle and the Celtic myths underpinning it. Without Eleanor, figures such as Merlin, Arthur, and Guinevere (for whom Eleanor served as model) would never have assumed the enormous symbolic value they now possess. Politically, she embodied divine power that ended the dark age of patriarchy, playing a crucial role not only in the development of the Plantagenet Empire, but also in the granting of charters to merchants and craftsmen that led to the birth of the modern middle class.
But her greatest influence, still shaping modern sensibilities, was her role as the symbol of courtly love, which was not a mere diversion of the aristocracy but a process of male initiation and transcendence that bore a close resemblance to Indian Tantra. While the Virgin Mary was restoring a feminine face to medieval religious life, Eleanor embodied the adulterous queen who incarnates sovereignty--the woman who shares authority with the men who act in her name, but only after that power has been transmitted to them through an initiatory process leading to sexual union.
272 pages, Paperback
First published October 12, 2007
About the author
Jean Markale
190 books44 followersJean Markale is the pen name of Jean Bertrand, a French writer, poet, radio show host, lecturer, and retired Paris high school French teacher.
He has published numerous books about Celtic civilisation and the Arthurian cycle. His particular specialties are the place of women in the Celtic world and the Grail cycle.
His many works have dealt with subjects as varied as summations of various myths, the relationships of same with occult subjects like the Templars, Cathars, the Rennes le Château mystery, Atlantis, the megalith building civilisations, druidism and so on, up to and including a biography of Saint Columba.
While Markale presents himself as being very widely read on the subjects about which he writes, he is nonetheless surrounded by controversy regarding the value of his work. Critics allege that his 'creative' use of scholarship and his tendency to make great leaps in reasoning cause those following the more normative (and hence more conservative) mode of scholars to balk. As well as this, his interest in subjects that his critics consider questionable, including various branches of the occult, have gained him at least as many opponents as supporters. His already weakened reputation was further tarnished in 1989, when he became involved in a plagiarism case, when he published under his own name a serious and well-documented guide to the oddities and antiquities of Brittany, the text of which had already been published twenty years before by a different writer through the very same publisher.
Also a source of controversy is his repeated use of the concept of "collective unconscious" as an explanatory tool. This concept was introduced by Carl Jung, but in modern psychology it's rejected by the vast majority of psychologists.
He has published numerous books about Celtic civilisation and the Arthurian cycle. His particular specialties are the place of women in the Celtic world and the Grail cycle.
His many works have dealt with subjects as varied as summations of various myths, the relationships of same with occult subjects like the Templars, Cathars, the Rennes le Château mystery, Atlantis, the megalith building civilisations, druidism and so on, up to and including a biography of Saint Columba.
While Markale presents himself as being very widely read on the subjects about which he writes, he is nonetheless surrounded by controversy regarding the value of his work. Critics allege that his 'creative' use of scholarship and his tendency to make great leaps in reasoning cause those following the more normative (and hence more conservative) mode of scholars to balk. As well as this, his interest in subjects that his critics consider questionable, including various branches of the occult, have gained him at least as many opponents as supporters. His already weakened reputation was further tarnished in 1989, when he became involved in a plagiarism case, when he published under his own name a serious and well-documented guide to the oddities and antiquities of Brittany, the text of which had already been published twenty years before by a different writer through the very same publisher.
Also a source of controversy is his repeated use of the concept of "collective unconscious" as an explanatory tool. This concept was introduced by Carl Jung, but in modern psychology it's rejected by the vast majority of psychologists.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 30, 2010
The information and analysis in this book are fascinating but the way the author organized it leaves much to be desired. The first chapter is a chronological history and then the remaining chapters each focus on seemingly arbitrary hand-picked facets of Eleanor's life. This bizarre organization (though perhaps suited to SOME histories) is onerous in this case and negatively affected my reading experience.
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September 30, 2023That's the wrong person on the cover.
March 16, 2013
I can only give this book two stars, though I do have a bit more to add to the previous comments. I was looking for more information about Eleanor's life than analysis on the comparisons between her and Guinevere, etc. While I understand the importance Eleanor played in the arena of arts and literature, it is not my main interest in regards to her. Additionally, there were nearly 30 pages of notes after the text, much of which could have actually been included in the text - or at least the first chapter which was devoted solely to Eleanor's life and the events that made her who she was. I could have done without some of the subsequent chapters which relied primarily on assumptions.
August 14, 2013
A workmanlike biography, or what there is of it. I only wish the editor of this edition had been able to restructure it so that it better fit the English tradition of biography (you know, *facts* in chronological order), including eliminating the ridiculous philosophizing of the introduction. Such a waste of paper to go whining on and on about philosophy - surely the most worthless so-called field of "study" this side of competitive nose-picking.
June 25, 2014
This is one book, which shocking for me, is one to be started, never finished. In the first 65 pages, there were so many inaccurate assumptions or "facts" as he calls them. I was very unimpressed with the book, and found some of his "facts" suspicious.
Sadly, this is one book I recommend people to just pass over!
Sadly, this is one book I recommend people to just pass over!
December 7, 2015
Markale argues that the troubadour songs about Eleanor place her in the literary pantheon of Guinevere and Melusine with varying success. I am not convinced, but it was nice to read bit by bit.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews