History UsefulNotes / EleanorofAquitaine

* She appears in the French web series ''[[WebVideo/ConfessionsDHistoire Confessions d'Histoire]]'', played by Armelle Deutsch.

* Eleanor appears in several RobinHood adaptaions, including:

* She appears in the French WebSeries ''[[WebVideo/ConfessionsDHistoire Confessions d'Histoire]]'', played by Armelle Deutsch.

* Theatre/KingJohn by Creator/WilliamShakespeare, where she is credited as "Queen Elinor."

* Theatre/KingJohn by WilliamShakespeare, where she is credited as "Queen Elinor."

!!Tropes related to Eleanor of Aquitaine include:

* AmazonBrigade: There's a legend that she brought 300 of her ladies dressed in armour on Crusade.
* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: Her father was fearful that she might fall victim to this trope in event of his death (unfortunately common at the time), so he made the king of France her guardian.
* CoolOldLady: As regent for Richard.
* CourtlyLove: Eleanor promoted the courtly love tradition in Aquitaine.
* CultureClash: Eleanor's home of Aquitaine was renowned for its learning, poetry and the arts. She was the first in a succession of English Queens that hailed from Southern France or Spain that introduced new inventions and forms of art to England.
** Though less pronounced, the French court of her first husband was more sober than that of Aquitaine as well. They spoke a different form of French too.
* DeadpanSnarker: She had quite the scathing wit, describing her husband, Louis VII, a notably pious man, as 'more monk than man'.
* DivorceAssetsConflict: Averted with Louis VII. He kept custody of their two daughters. She kept Aquitaine and Poitiers. This neat division of assets had unintended consequences when Eleanor's lands became English territory. The king of England became in effect a vassal of the king of France. This partly triggered [[UsefulNotes/TheHundredYearsWar a particularly nasty conflict]] a century later.
* GenerationXerox: Her granddaughter, Blanche of Castile. Blanche married the grandson of Eleanor's first husband, had two sons who became kings, and served as regent while her son went on crusades.
* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Averted. Eleanor and her sister Petronilla were very close. Petronilla even remained with her when she was imprisoned by Henry II. It helped perhaps that Petronilla's marital career was about as scandalous as that of her older sister.
* GrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave: Contemporary sources described her as one of the most beautiful women in Europe, with a perfect figure she maintained well into her old age.
* HeirClubForMen: One reason her marriage to King Louis VII went south. She had two daughters with Louis, but no sons. Ironically, she went on to have five sons and three daughters with Henry II.
* HeroesWantRedheads: The colour of Eleanor's hair was never mentioned in contemporary chronicles, but her father, grandfather, and sons were all redheads, so she may have been one, too.
* HotConsort: She is remembered as the most beautiful (not to mention richest) woman in Europe at the time of her wedding to Henry.
* UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfPlantagenet: She and Henry were the founders.
* KissingCousins: Eleanor and Louis were fourth cousins. On that basis, they used consanguinity as grounds for their annulment. Of course, Eleanor then married Henry, who was her ''third'' cousin.
* LoveFatherLoveSon: She allegedly had an affair with Henry II's father before she married Henry himself.
* MamaBear: Particularly to Richard. When he was captured by the Duke of Austria, she raised the ransom money.
* MrsRobinson: When she married Henry Plantagenet, he was 18 and she was 29.
* TheMuse: She was this to medieval troubadours, who composed songs in her honor. Some were smitten with her.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Her maternal grandmother was often called Dangereuse. Not without reason.
* NeverMessWithGranny: Arthur of Brittany found this out the hard way.
* ParentalFavoritism: Richard.
* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: There was a time she and Henry actually liked each other.
* PoliticallyActivePrincess
* PutOnABus: King Louis VII after their annulment.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: She was politically active, having both motivated several of her sons into rebelling against their father over his unfair treatment of her, and serving as regent on behalf of Richard while he was off crusading.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Aliénor or Alienòr in Occitan, Eléanor in Old French, Éléonore in modern French, and Eleanor in English.
* TakingTheVeil: She did this upon her retirement.
* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: At least in Christendom, according to some chroniclers.

* ''A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver'', a children’s book by E.L. Konigsburg.

* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: At least in Christendom, according to some chroniclerrs.

* DeadpanSnarker: she had quite the scathing wit, describing her husband, Louis VII, a notably pious man, as 'more monk than man'.

When John succeeded Richard, it was ''his'' turn to ask Eleanor for help, as her grandson Arthur of Brittany now had designs on the throne. Oh yeah, and she also found time to marry off her granddaughter, Blanche of Castile, to the king of France. Blanche would prove to be a BadAss queen in her own right, ruling as regent for her son, King Louis IX (aka St. Louis).

* TheCrusades: Eleanor and her son Richard both took part in these, Eleanor in the disastrous Second (which helped trigger her divorce from her first husband) and Richard in the more successful Third.

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: She was politically active.

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: She was politically active, which was unheard of for medieval queens.

* ''Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine'' in Literature/TheRoyalDiaries series.

* AmazonBrigade: There's a legend that she brought 300 of her ladies dressed in armor on crusade.

* CoolOldLady: As ruler for Richard.

* TheCrusades: Eleanor and her son Richard both took part in these.

* HeroesWantRedheads: The color of Eleanor's hair was never mentioned in contemporary chronicles, but her father, grandfather, and sons were all redheads, so she may have been one, too.

* DivorceAssetsConflict: Averted with Louis VII. He kept custody of their two daughters. She kept Aquitaine and Poitiers. This neat division of assets had unintended consequences when Eleanor's lands became English territory. The king of England became in effect a vassal of the king of France. This partly triggered [[HundredYearsWar a particularly nasty conflict]] a century later.

* TheHouseOfPlantagenet: She and Henry were the founders.

* GenerationXerox: Her granddaughter, Blanca of Castilla, could be she as one. Blanca married the grandson of Eleanor's first husband, had two sons who became kings, and served as regent while her son went on Crusade.

* GenerationXerox: Her granddaughter, Blanca of Castilla, married the grandson of Eleanor's first husband and was also a PoliticallyActivePrincess who served as regent while her son went on Crusade.

* TheHouseOfPlantagenet: She and Henry founded the dynasty.

Shortly afterward, Eleanor married [[UsefulNotes/HenrytheSecond one Henry Plantagenet]], who succeeded the throne of England as King Henry II. Eleanor added her territories—Aquitaine and Poitiers—to Henry’s kingdom. Together, they created the Angevin Empire. The marriage produced five sons and three daughters, but by 1167, Eleanor and Henry were living separate lives, with Eleanor ruling her French territories. In 1173, she supported her sons in a rebellion against Henry. It failed, and she spent the next 16 years as a captive of her husband.

Upon Henry's death, Eleanor’s favorite son, [[UsefulNotes/RichardtheLionheart Richard]], became King of England and released his mother. Eleanor acted regent while Richard was away on the Third Crusade--and given that he barely spent any time in England, Eleanor was the real ruler of the country during his reign. And all the while, she had to keep her younger son, [[UsefulNotes/{{John}} John]], from grabbing territory (fun fact: John had been Henry II's favorite).