Eleanor of Aquitaine: a feudal queen shrouded in mystery
Wed Jun 23,10:41 AM ET
FONTEVRAUD, France (AFP) - How do you portray a mythical figure who
was scarcely depicted in her own time? Fontevraud Abbey in western
France has risen to the challenge with an exhibition on the
legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most famous queen of the Middle
Ages.
The richest and most powerful woman in Europe during her lifetime,
Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) was married to Louis VII (1120-
1180), King of France, at age 15 and joined him on the Second
Crusade to the Holy Land.
Eleanor's marriage to Louis VII was annulled a decade later and she
became queen to King Henry II of England, bearing him nine children,
including the future kings Richard the Lionheart (1157-1199) and
John Lackland (1167-1216).
Over the centuries, a web of legend grew up around the powerful
queen, accused of the worst misdeeds -- adultery, incest and murder -
- but the charges are pure fabrication according to the exhibition's
curator, Martin Aurell.
Yet others see her as a sort of 12th-century role model -- a strong,
independent and sexually liberated woman.
The real Eleanor "deserves neither the excessive honour nor the
ignominy", according to Jean-Pierre Armengaud, who coordinated the
exhibition, one of a series of events held to mark the 800th
anniversary of her death.
Held in the region of Anjou, where the queen spent the last years of
her life, the exhibition melds historical fact with fiction to
illustrate the intertwining of myth and reality surrounding the
legendary queen.
Upon entering the abbey grounds, an impressive effigy of Eleanor of
Aquitaine casts its shadow over the courtyard.
Hanging scrolls and Japanese paintings on paper or silk combine with
rare artefacts -- a backgammon game carved from bone, musical
instruments, manuscripts and fabrics -- to conjure the feel of that
faraway era.
An Italian artist has imagined scenes from the queen's travels,
through oases, castles and seas, while a multimedia presentation
features 15th-century writings -- not all of them flattering --
about the great figure as well as later paintings and caricatures
inspired by her.
The organisers faced the tricky challenge of depicting a woman who
has seldom been portrayed, except posthumously -- the only
authenticated portrait of Eleanor of Aquitaine is the stone carving
on her tomb at Fontevraud.
"How to expain that this lack of representation gave rise to so much
speculation over the centuries?" asked Armengaud, who split the
exhibition into six parts to mark a divide between the hard fact and
the fantasy.
"Her strong, mysterious destiny feeds the fantasies of those who
speak of her, who unknowingly tell more about themselves than about
the character," said Armengaud, for whom Eleanor has acheived the
status of an archetype.
The exhibition at Fontevraud Abbey runs until the end of October.
