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Hello, Eleanor Bakquitane was the most powerful woman in 12th century Europe, possibly in the

entire Middle Ages.

Born in 1122 she inherited land from the Lwai down to the Pyrenees about a third and

modern France.

At 15 she married the king of France, Louis VII and later joined him on the second crusade.

She became stronger still after their marriage was an old, as her next husband Henry Plantagenet

became Henry II of England.

Two of their sons Richard and John became kings and she ruled for them when they were

abroad.

By her death in her 80s in 1204 Eleanor had plantationed children and grandchildren in

power across Western Europe.

This led to competing claims of inheritance and for much of the next 250 years the Plantagenets

and the French kings battled over Eleanor's land.

With me to discuss Eleanor Bakquitane are Lindy Grant, professor of medieval history at

the University of Reading, Nicholas Vincent, professor of medieval history at the University

of Ysanglia and Julie Barole, University of Lecture in British medieval history at the

University of Cambridge, Nick Vincent.

Where did the power line, what we now call Western Europe when Eleanor was young?

Well, we're talking about a situation in which these great power structures, the Holy

...