History of the Crusades

the Crusades Episode 26, Eleanor of Aquitaine Part 2.

Hello again.

Last week we started to look at the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. We saw Eleanor rise to become Queen of France and along with her young husband King

Louis the 7th we saw them provide some pretty salient examples of what can go wrong

if you place a couple of teenagers in charge of a country.

Their reign to date has been marred by conflict, poor decision-making, and a desire to do whatever they pleased with little regard for the consequences.

We will take up the examination of Eleanor's life on Sunday the 10th of June 1144. Eleanor is now 22 years of age and has been Queen for seven years.

Eleanor, her mother-in-law and King Louis have travelled from Paris to Saint-Dinie for the consecration of a new church.

The church was a Gothic masterpiece.

It was massive with 20 altars, gorgeous stained glass windows and contained a crucifix

20 feet high which stood on the main altar.

It was dedicated to Saint-Denis and during the consecration ceremony the bones of the

saint were placed in a highly decorated tomb inside the church.

Lords, Counts and Dukes from across France sent gifts to the church which were placed on display. The King and Queen of France donated an ornate vase which had been gifted by Eleanor to her new husband on their wedding day.

The vase is currently on display at the Louvre and is apparently the only object in existence

which can confidently be associated with Eleanor. I'll place a photo of it on the website.

Anyway, back to the ceremony at Saint-Denis.

The church itself was packed to capacity with pilgrims, curious onlookers,

and distinguished guests.

Among the guests were King Louis's rivals,

Bernard of Clervo, and Count Theobel of Champagne. Now, just a word here about King Louis. He is still racked

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