Читать книгу Royal Weddings...Through the Ages - Elizabeth Rolls, Ann Lethbridge - Страница 12

As we all know, the marriage of Henry and Eleanor would last for decades and be one of the best known of all of the royal matches in British history. From their legendary squabbles which split apart the Angevin empire (and were the basis for dramas like The Lion in Winter) to the extraordinary long life of Eleanor (she died in her eighty-third year), who tried to hold it all together for her sons, their story was filled with all of the things that families deal with even now—love, betrayal, support, estrangement, restoration and competition.

The fates of the Capets and the Plantagenets remained intertwined and connected for generations. In love or in war, theirs was a constant competition for control of lands and titles in what would become modern France.

Though Eleanor is often demonised in the histories of the times, blamed for everything that ever went wrong in the life of Louis Capet, I cannot help but believe that history is not kind to extraordinary women who step outside the boundaries of society’s expectations of them. And I chose to see Henry as an enthusiastic young man, about to set out to pursue all of his dreams, in search of a woman who could be his equal. If he decided later that he did not want such a woman, we can’t blame her for it!

As their marriage progressed, Henry and Eleanor produced eight (or possibly nine) children, sons and daughters who inherited various parts of their family empire or who were married off to strengthen bonds with other important and powerful families. Most readers tend to remember only two of them—Richard and John. Divided by contention and favouritism, Henry’s sons were never content and eventually saw almost all of their lands on the continent lost and only England remain under their control.

But, at the beginning of it all, a marriage between an older woman and a younger man, a duchess and a duke, a count and a countess, began, I believe, with enthusiasm, anticipation and a bit of love. I hope you enjoyed the story of their royal wedding.

For readers seeking more of the historical details about this time period and this particular marriage, let me suggest two of the books I use when writing in this time period: The Knight, the Lady and the Priest: The Making of Modern Marriage in Medieval France by Georges Duby, and Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings by Amy Kelly.

Those readers familiar with my previous historical romances should recognise the man who facilitates the delicate negotiations between Henry and Eleanor—Godfroi. In The King’s Mistress, he is known as Godfrey and has indeed entered God’s service. By the time of that story, he is abbot of a large monastery in northern England and counsellor to the hero, Orrick of Silloth-on-Solway, as well as to an older but not much wiser Henry II of England. It was fun for me to go back and see how Godfroi helped in this marriage. He is, of course, a fictional character, created for these stories and not based on any real person, though I suspect there must have been someone like him who helped things along.

Happy reading!

Terri Brisbin