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Front view of the stone
carving of Eleanor of Aquitaine
that was discovered. (Milton Keynes
Council)
Bradwell Abbey in Milton Keynes,
Buckinghamshire, has been in the news recently with the discovery of a carved
stone head believed to be of Eleanor of Aquitaine. The discovery was made
during conservation work. Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of England’s most
powerful queens and one of the most important women in medieval Europe.
Scholars are excited about the find as there are very few contemporary artistic
representations of the queen.
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| Bradwell Abbey Chapel |
Bradwell Abbey
Bradwell Abbey was founded around
1154 and dissolved during the English Reformation. The carving is thought to
date from the 12th century. Around 181 hectares of land were granted
to Meinfelin (Lord of Wolverton) for the establishment of a Benedictine priory
to the west of Bradwell.
In common with many small
priories, the number of monks in the Abbey seems to have always been small. The
famine of 1316 struck the Buckingham area hard with contemporary accounts of
people being found dead from starvation at the side of the road. This was followed by the Black Death
(1348-1350), which caused heavy mortality in the Buckingham area, particularly
amongst monastic orders. At the dissolution of the priory, the dormitory
had accommodation for only five monks.
Around 1330, after the famine and
before the Black Death, the surviving chapel of St. Mary dedicated to "Our
Ladie of Bradwell" was built against the west front of the church. Under
the Act for the Suppression of Minor Houses, Bradwell Priory was given to
Cardinal Wolsey, by papal consent in July 1524.
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Eleanor of Aquitaine.
(Rezo1515 / CC BY-SA 4.0 )
Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204),
was one of the most remarkable women in the Middle Ages. She was born to William
X, Duke of Aquitaine, the most powerful noble in France and upon her father’s
death controlled more territory in France than the king himself. She married
the French monarch Louis VII in 1152 but they were later estranged, and their
marriage was annulled. She married the future Henry II of England, a monarch
who ruled from southern France to Ireland, which is known as the Angevin Empire.
Her marriage to the English king, who was 11 years her junior, was turbulent
and many believe that she encouraged her sons to rebel against their father.
King Henry of England
On 25 October 1154, Henry
became king of England. Eleanor was crowned queen of
England by the archbishop of Canterbury on 19 December 1154.
Over the next 13 years, she bore Henry five sons and three
daughters: William, Henry, Richard, Geoffrey, John, Matilda, Eleanor,
and Joan.
His realm extended from Ireland
to the Pyrenees. King Henry II was the first king of the Plantagenet dynasty
and brought a new level of organization to the English government. Henry II was
also the first to establish an English presence in Ireland. He spent just 14
years in total on English soil. Henry 11 is credited with being a careful
administrator who overhauled the English judicial system.
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| Henry and Thomas à Beckett |
Henry and Thomas à Beckett
Henry’s reign was marked by
disputes with his chancellor, Thomas à Beckett, who was also archbishop of
Canterbury. Ultimately, the story goes, Henry said, “Will no one rid me of this
turbulent priest?” Four knights rode to Canterbury, called Thomas a traitor and
tried to drag him outside. Thomas refused to go and said, “No traitor but a
priest of God.” The knights struck him on the head with their swords. He fell
to the floor of the cathedral, dead.
Revolt and capture
In March 1173, annoyed at his
lack of power and spurred on by Henry's enemies, his son Henry launched
the Revolt of 1173–1174. Eleanor was imprisoned for 16 years, much of the
time in various locations in England.
Henry lost the woman believed to
be his great love, Rosamund Clifford, in 1176. He had met her in 1166 and
had begun their liaison in 1173, allegedly contemplating divorce from Eleanor.
This notorious affair caused a monkish scribe to transcribe Rosamund's name in
Latin to "Rosa Immundi", or "Rose of Unchastity".
When Henry II died, her eldest
son Richard I (the Lionheart) became king and Eleanor became his key advisor.
On the death of Richard, her other son John was crowned King John I.
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| King Richard I effigy Church of Fontevraud |
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England
from 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of
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| King John |
King John
John was King of England from
1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his
other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of
the Angevin Empire. His reign was marked by disputes
between John and his barons and bishops. King John is best remembered for
granting Magna Carta in June 1215, although he sought its annulment almost
immediately.
The Crusades
The Crusades were
organized by western European Christians after centuries of Muslim wars of
expansion. Their primary objectives were to stop the expansion of Muslim
states, to reclaim for Christianity the Holy Land in the Middle East, and to
recapture territories that had formerly been Christian.
In 1147, Eleanor accompanied
her husband on the Second Crusade, travelling to Constantinople and
Jerusalem. The Second Crusade failed because the Christian
armies were not able to take control of Edessa or Damascus. The
result was a victory for the Muslim forces and a defeat for the
Christians in 1149
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| Church of Fontevraud Abbey Eleanor of Aquitaine Effigy |
Conclusion
Although further research may be
needed to verify that the head is that of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was both
Queen of France and England, this discovery is exciting. Perhaps, Queen Eleanor
made a pilgrimage to Bradwell? Eleanor died in 1204 and was entombed in Fontevraud
Abbey next to her husband Henry and her son Richard. By the time of her
death she had outlived all her children except for King John of England and
Queen Eleanor of Castile.
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