The Château of Chinon, France: Chasing Eleanor of Aquitaine’s Old Haunts
Let me preface this post by saying I am the biggest history nerd out here on the blogosphere, or at least the Spain expat one. So my turn south from Normandy and Brittany into France’s Loire river valley took me not to those stunning châteaux (“castles”) like Chambord or Chenonceau or but to a corner of the region that has more to do with a certain medieval king and queen of England than any Renaissance king of France. Royal Fortress of Chinon This post’s title refers to Eleanor of Aquitaine , who was duchess of that same region in southwestern France in the 11th century, and wife of King Henry II Plantagenet of England, for a time. They had eight children together, including the crusader king Richard the Lionheart and the disastrous king John of England, you know, the one who was forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1212. Eleanor herself was involved in her fair share of political and romantic drama and traveled across Europe and Palestine. She even governed Eng...