Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud, crossed destinies

On the occasion of March 8, International Women's Rights Day, we wanted to put the spotlight on an emblematic place of feminine power, theAbbey of Fontevraud and a historical character who is closely linked to it, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Everyone knows her name but not always her true story ... and it is a real saga that the life of this queen who marked with her romantic destiny and her temperament of insubordination the history of all Europe of the Middle Ages.

Eleanor of Aquitaine, the untamed

Celebrated by the troubadours for her beauty, patron and protector of the arts, feared for her intelligence and formidable political sense, Eleanor of Aquitaine was queen of France and queen of England, had 10 children and lived to be 80 years old, a feat at a time when it was common to die in childbirth.

Born in 1122 in Poitier, Eleanor inherited a powerful and vast duchy on the death of her father, stretching from the Loire to the Pyrenees and from the Atlantic to the Auvergne. She was 15 years old when she married in 1137 the pious and austere king of France, Louis VII. Loving luxury and poetry, she was little liked at the French court who judged her extravagant and manipulative. She gave birth to two daughters, followed her husband on the^second crusade, cheated on him and finally asked for an annulment of her marriage, an exceptional event for the time.

Barely two months after the officialization of what was not yet called a divorce, she married Henry Plantagenet in 1252, the fiery heir to the throne of England, rival of her ex-husband and 10 years her junior! By bringing Aquitaine to England as a dowry, she reversed the balance of power in Europe.

Becoming Queen of England in 1254, she gets involved in politics, administers her Duchy with an iron fist, gives birth to 8 children and ends up pushing her sons to revolt against their father Henry II in order to take power. But it is a failure, she is held in captivity in England for the next 15 years.

After the death of Henry II, in 1189, she was released by order of the new king and favorite son, Richard the Lionheart. Her son left for the Crusades and it was she who ensured the interim of power, he was taken prisoner, it was she who, at nearly 75 years of age but tireless, travelled the roads of Europe to collect and deliver the ransom. It is also in these years that she multiplies the stays in Fontevraud.

Fontevraud, stronghold of the Plantagenets and refuge of Eleanor of Aquitaine

The Abbey of Fontevraud was founded in 1101 by Robert d'Arbrissel, an itinerant monk who chose this region to establish the community of men and women from all walks of life that he had gathered around him during his peregrinations in the west of France thanks to his exceptional talents as an orator. Inspired by the Benedictine rule, he organized a life of poverty, penance and work at Fontevraud. In the years that followed, the community grew in size and quickly gained the favor of the Dukes of Anjou and then the Plantagenets, who contributed to its influence.

Strategically located on the borders of her Duchy of Aquitaine, on the border with Touraine and Poitou, it was here that the queen decided to have her husband buried. She considered that from then on, the abbey should become what the Basilica of Saint-Denis was for the Capetians, a royal necropolis that symbolized the power of the dynasty.

In 1199 she also buried her beloved son, Richard the Lionheart, and retired there permanently to live out her last years. Before her death in 1204, she commissioned polychrome tuffeau recumbents for her own tomb as well as those of Henry II and Richard. The remains of Isabelle d'Angouleme, wife of Jean Sans Terre, Alienor's other son, joined the royal necropolis in 1249. They can still be admired today in majesty in the magnificent abbey church of Fontevraud.

Fontevraud, an abbey for women

From its foundation, Fontevraud welcomed both men and women. However, Robert d'Arbrissel can be considered as a feminist before his time since in 1115 he appointed a woman to succeed him at the head of the Abbey and the Order of Fontevraud. It is thus a woman who governs women but also men. This situation, unique in history, did not fail to provoke the protests of the latter on several occasions and was probably not foreign to Eleanor's desire to take refuge there at the end of her life.

This choice will always be defended and respected: 36 abbesses, many of them of royal blood, will succeed one another at the head of the abbey until 1792. One of them in particular is worth mentioning: Gabrielle de Rochechouart was named abbess by Louis XIV. Sister of Madame de Montespan, favorite of the king, Gabrielle shines by her intelligence and her culture: she speaks several languages, masters philosophy and of course theology and introduces her taste for art to Fontevraud.

The French Revolution brutally put an end to nearly 800 years of monastic life under the aegis of women and in 1804, Napoleon decided to transform the Abbey into a prison. From its opening in 1814 to its closing in 1963, Fontevraud was considered one of the toughest prisons in France.

Fontevraud today, a meeting place and ideal city

Rich in its prestigious history and always at the crossroads of spiritual, intellectual and artistic paths, the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud pursues the ambition of the Ideal City desired by its founder. Fontevraud offers a multidisciplinary project that combines history and heritage, creation, social debates, live performances and the arts, and is organized around four main dimensions: Creative City, Digital City, Sustainable City and Hospitality City. It welcomes visitors, artists in residence and conference participants on a daily basis. Cultural programming, exhibitions and digital innovations invite everyone to live their own experience of Fontevraud.

It is this intellectual and cultural effervescence coupled with an architectural environment of great beauty where the sobriety of Romanesque art, the decorations of the Renaissance and the refinement of the XVIIIth century are combined with an omnipresent nature that make the Abbey of Fontevraud an exceptional place for the organization of events and in particular seminars. From a company convention with a plenary session for 400 people to a management committee meeting or a prestigious reception, all configurations are possible at Fontevraud, with the backdrop of a hotel with a warm design that respects its heritage environment, high quality gastronomy, state-of-the-art equipment and a brand new museum that completes the multiple and flexible offer of a place dedicated since its foundation to training, exchange and transmission.