Eleanor Of Aquitaine: The Epic Story Of King Arthur

Think of a far off land set in Medieval times. There are knights in shining armor rescuing princesses. In return princesses give their handkerchief as a favor. Knights are also going on great quests in search of mystical objects with powers beyond this world. One would think this sound like what many know of Camelot and King Arthur. Many associate King Arthur as one of England's greatest stories. Most would be surprised to learn that the themes that we associate with King Arthur today are not from English culture, but in fact French culture. Eleanor of Aquitaine brought French influences to English court and more specifically the Arthurian Legend, that transformed it into the epic story of romance and spirituality we know today as evident throughout the stories of Guenevere and Lancelot, Tristan, and the Holy Grail. Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the main driving forces in the development of the Arthurian legend. This came from her patronage during her time at King Henry’s court. She changed the …show more content…
When one looks at the life Eleanor and King Henry II there are many similarities to the Arthurian legend. The romance between Eleanor and Henry is similar to the romance between Guinevere and Lancelot. Henry and Eleanor met in paris and fell in love while she was still married to the King of France. For a year they had a secret romance and eventually planned to run away together. When Eleanor could not give King Louis VII an heir he had their marriage annulled and a month later Henry and Eleanor were married. King Louis was outraged and chased after them and tried to get the church to not recognize the marriage(Cavendish). Another similarity is the betrayal from Henry’s sons like the betray of Mordred. In 1173 Eleanor was sick of her husband and pushed her sons to rebel against him and take the crown for themselves. She became power hungry and used her sons as pawns in her game to achieve more