NameKing Louis “the Younger” VII Of France, Half 2C31R
Birth1119, ?, ?, France
Death18 Sep 1180
Misc. Notes
King Louis VII, called “The Younger,” succeeded his father in 1137. In the first year of his reign, he married Eleanor of Aquitaine, daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitaine. Louis soon aroused the opposition of Pope Innocent II because of his support of a rival to the Pope’s candidate for the Archbishopric of Bourges, and the Pope placed the lands of Louis under Papal interdict. Louis next fought a two-year war and conquered Champagne in 1144. In 1147, he joined the unsuccessful Second Crusade as one of its two chief military leaders (the other being King Conrad III of Germany).
King Louis returned to France two years later, and in 1152 his marriage to Eleanor was annulled. In the same year, she married Henry of Anjou. Louis warred with Henry for the possession of Aquitaine, but renounced all rights to the duchy in 1154, the year Henry became King of England.
Between 1157 and 1180 Louis continued sporadic warfare against Henry, who held many of the French provinces.
Spouses
Birthca 1125
Death24 Jun 1206
Birth1123, Aquitaine, France
Death3 Mar 1204, ?, ?, England
Misc. Notes
Eleanor of Aquitaine, daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitaine, married first to King Louis VII of France, but that marriage was annulled in 1152. Shortly thereafter, she married Henry, who was then Duke of Normandy.
King Henry II’s many infidelities caused her to establish her own court at Poitiers, France in 1170. This city became the scene of much artistic activity. Because of her support of her sons’ unsuccessful revolt against Henry in 1173, she was confined to France until 1185. When Henry died in 1189, Eleanor used her influence and personal public popularity to make sure that the people of England would accept her son, Richard, as their king. Eleanor ruled in England for several weeks, carrying out court business, meeting with court officials and asking the officials to swear loyalty to the new King.
Eleanor traveled to towns throughout England meeting with the people. She listened to their complaints and she released many people who had been unjustly imprisoned during Henry II’s reign.
Eleanor ordered all of England to use the same coins to make traveling between cities and buying goods easier. And to show that Richard was behind the idea, she had his likeness put on the coins.
Eleanor of Aquitaine was an amazing woman and a remarkable leader. She was both the Queen of France and the Queen of England. She was the mother of two English Kings (Richard I and John), and she ruled the large region of Aquitaine. Here was a lady who helped shape the history of her time.
Marriage22 Jul 1137, Bordeaux Cathedral, Bordeaux, France
Annulment1152