Eleanor of Aquitaine

died 4/1/1204
(born c.1122)

          9. The first vile sin I ever did commit,
          I'll tell to you the deed:
          I played the whore wi' the Earl Marshall
          When he got my maidenheid.
   
          10. O, wasna that a sin and a muckle great sin?
          I hope it will pardoned be.
          Amen, Amen! said the Earl Marshall
          And a very feart hairt had he.
  
                  "Queen Eleanor's Confession," Child #156 ---

She was queen consort of both Louis VII of France (1137–52) and Henry II of England (1152–1204) and also mother of Richard I and John of England.

She was perhaps the most powerful woman in 12th-century Europe. Most of the confession is historically impossible since she was under house arrest most of the period in question. Further, Eleanor outlived Henry Plantagenet (1133-1189) by fifteen years. Even further, neither Earl Marshal nor King Henry took her maidenhead; she had previously been married to, and had two daughters by, Louis VII.

See The Lion in Winter. Good movie.

Early warning notice: This series of the Happy File noncontinues beginning April 16.
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