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Eleanor of Aquitaine, Courtly Love, and the Troubadours
ffiona Swabey
Book Code: GR2523
ISBN: 0-313-32523-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-32523-6
224 pages, figures; maps; photos
Greenwood Press
Publication: 9/30/2004
List Price: $49.95 (UK Sterling Price: £27.95)
Discount Price: $34.97 Greenwood Press Fall 2008 Backlist Sale. Use code 0826. Save 30%. Ends 12/31/2008.
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and graduate students.
    —Choice     March 2005
  • The book fulfills its mission of providing timely interpretations of major figures and issues for an introductory audience.
    —The Historian     .
  • [R]ecommended for college-level Medieval studies collections.
    —MBR Internet Bookwatch     February 2005
Description: Eleanor of Aquitaine lived in a remarkable age. The 12th century saw significant advances in both the intellectual and emotional spheres. Scholars explored new areas of philosophy and science and also began to reflect on relationships and what it meant to be human and an individual. For the troubadours and the writers of the new romances, who composed in vernacular language, the focus of their works was the expression of personal feelings and the image of the feminine. Women had had more significant parts to play in the first millennium than in the second, because with the militarization of Europe and the emergence of universities, from which women were excluded, they lost much of their influence. This created an imbalance in society and it is within this context that Eleanor's life should be reviewed. The period is sometimes called the "Twelfth Century Awakening" due to the outpouring of extraordinary intellectual inquiry and discovery. Cathedral schools and universities, Islamic influence on European thought, the classical revival, vernacular literature, and Gothic architecture all exerted powerful pulls on the era's culture and politics. Accounts of Eleanor of Aquitaine's life provides a rare glimpse into women's lives during the medieval period, and though an admittedly extraordinary figure, we are able to draw some general conclusions about marriage and motherhood. Troubadours and courtly love, which revolved around declarations of service, devotion, and passion, and an emerging sense of the self. Thematic chapters hit the major topics, laying them out in clear and easy-to-follow writing. Nineteen biographical sketches bring to life the topics, and 15 primary documents, including songs, letters, and poems provide a close-up glimpse of how the people of the time saw their own world. Genealogical tables, maps, chronology, and a timeline provide useful and information quickly. The book concludes with an annotated bibliography and an index.
Table of Contents:
  • Series Foreword
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • Chronology of Events
  • Maps
  • Genealogical Tables
  • Narrative Historical Overview
  • The Twelfth Century Awakening
  • Eleanor, Queen of France: Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage
  • Eleanor, Queen of England: Motherhood, Imprisonment, and Widowhood
  • The Troubadours: Origins, Themes, and Demise
  • Courtly Love
  • Conclusion: What Is She Reading?
  • Biographies
  • Primary Documents
  • Annotated Bibliography
  • Index
PDF Catalogs:
Sale Catalog 2008.pdf
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