At Gîtes Le Manoir ( Property refs 51-56) the gîtes all carry the names of people connected with local history, and among them are Richard Coeur de Lion and Alienor d'Aquitaine - Names known in their English forms (Richard the Lion Heart and Eleanor of Aquitaine) to even the least studious English pupils. So who were they, and what is the connection?
As is almost universally known, William The Conqueror of Normandy came over the English Channel in 1066 and invaded England, giving him the whole of England plus Normandy to reign over - but how could he be in two places at once?
In these distant times the easiest way to defend territory was by making alliances with your likely enemies, often by marriage, and some 50 years later, William's grandson, Henry I, found his kingdom very exposed following the death of his French based son and heir. With only a daughter to carry on the line, in 1128 he arranged that this daughter, Matilda, would marry Geoffrey of Anjou, the ruler of Anjou, the French province to the south of Normandy, which would provide security for his French interests. Fortunately, her first marriage to the Holy Roman Emperor had conveniently just been ended by the Emperor's death in 1125
On Stephen's death in 1154 Henry came to the English throne as Henry II, and his mother became the representative of his French interests for the rest of her life, dying at Rouen in 1167.
Enter Eleanor of Aquitaine ....
She was born around 1122, and was first married to Louis VII, the French king, but a fifteen year marriage produced only two daughters, and despite the couple partaking in The Second Crusade to the Middle East from 1147 to 1149, the marriage was annulled in 1152.
Marriage to Henry II of England in the same year proved much more fruitful, and eight children were born to the couple. This included five sons, of whom three became kings.
However, with Eleanor came Aquitaine, giving the English king a territory that ran from the Scottish border, across the Channel to Normandy, Anjou and then down much of Western France to the Pyrenees. It is therefore not totally surprising that some 800-odd years later a strong expatriate English community should be formed in Aquitaine.
By and large Eleanor and her growing sons ran the French territory while Henry II remained in England, struggling to reform the Church with the murder of Thomas a'Beckett at Canterbury being the best known event with which he was associated.
However, relations became strained as Mother and sons took against their father, and with Henry II emerging victorious in the struggle between them, in 1173 Eleanor was returned to England and imprisoned for the next fifteen years. Henry II was more merciful to his sons, who all swore allegiance to him.
Enter Richard....
With the death of his older brothers William in infancy and Henry aged 28 in 1183, the third son Richard became King of England on Henry II's death in 1189, and among his first acts he released his mother from captivity in England. Other acts around the time of his coronation included ruthless persecution of the Jewish community in England which included the infamous Massacre of York.
During his time on Cyprus, Richard married Berengaria of Navarre, despite being officicially engaged to another European noble before his departure. However, the marriage was not a success, and remained childless. Modern historians have questioned Richard's sexuality, and have examined his relationship with Phillip II of France in particular.
Returning to Europe, a shipwreck forced him to head towards France across land, and he was taken prisoner and held to ransom by Leopold V, Duke of Austria.
He remained a prisoner for a year, before his mother, Eleanor, acting as regent in his absence, arranged the payment of a substantial ransom, and Richard returned to England where he had to deal with the stealthy acquisition of support by his brother John, the last town to fall to Richard being Nottingham. Subsequent folklore, fuelled by Hollywood, has related this event to the legend of Robin Hood, but sadly the Robin Hood legend occurs at least some 150 years later.
Richard's hold on France had also become weak, and he undertook campaigns against his former ally Phillip II to reclaim lands lost. This included an extensive building of fortifications, including a substantial castle at Penne d'Agenais, near Villeneuve-sur-Lot., and this is the connection with the area from which the gîtes at Le Manoir take their names.
During this time, at the battle of Gisors (Courcelles) in 1198, Richard adopted the motto 'Dieu et mon droit' and this motto is still in use by the British monarchy today.
Richard met a grizzly end after a stray crossbow bolt fired during practice hit him, and after removal the wound became gangrenous, causing his death in the arms of his mother, Eleanor, a couple of weeks later.
John succeeded his brother, but was disliked by the French dukes, and the British hold on the French part of their kingdom was never properly secure again, ending ultimately after the Hundred Years war in the middle of the 15th century, some 250 years after Richard's death.
Further information on Penne d'Agenais available HERE
