Books : Eleanor of Aquitaine and the four kings

Rating: - Amy Kelly, pioneer of modern Eleanor research
"Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings" has been an important source book for perhaps the majority of authors who have written about this extraordinary woman during the past six decades. (Of equal value is the biography by Regine Pernoud, Alienor D'Aquitaine--who praises Kelly's book.) This biography was probably the most important component of Amy Ruth Kelly's academic work. She was a Harvard scholar, close to retirement when her magnum opus went to press circa 1950.

A careful reading shows that much of Ms. Kelly's text is original in the sense that she was diligent in exploring manuscripts and early histories, borrowing relatively little from her contemporary historians. She pioneered modern Eleanor scholarship.

The author was the product of a more genteel age, a fact which her style betrays. It is curiously antique in places, but easy to read and to follow. For example, she introduces the word "Paraclete" without explanation: she herself needed no introduction to the school of Peter Abelard. Her book includes a number of dated curiosities: for example she refers to the Turkish port from which Eleanor sailed to Antioch as Satalia, rather than the modern day Antalya.

Several modern scholars think Ms. Kelly got the Court of Ladies wrong. I disagree. I believe that she got it partly right. In fact the true nature of Eleanor's Court of Ladies at Poitiers is still the subject of debate. Personally, I believe that the late Claude Marks, the author of "Pilgrims, Heretics and Lovers: A Medieval Journey" came close to reasonable truth on this topic.

"Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings" is informative. It can still compete with more recent, "pure" biographies such as Regine Pernoud's. It may be a better biography but a more difficult read than Allison Weir's "Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life," and Marion Meade's "Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography." Modern historians have added many facts to the life and times of Eleanor of Aquitaine since Ms. Kelly published her title a lifetime ago. But she left us a record that feels true to life, entertaining and wise.

Robert Fripp, Author of ...
"Power of a Woman: Memoirs of a Turbulent Life: Eleanor of Aquitaine"

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Rating: - An excellent historical biography and guide to the era.
While somewhat dated in language and style, this is an extremely well researched and engaging biography of one of History's most interesting and influential women. As a definitely "historical" biography it covers in scholarly detail the multiple political and religious characters involved with Eleanor and, by association, the causes they espoused. This is not, then, a work for romance readers seeking the mythic chivalry and trappings found in popular works (though the richly detailed descriptions of the age and its nuances present just as compelling a story). This is rather a book for those interested in a comprehensive, historical biography of easily the most fascinating of all Medieval women, and a perceptive glimpse into the forces which surronded her world.