Wow! eBook
Eleanor de Montfort: A Rebel Countess in Medieval England
Author(s): Louise J. Wilkinson (Author)
- Publisher: Continuum
- Publication Date: 8 Mar. 2012
- Language: English
- Print length: 232 pages
- ISBN-10: 1847251943
- ISBN-13: 9781847251947
Book Description
As sister of Henry III and aunt of the future Edward I, Eleanor de Montfort was at the heart of the bloody conflict between the Crown and the English barons. At Lewes in 1264 Simon de Montfort captured the king and secured control of royal government. A woman of fiery nature, Eleanor worked tirelessly to support her husband’s cause. She assumed responsibility for the care of the royal prisoners and she regularly dispatched luxurious gifts to Henry III and the Lord Edward. But the family’s political fortunes were shattered at the battle of Evesham in August 1265 where Simon de Montfort was killed. The newly-widowed Eleanor rose to her role as matriarch of her family, sending her surviving sons – and the family treasure – overseas to France, negotiating the surrender of Dover Castle and securing her own safe departure from the realm. The last ten years of her life were spent in the Dominican convent at Montargis.
Drawing on chronicles, letters and public records this book reconstructs the narrative of Eleanor’s remarkable life.
“
Editorial Reviews
Review
…this book is an important contribution to current scholarship. It clearly demonstrates that medieval aristocratic women were not the meek shadows of their husbands that they were once assumed to be. Eleanor was lively, impassioned, politically astute, and economically powerful. She was able to balance familial, political, and personal matters in a period of history when England was in upheaval. Eleanor’s life and connections span both sides of the de Montfort rebellion, both chronologically and politically. This book will open the way for scholarly discussion of the life of this fascinating woman. –The Historian, Catherine Innes-Parker, University of Prince Edward Island
