Eleanor of Aquitaine was fifteen years old in 1137 AD, and not yet married, when her father, the Duke of Aquitaine, died suddenly. Eleanor had no brothers, so she inherited her father’s duchy, which included most of Southern France. This inheritance made her one of the richest women in Europe.
Eleanor was well educated. She could read and write Latin, and was well versed in music and literature too. She married the King of France Louis VII, and moved to Paris, where she set a trend for luxury and sophistication in the medieval world. She was an ardent supporter of the Crusades and she created a sensation when she dressed like an Amazon, and galloped through the crowds on a white horse, urging people to join the Crusades too. She herself even went on a Crusade with Louis.
Eleanor later divorced Louis, and married Henry who became the King of England. She lived into her eighties, surviving her son Richard, and saw her son John become King of England. Her last years were spent, as the abbess of a convent in Aquitaine, where she died at the age of 82.