Eleanor of Aquitaine was the wife of two kings, Louis VII of France and Henry II Plantagenet of England, and the mother of two others, Richard the Lionhearted and John Lackland. In her eventful, often stormy life, she not only influenced the course of events in the twelfth century but also encouraged remarkable advances in the literary and fine arts. In this book, experts in five disciplines--history, art history, music, French and English literature--evaluate the influence of Eleanor and her court on history and the arts.

Elizabeth A. R. Brown views Eleanor as having played a...