Eleanor of Aquitaine: What did she look like? History & Artistic Facial Reconstruction

Comments · 1.2K

• LA

  @laurencemoore8519 · 4 years ago · pinned

  One of the most interesting women in history. Great profile and whilst there are so few references to her i think you`ve done a great job.

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• SA

  @sammysoppy3361 · 4 years ago

  bearing that many kids and living till her 80s in that time period is quite the accomplishment!

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• VE

  @vetsai8199 · 4 years ago

  So many of her descendants had green eyes with golden glints—and dark hair with reddish or auburn highlights.  It has been said that every Plantagenet family had at least one dark-haired member considered to be a throwback to Eleanor.

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• GA

  @garmo98 · 4 years ago

  She was my 25 times great grandmother so I found the history fascinating.

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• CC

  @ccasey1904 · 4 years ago

  There are documented info on her. She did have light colored hair; she was tall and thin; probably that lanky look the Plantaganets had. She liked to ride and do falconry. From reading about her, she comes across as intelligent. She was a strong woman; she defended castles when Henry was away as he often was. Suggest anyone innterested in her read the book by Sharon Kay Penman; it was well researched and a good read although long.

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• BC

  @bcpr9812 · 4 years ago

  Your interpretation of her reminds me of a younger Judy Greer.<br><br>When you&apos;re born into the ruling class as a pre-modern woman, you either accept that you are a pawn to be played by others... or you become a player. As it goes in fiction, &quot;when you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground&quot;. I don&apos;t blame her for playing the game.

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• LI

  @lilitharam44 · 4 years ago

  I would love to see a reconstruction of Eleanor of Castile! She is one of my favourite Queens of England and she was Eleanor of Aquitaine&apos;s Great Great Granddaughter. Her marriage to Edward I. was very sweet and they were devoted to each other, which was rare in medieval arranged marriages.

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• RA

  @randomobserver8168 · 4 years ago

  I highly recommend The Lion in Winter, with Peter O&apos;Toole as Henry and Katharine Hepburn as Eleanor. It&apos;s a 60s movie based on a play, so take with a medium bowl of salt, but still. It depicts Henry and Eleanor in old age, their schemes and plots around their remaining sons [Henry the eldest is dead by this point but Richard, Geoffrey and John are there] and the young French King Philip [future Philip Augustus]. Henry and Eleanor&apos;s tumultuous relations and idea of each other are the focus. At one point Henry muses on how he&apos;d like to be remembered, and apart from various notes on his political and military career he adds the line &quot; married out of love to a woman out of legend&quot;. Late in the movie after the nuances of their passionate love and just as passionate hate have been worked out at length, she says to him with pride, &quot;You&apos;re still a marvel of a man&quot;. And Henry replies, with all the powerfully controlled feeling fine actor O&apos;Toole can muster, &quot;and you&apos;re my Lady.&quot; Whatever else is wrong with the script, it seems to capture for the ages the dominant themes of their relationship, as remembered for centuries.

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• ME

  @melissabrown7650 · 4 years ago

  I have always imagined her as a strawberry blonde. &nbsp;With strands that shimmered like gold in the sunlight.

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• DO

  @downtownbun · 4 years ago

  Eleanor has been, since I came across her story, the inspiration for how I conduct myself. &nbsp;She strikes me as a very authentic version of what womanhood should be. &nbsp;Feminine, immensely strong, managing the sovereignty of her self and story. &nbsp;She never lost sight of who she was a woman, embracing all that that means, and saw herself as an equal to man in every way. &nbsp;The fact that she bore 8 children up until her 40s was unheard of in medieval Europe, she was involved in politics from both her husbands to her children without a second thought. &nbsp;All of this during a time when women were mostly considered property is amazing. &nbsp;Her life and accomplishments, even in the 21st century, still outshines many women today. &nbsp; Thanks for such a good recreation. &nbsp;Of course I have Katherine Hepburn in my head for an aged Eleanor, but your version does her justice.

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• MI

  @MichielBLKorte · 4 years ago

  Petition for Natalie Dormer to play this Eleanor of Aquitaine!

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• TO

  @toriamansfield2999 · 4 years ago

  From IMDb for &quot;The Lion In Winter&quot; (trivia)Katharine Hepburn portrayed her own ancestor. She was descended from Eleanor of Aquitaine in numerous lines, from both Eleanor&apos;s marriage to Louis VII, King of France, and Eleanor&apos;s marriage to Henry II, King of England. I&apos;ve always wanted to see that particular family tree, just to see how it worked out.

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