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Dominican University of California

Chivalry and Romantic Love in the Courts of Eleanor of Aquitane

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine (1122-1204), has long been recognized as an important political and cultural force in the Middle Ages. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate specifically how her patronage of troubadour poetry extolling women brought civilizing changes to France and England, and merged chivalry and romantic love. The poetry was influenced by a renewed enthusiasm for worship of the Virgin Mary and by the lyric quality of Hispano-Arabic poetry. Based on romance, it differed from epic poetry which was centered on adventures and deeds.</p> <p>Eleanor’s coveted inheritance of Aquitaine, now southwestern France, augmented the small kingdom of France when she married King Louis VII. Her subsequent marriage to King Henry II of England created the Angevin empire, extending from the Pyrenees to Scotland. As Queen, Eleanor was able to instill in the courts of both kingdoms of northern Europe the refinements of her native Aquitaine. For these specific contributions, she merits greater praise.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Arts
Level thesis:degree_level
Master's Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Humanities
Year
2007

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Erckson, Katherine
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Leslie Ross, PhD
  • Patricia Dougherty, OP, PhD

Subjects

dc:subject × 2

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholar.dominican.edu:humanities-print-theses-1259

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Dominican University of California
Base URL
scholar.dominican.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Erckson, Katherine. Chivalry and Romantic Love in the Courts of Eleanor of Aquitane. Master's Thesis thesis, 2007. https://scholar.dominican.edu/humanities-print-theses/260