Eleanor de Montfort: A Rebel Countess in Medieval England

by Louise J. Wilkinson

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.

 

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, British Literature, Medieval, Medieval History

232 pages, Hardcover

First published March 8, 2012

About the author

Prof. Louise Wilkinson gained her doctorate at Kings College London and is now Professor of Medieval History at the University of Lincoln and has published numerous articles and books on Queenship, childhood and women in Medieval England. Her particular interest lies in the role of women in thirteenth-century political life, a theme explored in her 2012 book Eleanor de Montfort: a Rebel Countess in Medieval England. Prof. Wilkinson was Co-investigator on the AHRC- funded Henry III Fine Rolls Project (where she worked with David Carpenter) and now, for the Magna Carta Project, is exploring the Charter’s clauses on inheritance, women and the family.

Reviews

[Orsolya · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a mother debating naming your daughter Eleanor – then take note from Medieval English history that your offspring may turn out to be sassy, dramatic, fiercely independent, a warrior, and plain and simply: a badass. Hey, that doesn’t sound too bad, does it?! The Eleanors of Medieval times were certainly a feisty bunch and Eleanor de Montfort was no exception. The life of Eleanor – the youngest daughter of the detested King John and sister to King Henry III – doesn’t fill volumes on the shelves nor is she the subject of plays, movies, or stories. This is a shame as her life story, two marriages, and the Civil War against Eleanor’s brother, the King, led by Eleanor’s second husband and own sons; is worth multiple spotlights. Louise J. Wilkinson attempts to portrait Eleanor in, “Eleanor de Montfort: A Rebel Countess in Medieval England”.

Although lacking in documents that highlight Eleanor’s personal thoughts and feelings; a mountain of source material exists depicting Eleanor’s family, movements, husbands, expenditures, accounts, relations with the King, and other life events. Wilkinson draws upon these foundations to create a macro and micro look at this formidable princess and woman. “Eleanor de Montfort” is certainly scholarly and academic with Wilkinson not shying away from detail and depth. Yet, the text is not ‘dry’ (despite some reviewers’ complaints) being that Wilkinson has an eloquent and literary style to her language (she could probably pen a brilliant historical fiction novel. Yes, there are moments where the pace slackens, Wilkinson lingers, and is repetitive; but overall the momentum is strong with the material being ‘sticky’ and memorable.

Typically, historical biographies that describe more of the events surrounding a figure rather than the actual individual; results in a less-than-illuminating piece that fails to bring the figure alive. That is not the case with “Eleanor de Montfort” as Eleanor is bright and ‘loud’ with readers gaining a true insight into the woman. That being said, Wilkinson does include speculative “would have” and “could have”- statements which damper credibility and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Wilkinson avoids biases and stereotypes, managing to be objective in “Eleanor de Montfort” but maintains a strong, feminist voice that is never over the top or pushed onto the reader.

As “Eleanor de Montfort” progresses, Eleanor’s personality sparkles even brighter and the heartbeat of the biography increases its rapid pace. Even when Wilkinson is merely paraphrasing household account books, a narrative is offered and a whole-picture view is expressed.

On a negative note, there are some unanswered questions in “Eleanor de Montfort” and jumpy text that isn’t cohesive to the hypothesis of the theme. This isn’t overly detrimental to the text but it can be occasionally disheartening.

The concluding chapters of “Eleanor de Montfort” are disjointed and feel rather rushed. Eleanor seems to take a slight sideline role as Wilkinson focuses on her husband and sons’ rebellions against the King. The ending is notably abrupt and cut-off as though Wilkinson hit her word count and had to quickly abort the writing.

Wilkinson supplements “Eleanor de Montfort” with genealogical charts, a map, annotated notes, and a bibliography which gratifyingly contains a long list of primary sources. Sadly, “Eleanor de Montfort” is absent of a section of photo plates which would have strengthened the piece.

Despite minor flaws and a poor conclusion “Eleanor de Montfort” is an engaging look at a larger-than-life, noteworthy woman who sadly seems to be somewhat ‘lost’ in the history annals. Wilkinson’s writing is riveting and smooth and her level of academia and research is uncompromised. “Eleanor de Montfort” is recommended for all readers interested in Medieval English history and/or feminist character studies.

[Sarah u · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before reading this book, I had chatted about it in groups with friends. Some described it as dry, which to me shows no two people read the same book, because I didn't find this dry at all. I found it engaging, detailed, thorough and an excellent study of the life of Eleanor of England, daughter of king John and sister of Henry III. I particularly enjoyed the chapter about 1265- an important year, and a year for which Eleanor's household accounts survive.

The author focuses on Eleanor and does not meander into the lives of the men around Eleanor, which was good for me because I have books about the men already; I wanted to read about Eleanor, and this book provided. This is the life of Eleanor, patchy though it is in places.

I thought this was an excellent read and would recommend it.

[Marie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of reliable information here about the time as well as about Eleanor de Montfort. Useful details from an expert researcher. Highly recommended.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, but slightly turgid, biography. But if this is your bag, it is exactly what you need.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louise Wilkinson has done wonderful work with a topic with scant records available. Eleanor de Montfort, being a younger daughter of a Medieval king, was not going to have extensive records concerning her childhood. With her ‘value’ being associated with her marriage contract her life until marriage would be recorded in the annals as more of an accident than a purposeful record.

Eleanor, not as dynamic as her namesake and predecessor, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was interesting nonetheless. Married to two men of considerable influence, she played a much more prominent role in the mid to late 1200’s then could have been typical.

Although the book often seemed repetitive as Eleanor fought for her dowager rights and the continual mention of how many deer she was awarded by her brother, Henry III, Wilkinson was doing all she could with the material mentioning her.
Use of many sources, with as many primary as possible, Wilkinson does cover as much as possible. There were a few areas that the leap was made such as the movements of Eleanor between England and France at the time of her ‘exile’. Some of that could have been more interesting but one understands the lack of records verifying events.

Lastly, there often seemed to be lack of transition that could have made reading better. An example is the report of Eleanor’s death. The paragraph above told how she had properties restored to her by Edward I and the top sentence of the next announced her death a year and a half later. Couldn’t Wilkinson have said something like, ‘Eleanor was not to enjoy the benefits of the property restoration for long as she died on 13 April 1275?’ Just a suggestion.

[Gin Tadvick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting study of Eleanor de Montfort. It is obvious that Louise put a large effort into the research of this extrordinary woman.

[Debbi]

Good biography. As with all medieval women, even royalty like Eleanor, there are few records with which to build a detailed biography. Nevertheless, Louise Wilkinson put together what few records there are a built a biography that is readable, informative, and offers a glimpse into the life of Eleanor, sister to King Henry III and wife of his nemesis, Simon de Montfort.