Eleanor of Provence (Éléonore/Aliénor de Provence), who was Queen of England as wife of King Henry III of England, died on the 24th or 25th of June 1291 in England. She is one of the few English queens who was not buried at Fontevraud Abbey or Westminster Abbey. By the...
Marie de France, sister to Richard the Lionheart and Philippe Augustus
Princess Marie de France, Countess de Champagne, passed away on the 11th of March, 1198. She was the first and oldest daughter of King Louis VII of France known as the Young (‘le Jeune’) and his first and legendary consort – Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, or Aliénor d’Aquitaine. According to...
King Richard the Lionheart: birth, life, personality
King Richard I of England was born on the 8th of September 1157 in the King’s House (later Beaumont Palace). He was the 3rd legitimate son of King Henry II of England and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine; Eleanor’s 6th child as she had previously been married to King Louis VII of France and...
Coronation of Richard the Lionheart
On the 3rd of September 1189, King Richard I of England known as the Lionheart was crowned as King of England at Westminster Abbey. At the age of 32, he was still relatively young, vigorous, and ready to lead the Angevin empire to her new heights. Tall with reddish-blonde hair,...
The Drama of Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany
On the 10th of August 1241, Eleanor Fair Maid of Brittany (House of Plantagenet) died as a nun at the age of 57 or 59. Originally buried at St James’ Priory, Bristol, her remains were then exhumed and reburied at Amesbury Abbey by King Henry III of England (her cousin),...
A Forgotten Confrontation: the Battle of Bouvines of 1214
Nowadays, few people heard about the Battle of Bouvines fought on the 27th of July 1214 near the town of Bouvines in the County of Flanders. Nonetheless, many remember the Battles of Crécy, of Poitiers, and of Agincourt. This battle was the decisive confrontation of the Anglo-French War that lasted...
Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII of France: an ill-fated royal match
On the 25th of July 1137, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, and the future Louis VII of France married in the Cathedral of Saint-Andre in Bordeaux. The marriage between was arranged by Louis VII’s father – King Louis VI of France known as the Fat....
The Battle of Taillebourg: victory of the French Saint Louis over Henry III of England
On the 21st of July, 1242, the Battle of Taillebourg happened. It was a decisive battle during the Saintonge War that lasted between 1242 and 1243. The Capetian forces were confronted by Hugh X of Lusignan (second husband of Isabella d’Angoulême, Henry III of England’s mother), Raymond VII of Toulouse, and King Henry III...
Philippe II of France: a monarch rightfully deserving the epithet ‘Augustus’
Born on the 21st of August 1165, King Philippe II of France died on the 14th of July 1223 in Mantes-la-Jolie en route to Paris at the age of 58. When his father, Louis VII of France, fell ill, he had his only son crowned at Reims in 1179, making...
End of the Siege of Acre (1189-1191)
On July 12 1191, the long siege of Acre (1189-1191) during the Third Crusade was finally over. The city of Acre offered terms of surrender to the Crusaders, and this time, these terms were considered suitable and were accepted. The siege had begun when Guy de Lusignan attacked Acre in...
Fulk III Nerra, Count of Anjou: incredible and savage
On the 21st of June 1040, Fulk III Nerra, also known as Fulk the Black (French: Foulques le Noir), who was Count of Anjou from 987 to 1040, died at the old age of 69-70. Fulk was a powerful early ruler of the Angevin dynasty that originated in the County...
Isabella of Angoulême, second wife of King John of England
Isabella of Angoulême, second wife of King John of England, died on the 4th of June 1246 at Fontevraud Abbey, where she was buried in the abbey’s churchyard, as if seeking atonement for her misdeeds. Years after her death, her eldest son with John, King Henry III of England, arrived at Fontevraud...
Death of Queen Adela of France, King Louis VII’s third wife
Queen Adela of France, King Louis VII of France’s third wife, died on the 4th of June 1206 and was buried in the Church of Pontigny Abbey near Auxerre. She was also known as Adelaide, Alix, and Adela of #Champagne. She was the third child of Theobald II, Count of Champagne; she...
Birth of Geoffrey Plantagenet, second son of Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou and Empress Matilda
Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Nantes, was born in Rouen on the 1st of June 1134. He was second of the three sons of Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou and Empress Matilda. Also known as Geoffrey of Anjou and Geoffrey FitzEmpress, he was Count of Nantes from 1156 to 1158. Geoffrey’s...
Release of ‘Robin Hood’s Widow’ (part 2 of our Robin Hood Trilogy)
Attention! Our New Novel was released on the 8th of May 2020! Robin Hood’s Widow (The Robin Hood Trilogy Book 2) by Olivia Longueville and J. C. Plummer is now available in both e-book and paperback formats from Amazon. You can learn more information about our Robin Hood project on...