“Historians​ usually exclude gossip and rumor from their sources, or use them with caution. In her new book about Eleanor of Aquitaine, Karen Sullivan does the opposite. She looks at what friends, enemies, troubadours and chroniclers as late as the 16th century had to say, often relaying it with the phrase ut dicebatur, ‘as it was said’. . . . Moving between fact, rumor and outright fiction, Sullivan traces Eleanor’s reputation through five phases of her career: as heiress, crusader, patroness of poets, queen mother and aged affiliate of Fontevraud, the nunnery where she is buried.”

Barbara Newman | London Review of Books

"Sullivan takes an unusual approach in this study of the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine: as well as the known factual history she focuses heavily on what various informal chroniclers and writers of romances have said about her over the centuries – “it is said [ut dicitur]” – i.e. how Eleanor was perceived as well as the straight facts."

Fortean Times

"A distinctive perspective on Eleanor, which tells us more about how she has been perceived than it does about her life."
 

English Historical Review

“A fascinating must-read for all enthusiasts of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Sullivan conducts a survey of Eleanor’s life via a detailed focus on the main historical controversies. The author does not ‘pick a side,’ but instead asks all of us to revisit our preconceptions of this most inspiring medieval queen. The book manages the neat trick of providing much food for thought while being a highly enjoyable read. I look forward to rereading it already!"

Sara Cockerill, author of 'Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France and England, Mother of Empires'

“This evocative book, both solidly documented and full of original ideas, renews studies on Eleanor of Aquitaine. Reading medieval and modern texts on the queen with finesse and respect, Sullivan takes us into the mentality of their authors, whose interests, sensibilities, and values are at once so close to and yet so far from ours. Piercing the silence that surrounds women of the twelfth century, this book opens the door to a culture of gender so often forgotten.”

Martin Aurell, University of Poitiers

“A remarkable portrait of Eleanor as the subject of a thousand conversations, this book gives us the queen who haunted the listeners of troubadour songs, shone in the biographies of famous knights, and burned from the acid pens of her enemies. As she weaves these disparate strands together, Sullivan blazes a new trail in the study of celebrated figures in the medieval past, challenging us to rethink assumptions about what is useful about the forces that shaped medieval narratives and how we might read them.”

Nicholas Paul, Fordham University

"Sullivan considers, in succession, these elements of Eleanor’s life: her position as heiress, her ability to consent to marriage, her behavior during the Second Crusade, her efforts as a literary patron, her activities as queen mother, her final years, and her presentation in modern literary works. . . . The research behind Sullivan’s endeavor is tremendous."

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