Notes
NOTE 1: With Guillaume I (III) the numbering confusion begins; he was the first Duke William of Aquitaine of his family, but there had been two Duke Williams of the house of Autun; thus the ordinal confusion.
NOTE 2: Eleonore was the heiress of Aquitaine. Her land holdings would greatly enhance the power of King Henry II of England. In 1173, things began to sour for her as she became outraged and disappointed with her tyranical spouse. She would begin to bring her sons up against their father, motivating them to claim their inheritances early. Her efforts toward that end were in very subtle ways and intrigue supported by Louis VII, King de France, her first husband.
Messengers of the Duke of Aquitaine reached King Louis VI in Bethisy with news of their Duke's death on the way to Saint-Jean-de-Compostelle. With his dying breath, the Duke asked the King to look after his daughter, the 15-year old Alienor. King Louis VI immediately arranged for Alienor's marriage to his 17-year old son, Louis VII. A Council of the Archbishops and Bishops of France met in Beaugency on the shores of the Loire, presided by Hughes, Archbishop of Sens. The spouses are in accord and their parents testify that their are cousins, whose consanguinity is prohibited by Canon Law, and that the proper dispensations had not been obtained before the celebration of 1137. The Council dissolves the marriage. Upon the anullment of her marriage to King Louis VII in 1152, Eleonore married Henry, Cound d'Anjou, Duke of Normandy who became King Henry II of England. Thus, the addition of Aquitaine made Henry much more powerful than Louis, and allowed him to be frequently hostile to Louis.
When she married Henry, her dowry brought him the Guyenne and Poitou. By fighting Philippe Auguste, King of France, she successfully defended the rights of her son, Richard the Lion Hearted
NOTE 3: Raoul repudiated his wife, Eleonore, in order to marry Petronille. With the complaints of several bishops, the Pope excommunicates both Petronille and Raoul I on the pretext of consanguinity, and a Council in Lagny would condemn the prelates who assisted Raoul. King Louis VII de France takes strong exception to this action, and has his brother Robert de Dreux invade Champagne. The Pope promisses to lift the excommunication, but in 1143, Innocent II, would recant his promise and Louis VII would burn the town of Vitry which would then be renamed to Vitry-le-Brule. When Innocent II died on 23 September 1143, His successor Celestin II would lift the interdict and validate the marriage of Raoul I and Petronille
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Last updated 2nd April 2002