Aénor de Châtellerault

Aénor de Châtellerault
Aénor of Châtellerault
Abbey of Saint-Vincent de Nieul-sur-l'Autise, Poitou
Duchess consort of Aquitaine
Tenure10 February 1126 - March 1130
Bornc. 1103
Châtellerault, Aquitaine
DiedMarch 1130
Talmont
Burial
Abbaye Saint-Vincent de Nieul-sur-l'Autise [fr]
SpouseWilliam X, Duke of Aquitaine
Issue
HouseChâtellerault
FatherAimery I, Viscount of Châtellerault
MotherDangereuse de l'Isle Bouchard

Aénor of Châtellerault (also known as Aénor de Rochefoucauld; c. 1103 – March 1130) was Duchess of Aquitaine as the wife of Duke William X and the mother of the powerful Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Aénor was a daughter of Aimery I, Viscount of Châtellerault, and his wife, Dangereuse de L' Isle Bouchard (d. 1151). Most likely named after her paternal grandmother, Aénor was the first born daughter of the couple but the third born child. She had two older brothers, Hugh and Raoul, and two younger sisters, Amable and Aois.

Her mother was willingly abducted by her future father-in-law, William IX of Aquitaine and became his mistress until his death in 1127. From her mother's second relationship, Aénor would have three half-siblings: Henri, Adelaide, and Sybille.

In 1121, Aénor married William X of Aquitaine,[1] the son of her mother's lover. The marriage, arranged before her mother's elopement,[2] might at the time have been seen as a mésalliance, as Aénor came from a much lesser noble house, with her father being only a very minor vassal of the House of Poitiers, and her mother's scandalous reputation.

Not much is known about Aénor and William's relationship, but considering that they had three children fairly close together and that William in a charter referred to Aénor as his "dear wife",[3] it seems that they at least were on fairly good terms. Aénor is also attested to have prompted her husband to give out donations and grants to religious institutions.[3]

They had three children:

Death

Aénor died suddenly in 1130[4] while hunting with her husband in the marshes of Lower Poitiou,[2] possibly of a fever.[3] She was buried nearby in the Saint-Vincent monastery at Nieul-sur-l'Autise.

References

  1. ^ a b Painter 1955, p. 381.
  2. ^ a b Turner, Ralph V. (2009-06-16). Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France, Queen of England. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-15989-9.
  3. ^ a b c Cockerill, Sara (2019-11-15). Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France and England, Mother of Empires. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-4456-4618-3.
  4. ^ Turner, Ralph V. (2009-06-16). Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France, Queen of England. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-15989-9.

Sources


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