The Age of Chivalry

~1079 – 1204

Eleanor of Aquitaine, Héloïse, Abelard — the 12th-century world of courtly love and scholastic daring.

In 12th-century France, a philosopher named Peter Abelard wrote love letters to his most brilliant student, Héloïse, secretly married her, and was castrated by her uncle's hired men for the transgression. Their correspondence — written from monasteries decades later — is among the most extraordinary love letters in any language. Courtly love was the era's aesthetic. The reality was considerably more violent.

Meanwhile, Eleanor of Aquitaine divorced the King of France, married the King of England, went on crusade, raised sons who became kings, and spent ten years imprisoned in a tower by her husband. She outlived most of them. This is the world of troubadours and tournaments, crusades and cathedrals — romantic in aspiration, brutal in execution.

5 figures · sorted by birth year

Peter Abelard

renown

#42 · 2-14-26

ENTP · b. 1079

The philosopher who had a secret affair with his student — and paid dearly for it

Héloïse d'Argenteuil

renown

#41 · 2-14-26

INFP · b. 1100

Abelard's brilliant student and secret wife, who refused to repent her love even before God — the fiercely authentic INFP.

Louis VII of France

notable

#39 · 2-13-26

ISFJ · b. 1120

Eleanor of Aquitaine's first husband — who divorced her

Eleanor of Aquitaine

iconic

#38 · 2-13-26

ENTJ · b. 1122

Duchess, Double Queen, and Architect of Dynastic Power.

Henry II of England

renown

#40 · 2-13-26

ENTJ · b. 1133

The Builder King and Architect of the Angevin Empire.

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