Visiting the Tomb of Eleanor of Aquitaine at Fontevraud (France) with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget and Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Visiting the Tomb of Eleanor of Aquitaine at Fontevraud (France) with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget and Savvy Mom Ruth Paget


Fontevraud Abbey in Anjou, France is the major sepulcher of the Plantagenet kings of England and their families, who also ruled vast portions of modern-day France.  The Abbey also functions as a major transition between the childhood story of Robin Hood and the historical figures who were part of that English folktale.

My daughter Florence had studied the story of Robin Hood in sixth grade at her Waldorf School.  Robin Hood is an outlaw who steals from the rich to give to the poor in the English tale.  It is a medieval story, which features Robin Hood as an excellent archer and swordsman.  

To make sure the Robin Hood story and other medieval tales stayed with the children, my daughter’s Waldorf school had the children practice archery and run for an hour before school to prepare them for the Medieval Games that the Waldorf School in Marin County outside San Francisco would be holding.  They made crests to represent their family heritage and sewed them on tunics to participate in this affair, too.  All of these activities gave Florence a good background in the life of the Middle Ages.

When my husband Laurent, Florence, and I went on a trip to France, I told Florence that some of the main characters from Robin Hood were buried in Fontevraud Abbey.

“Cool,” she responded.  That settled it on going there to visit.

Fontevraud Abbey was founded in 1101.  It was considered to be an aristocratic abbey, which was important for receiving donations and ensuring defense.  Fontevraud was run by an abbess even though it was a mixed community of men and women. 

There were 36 abbesses at Fontevraud before it was dismantled after the French Revolution.  Five of the abbesses were from the Bourbon family.  Louis XV (1710 – 1774) sent four of his daughters to Fontevraud Abbey for their education.

Fifteen Plantagenets are buried at Fontevraud Abbey but the ones that I was going to weave a story around were Isabella d’Angoulême (1188 – 1246, Queen of England and widow of John, King of England), Richard the Lionheart (1157 – 1199, Richard I, King of England), Henri II (1133 – 1189, King of England and Count of Anjou), and Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122 – 1204, Queen of France by Louis VII and Queen of England by Henri II).  These four have their tombs and effigies arranged together in the Fontevraud Abbey Church.

I stood with Florence by Isabella d’Angoulême’s tomb and said, “Isabella d’Angoulême was the second wife of King John of England.  Remember, he was the bad king when Robin Hood was alive.  King John was so bad that he is buried in England and his wife is in France.  Robin Hood took money from all the rich people that King John gave money to and gave it to the poor.”

“Is the Sheriff of Nottingham here?” Florence asked.

“No, just the royals get to be buried in Fontevraud,” I answered.

“Over here is the tomb of Richard the Lionheart, who was away fighting the Crusades in the Robin Hood story and in real life.  Crusades cost a lot of money.  That’s one of the reasons King John was taking money from people.  King Richard is the good guy in Robin Hood, though.  Everyone wants him to come home,” I said trying to remember the tale I was telling.

Fortunately, I had great polychrome effigy props to work with, so we walked around to the next tomb, which was Henry II’s.

“Henry II, the King of England, was the father of King John and King Richard.  He had a hard time with all his sons, because only the oldest son inherits land in England.  They even called John, Jean sans Terre, meaning “John without Land,” because he was a young son,” I said.

“But, he became king,” Florence said.

“That’s right.  If a king does not have a child in England, his next eldest brother inherits the throne.” I said.

Finally, we arrived at the tomb of Eleanor of Aquitaine.  “She’s holding a book, because she loved to read and gave money to authors and artists.  She could read and speak several languages as royal family members can do,” I said.  I was trying to promote Florence’s study of Spanish and Japanese at school.

“Eleanor caused a lot of trouble for her husbands.  The French put the Salic Law into usage when she died so women could not inherit land,” I said.  “The French did not want England to run their country.”

After that we visited the Romanesque kitchens before going to the gift shop.  I bought Florence a book that I knew Eleanor of Aquitaine would approve of called Contes et legends au Moyen Âge français by Marcelle et Georges Huisman.  The book is not translated in English, but its title means “Fairy Tales and Legends of the French Middle Ages.”  It was a middle school student’s books with games and puzzles related to the stories that included:

-The love stories of Aucassin and Nicolette and Floire and Blanche Fleur

-Chansons de Geste told by troubadours in southern France such as Bertha of the Big Feet, Gerard from Vienne, The Story of Roland, and The Legend of William of Orange

-The Story of Saint Ursula from The Golden Legend

-Fables such as La Folle Largesse or Crazy Generosity

-Fox stories – the French still believe it is good to emulate a wily fox

I knew Florence would learn French when she had the incentive to do so using the language learning strategies she used in Spanish and Japanese class at school.  I liked showing Florence how England and France had a common history at Fontevraud Abbey and think it is a great place to talk about Robin Hood.

By Ruth Paget - Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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