Few medieval women wielded as much power or shaped European politics so profoundly as Eleanor of Aquitaine. Born to the Duke of Aquitaine—one of the wealthiest and most cultured courts in Europe—Eleanor inherited vast lands in southwestern France. Her marriage to Louis VII made her Queen of France, but the union was troubled, partly because of Eleanor’s strong will and Louis’ piety.
Eleanor joined Louis on the Second Crusade, leading her own contingent of soldiers, an extraordinary feat for a woman of the 12th century. Though the crusade failed, Eleanor’s presence on the campaign highlighted her political and military engagement.
Her marriage to Louis was annulled in 1152, and within weeks she married Henry, Duke of Normandy—soon to become King Henry II of England. As Queen of England, Eleanor oversaw a vast Angevin empire stretching from Scotland to the Pyrenees.
Eleanor was a patron of troubadours and poets, helping to foster the courtly love tradition. Later, after falling out with Henry, she supported her sons in rebellions against their father. Imprisoned for years, she regained prominence after Henry’s death, acting as regent and adviser to her son, Richard the Lionheart, and later guiding the troubled reign of John.
Eleanor’s life was astonishing not only for her political acumen but also for her resilience and vision. She defied the passive role expected of queens, becoming a formidable player in medieval power struggles. Her legacy as a stateswoman and cultural patron remains unrivaled.
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)
The mother of modern feminism
In the late 18th century, when women were largely denied formal education and political voice, Mary Wollstonecraft argued passionately that women were not naturally inferior to men but appeared so only because they lacked education. Her groundbreaking work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), laid the foundations of feminist philosophy.
Born in London into a troubled family, Wollstonecraft educated herself through voracious reading. She worked as a governess and a writer, supporting herself through journalism and translations. Her personal life was unconventional: she had a passionate relationship with the American adventurer Gilbert Imlay and later married the radical philosopher William Godwin, becoming the mother of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein.
In Vindication, Wollstonecraft argued that women should be treated as rational beings, capable of reason and deserving of the same educational opportunities as men. She linked the oppression of women to the broader fight against tyranny, making her work resonate with the revolutionary spirit of her age.
Although Wollstonecraft died tragically young after giving birth to Mary Shelley, her ideas lived on, influencing generations of activists from John Stuart Mill to the suffragettes. Today, she is celebrated as one of the founders of feminist thought. shutdown123