Research data
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26th Paternal-G.G.Mother
Aénor of Châtellerault, Duchess of Aquitaine was the mother of Eleanor of Aquitaine, arguably the most powerful
woman in Europe of her generation.
also known as Eleanor & Aénor de Rochefoucauld
born BET 1103 & 1108
Châtellerault, Vienne, France
died BET Mar 1130 & 1137
Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, Vendée, Pays de la Loire, France
buried at the Nieuil-sur-l'Autise Monastery
Nieul-sur-l'Autise, Vendée, Pays de la Loire, France
Aénor was a daughter of Viscount Aimery I of Châttellerault and his wife, Dangereuse de L'Isle Bouchard (d. 1151)
In contrast to her colorful mother, Aenor appears to have been a rather timid person who lacked the smallest semblance
of forcefulness. Presumably her mousy character had been influenced by the unorthodox events of her early life: abandonment
as a child when her mother suddenly disappeared one day, as well as the resulting stigma of being the daughter of a
notorious adulteress.
Perhaps her mother believed that she was making up for Aenor's early deprivation by arranging a brilliant marriage
with the son of her lover, for undeniably the position into which she finagled Aenor was highly desirable; but, on
the other hand, there is no evidence that it brought the girl happiness.
At the time of the marriage she was 14 (possibly younger) and Aenor was moved into the Poitevin court under her mother's
watchful eye, and set about the difficult task of trying to please a husband who must have regarded her with something
less than enthusiasm.
[Eleanor of Aquitaine, p. 17]
She married William X of Aquitaine, the son of her mother's lover, and had three children with him:
Eleanor of Aquitaine (b: 1122), Princess & Duchess of Aquitaine
wife of both Louis VII of France and Henry II of England
Aelith Petronilla of Aquitaine (b. Abt 1124)
wife of Raoul I, Count of Vermandois
William Aigret (b. Abt 1126, d abt 1130 at the age of four)
Geography
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The Clain River joins the Vienne River near Châtellerault, in Cenon-sur-Vienne.
The county Châtelherault later became a title belonging to the Dukes of Hamilton
History
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Châtellerault was an important stronghold on the northern marsh of Poitou, established by the Count of Poitiers to
secure his borders in the early 10th century. The count's local representative, the Vicomte de Châtellerault was
established as a hereditary appointment by the time of Airaud who was probably a kinsman of the counts of Auvergne
and dukes of Aquitaine; his heirs were vicomtes (viscounts) until the mid-11th century.
The daughter of Aymeric I, Ænor of Châtellerault (ca 1103 - ca 1130), whose mother had been the "mistress" in the new courtly
love poetry of the troubadour lordWilliam, sixth Count of Poitiers and ninth Duke of Aquitaine, who lodged in his tower
the "dangereuse de Châtellerault," married his son, William X of Aquitaine, and was mother of Eleanor of Aquitaine.
The title, Vicomte de Châtellerault, passed in turn to each of three great French noble families: La Rochefoucauld, Lusignan
and, from the thirteenth century until the French Revolution, to the family of Harcourt.
However, in return for services offered to the Crowns of Scotland and France, the title of Duc de Châtellerault (1548) was
presented to James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran, Chief of the Name, and regent of Scotland during Mary, Queen of Scots, and
France's infancy. This title, though now without any benefices, is still in contention between the heir male and the heir
general of Arran, respectively the Duke of Abercorn and the Duke of Hamilton. (see Chatelherault Country Park, Lanarkshire.)
Economy
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From 1816 to 1968, Châtellerault was a center of sword and arms manufacture for the French government.
The Manufacture d'armes de Châtellerault was one of France's 4 main infantry weapon manufactures operated by the French state.
It was created in 1819 and closed as a weapon manufacturing facility in 1968; in 1886 the creation and later the mass
production of the Lebel rifle, which was the main French infantry weapon used during the First World War (1914–18).
The facility has now been transformed into the central repository (Centre des Archives de l'Armement et du Personnel)
of all the French military archives related to armament matters.
It is open, for the older declassified material, to bona-fide researchers upon written request
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Sources From Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aenor_de_Ch%C3%A2tellerault
Genealogy of Aenor de Châtellerault
Ancestral Family of Aenor de Châtellerault
Ten Most Powerful Women in the World
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Categories: 1100s births | 1130 deaths | People from Poiou-Charentes | Women of medieval France | French nobility stubs