“When I married Eleanor, I thought: ‘You lucky man. The richest woman in the world. She owns the Aquitaine, the greatest province on the Continent - and beautiful as well.’”
- Henry II, The Lion in Winter - James Goldman
“John. (Later will be King John): "Poor John. Who says poor John? Don't everybody sob at once! My God, if I went up in flames there's not a living soul who'd pee on me to put the fire out!"
Richard (The Lionheart): "Let's strike a flint and see.”
― James Goldman, The Lion in Winter
June 21-22, 2022
I was standing at an overlook some 500 feet above the Dordogne Valley. Below me was a bend in the great river that still is navigable to the sea and surrounded by rich, fertile farm land
In the distance were at least 3 different castles and behind me was the mighty Baynec Castle still in great shape and fully restored after all these years.
Then it hit me, “My God i am looking at the Aquitaine!”……..Man, I bet Doug would love to see this….
You see, Doug and I share a love of a classic James Goldman play, The Lion in Winter.
For those who do not know the story of The Lion in Winter or have never seen the classic Peter O’Toole and Katherine Heparin film, here is a synopsis.
The story is a work of fiction, but the historical figures are not.
Eleanor of Aquitaine was the wealthiest woman in France and the single most eligible woman of her age. She was reportedly beautiful, although no accurate descriptions of her or contemporary pictures were ever found. We just don’t know what she looked like.
We do know why she was rich. She held this land - The Aquitaine!
Baynec, an enormous, imposing castle was held by her first born son Richard - The Lionheart and he lived here 10 years. It is perched on a cliff 500 feet over the valley floor.
Now, to walk these walls and see this incredible restoration was a joy for the theatre/history geek I am.
This imposing hulk of a castle was an example of feudal rule at its height. The entire design is defensive in nature with tall battlements, narrow archer windows, and plenty of murder holes.
Due to its defensive nature, the interior is dark lit only by oil lamps. Later, a residential tower was added that had bigger windows for more light, but still high and far away enough to prevent capture.
Each room was a fascinating glimpse of medieval life and I enjoyed every minute of it
Much of this castle, as well as all of the Dordogne valley is tied up in the 100 Years War. As mentioned earlier this ancient contest occupied much of England and France’s history from 1350 to 1450. It is a huge tale.
Here are the essential facts. France had a weak king who died without an heir. The English king felt he had a legitimate claim to the throne of France. The English invaded and off and on again for a century the two sides battled each other for dynastic control. Eventually, France won and England was ousted back to the borders we see today.
Here is our tour through the Dordogne Valley.
La Rouge-Gageac was the village we stayed in. The first thing you notice as you enter this area is a change in the buildings. Villages are still mostly stone but gone is the grey granite with brown wood of Normandy. Here the principle stone is honey colored limestone. When the sun hits it, the entire village will glow.
La Rouge-Gageac is now almost entirely a tourist town. But, in its day it was up against the cliff and had defensive positions built into the cliff above to protect the citizens against raiders - mostly Vikings.
As you walk up on the cliff above the street, the pale color of the cliff generates lot of warmth. This heat allows tropical plants to grow. It felt like you were walking in the Bahamas.
The Dordogne River runs lazily by the town and many will take a canoe and paddle downstream to Baynek. It is still filled with trout and Pike.
Domme is a hilltop medieval village with a defensive wall a short distance from out hotel. Its chief delights are spectacular views and charming old buildings to wander through.
Sarlat-La-Canada is the largest town in the area. Today was market day and the old medieval square was filled with vendors. If you like foie gras, and I do, this place had dozens of vendors. There are goose and duck farms all over the Dordogne.
This 12th century church has an Italian style villa next to it for the Bishop. How did he get such a nice parsonage? He was having an affair with the Queen of France. he later left with much of the towns money and we are still talking about the scandal hundreds of years later.
Tomorrow, we are going much further into the past.
About 17,000 years BC.
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