POITIERS

Cathedral of Saint Peter, Poitiers.

Poitiers was an unexpected gem. We drove here in Timmy and Helen’s rental car. I was a little surprised that they wanted to see Poitiers. I have wanted to see this city for years, especially since it is associated with Charles Martel’s defeat of the Saracens in 732.
This city is also very much associated with Eleanor of Aquitane (Alianor d’Aquitane). She married Louis VII, merging Aquitane with the French state. But when Louis could not make her pregnant she petitioned the pope for a dissolution and married the Plantagenet Henri, Duc of Anjou. What a lucky break. He became king of England as Henry II. She gave him two sons both of whom became kings of England, Richard the Lion-Hearted and King John.


Notre Dame de la Grande.