Page:The Queens of England.djvu/58

4.6 THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND. Louis VI., and the undivided sway of France was thus at once consigned to their hands. The young Louis was eighteen ; handsome, and of a noble figure ; amiable and gentle in manners, but at the same time of a grave and severe turn of mind. Eleanor was extremely beau- tiful. Born and educated in a country proverbial for its poetry and romance, she inherited its genius, and distinguished her- self as one of its best troubadour poets ; nature indeed seemed to have lavished her favors upon her. Matthew of Paris says she was indicated in the prophecies of the famous Merlin, under the name of an Eagle ; firstly, because having been queen of France and England, she bad extended her wings over two kingdoms ; secondly, because she ravished by her extreme beauty, the hearts of all who beheld her. Charmed with his beautiful bride, Louis seemed to have reached the summit of human wishes, while Eleanor, secure in the return of his affection, loved her husband with sincerity. Thus, for a brief period, their happiness seemed complete. Austere, however, as was the rule of the young king's life, Eleanor had the power of influencing him for evil, as is proved by the following instance, the only act of wilful injustice with which history charges him. The Count of Vermandois, having fallen in love with the fas- cinating Petronilla, the queen's sister, repudiated his wife, the sister of the Count of Champagne, in order that he might marry her. The Count of Champagne appealed to the pope, who commanded that Petronilla should be put away, and the sister of Champagne taken back by her husband. But Eleanor, who had connived at the marriage of Petronilla, would not consent to this, and instigated the king to punish the Count of Cham- pagne for having interfered in the matter. Louis accordingly invaded Champagne with a large army, and carried on a most destructive war. The town of Vitry was stormed, the cathe- dral set fire to, and no less than thirteen hundred persons, who had taken refuge within its walls, were burned to death. At this time Bernard, the Abbe of Chevaux, preached a cru- sade at Vezelai, in Burgundy, with such fervor and eloquence that he won all who heard him. Among the thousands who thronged to listen to him were the king and queen, attended by their court. In the course of his address, Bernard spoke so powerfully of the sufferings of the people of Vitry, that the king, penetrated with remorse, vowed to atone for his crimes