On a quick gallop round Europe's courts over eight centuries, she does indeed turn up a galaxy of formidable female rulers, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Russia's Catherine the Great (though Britain's Queen Victoria gets no mention).

ECONOMIST: Women in chess

Wine has been made in Bordeaux since the time of the Romans, although it was an exclusively domestic product for the first 1, 000-plus years, until Henry II of England married Eleanor of Aquitaine and exports of Bordeaux to England began.

WSJ: Getting to the Bottom of Bordeaux Wines | On Wine by Lettie Teague

You don't have to believe that legend, but Henry Plantagenet, later Henry II of England, husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine and the father of Lionhearted, did, and he came here to pray to the Black Madonna that still looks down on those who come to the little chapel by the tomb where the hermit's body was found.

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