Eleanor of Brittany

Eleanor of Brittany was born in England to John II, Duke of Brittany, and Beatrice of England. At the age of seven, she entered Amesbury Priory in Wiltshire, which was part of the Fontevrault order. Her grandmother, Eleanor of Provence, lived at the priory during her retirement and had arranged for Eleanor and her cousin Mary of Woodstock to join her there. Eleanor took her vows as a nun in March 1291 and later moved to Fontevrault Abbey in France.

In 1304, Eleanor became the sixteenth abbess of Fontevrault and worked to strengthen her authority within the order. She faced challenges, such as the dispute over the Prioress of Nuneaton and the appointment of a French prioress to Amesbury, which she only rescinded after the King’s intervention. Eleanor’s cousin, Mary of Woodstock, was removed from her role as visitor of Amesbury Priory, and despite the King’s request, Eleanor refused to restore her until a papal mandate compelled her. Eleanor’s legacy includes the Fontevraud Gradual, which she bequeathed to the abbey upon her death in 1342.