Eleanor of Aquitaine (Aliénor, Éléonore, Alienora; 1122 – 1 April 1204) was a member of the Ramnulfid dynasty of rulers in southwestern France, and one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. She inherited the Duchy of Aquitaine from her father, William X, in 1137, and by successive marriages became queen of France (1137–1152) and then England (1154–1189). She was the patron of literary figures such as Wace, Benoît de Sainte-Maure, and Bernart..