Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany (c. 1184 – 10 August 1241), also known as Damsel of Brittany, Pearl of Brittany, or Beauty of Brittany, was the eldest daughter of Duke Geoffrey II and Duchess Constance of Brittany. Her father was the fourth son of King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, and she was the niece of the English kings Richard I and John. As a potential threat to ascendency to the English throne, John imprisoned her in 1202 and she was held in captivity until her death. Like Empress Matilda and Elizabeth of York, Eleanor's claim to the English throne gained little support from the barons, under the expectation that the monarch should be male, despite legal provision for a female monarch. Some historians have commented that her imprisonment was "the most unjustifiable act of King John".
Eleanor was born around 1184 to Duke Geoffrey II and Duchess Constance of Brittany. Her father died when she was very young. After Geoffrey's death, his children were raised by his brother King Richard I of England and their mother, Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine. By the death of her father, Eleanor was the first in line of Breton succession, so King Philip II of France asked for her wardship. However, her grandfather King Henry II of England took her wardship in advance, and the birth of her brother Arthur in 1187 removed her status as the first heiress. Being King Richard's ward meant that she was under Angevin custody; thus even her mother, Constance, did not consider her a potential heir to the Duchy of Brittany, which weakened her later claim. Keeping her custody under Richard was probably the price for her mother to rule Brittany.
As Arthur was the heir presumptive to England and Brittany, Eleanor was one of the most marriageable princesses. In 1190, after Richard failed to marry his younger sister Joan of England to Al-Adil I, brother of Saladin, he proposed that Eleanor should be the bride instead; but the negotiation was also in vain, as Al-Adil showed no interest in Christianity. In 1193, Eleanor was engaged to Frederick, son of Leopold V, Duke of Austria, as part of the conditions to release Richard, whom Emperor Henry VI had taken prisoner. However, when she was on the way to Austria with Baldwin of Bethune the next year, Leopold died so the marriage never took place. Under order of Pope Celestine III she returned to England, accompanied by her grandmother Eleanor.
In summer 1195, a marriage between Eleanor and Louis, son of Philip II of France, was suggested as an alliance between Richard and Philip, but negotiations failed again. Henry VI opposed the marriage; and the failure was also a sign that Richard would replace Arthur as heir to England with John. This soon led to a sudden deterioration in relations between Richard and Philip. A marriage with Odo III, Duke of Burgundy, may have been suggested, for in 1198 Philip forbade Odo to marry any relatives of Richard without his permission.
Upon the death of King Richard in 1199, a power struggle commenced between the supporters of John and the 12-year-old Arthur. The date of her imprisonment by John is unknown, but Pipe Roll 2 dated c. 1199 – 1200 indicates John provided "necessaries" to Eleanor, and Arthur once complained that his sister was controlled by John. At the request of Constance, Eleanor was once released from royal custody and united with her mother and brother in France. Therefore, Eleanor was probably already under John's control when Arthur's forces were defeated and he was captured at the Battle of Mirebeau in August 1202, or she was perhaps captured along with Arthur. Arthur disappeared mysteriously while in captivity the following year.
In December 1203, John fled from Normandy, taking Eleanor with him as his captive. She was reportedly taken to the north of England and then to Bristol, guarded by four knights. In spring 1204, Philip II demanded that Eleanor be released in order to marry his younger son. Initially, John organized local barons to visit Eleanor in order to prove her well-being. In 1206, John briefly detained her at Brough Castle in Cumbria, entrusting her to Robert de Vieuxpont, who was its custodian, before moving her to Bowes Castle and then to Corfe Castle, along with 25 French knights loyal to her, guarded by Stephen de Turnham. After an attempt to escape, 22 of them were recaptured and were starved to death.
Eleanor lived in Corfe's Gloriet Tower, took her meals in the Long Hall and was allowed to walk abroad along the walls. She was allowed three maids and was provided fabric for clothes and bedding, and pocket money as much as 5 marks per quarter. She also received from John a saddle with gilded reins and scarlet ornaments, a gift which implies that she was not closely confined. John also sent her figs and almonds. A week's shopping list for Eleanor in captivity that has survived suggests the aristocratic diet at that time: Saturday: bread, ale, sole, almonds, butter, eggs. Sunday: mutton, pork, chicken and eggs. Monday: beef, pork, honey, vinegar. Tuesday. pork, eggs, egret. Wednesday: herring, conger, sole, eels, almonds and eggs. Thursday: pork, eggs, pepper, honey. Friday: conger, sole, eels, herring and almonds.
As the eldest daughter of Constance, Eleanor should have been recognized as duchess of Brittany after the death of Arthur. Instead, the Breton barons, fearing John's claims to rule Brittany in representation of Eleanor's rights or to marry her to a vassal loyal to England, made her younger half-sister Alix duchess instead. Eleanor was styled Duchess of Brittany and Countess of Richmond, as successor to her brother, but this was only a titular title as Alix became duchess of Brittany in 1203 and was also styled Countess of Richmond, even making charters about this estate. The Breton barons, ignorant of Eleanor's whereabouts, were ready to install her as duchess in case she were released. John permitted her to use the titles of Brittany and Richmond and even talked with Breton nobles about letting her go. In 1208 John had Eleanor write a letter to Breton barons and churchmen such as the bishops of Nantes, Vannes, and Cornouaille, describing her life in captivity, expressing her hope of being liberated and asking them to arrive in England to negotiate her release:"... uos rogamus attencius quatinus uos supranominati ad dominum auunculum meum Regem Angliae in Angliam ueniatis scituri pro certo quod aduentus uester Deo uolente nobis et uobis ad magnum cedet commodum et honorem, et per Dei gratiam ad liberacionem nostram." (I ask you most solicitously that you, the above-named, would travel to England, to my lord uncle, the King of England, knowing for certain that your coming, God willing, will confer great honor and benefit to ourselves and yourselves, and, by the grace of God, our liberation.)
This letter is the only surviving document written by Eleanor. This negotiation was however in vain, and many of her supporters were banished. Eleanor was forced to entrust Brittany and Richmond to John, who referred to her as his "dearest niece" in communicating with Bretons. John did not give her the lands which belonged to the counts of Richmond. Instead he gave these lands to Eleanor's former stepfather, the Earl of Chester.
In 1209, William I of Scotland sent his daughters Margaret and Isobel to John as hostages to keep peace between Scotland and England, and they were imprisoned at Corfe Castle along with Eleanor. In June 1213, John sent green robes, lambskin-trimmed cloaks, and summer slippers to the captive princesses. They were sometimes allowed to ride out under guard. Eleanor was given robes of dark green with capes of cambric and hats trimmed with miniver. John once approved a doctor to prescribe medicine for Eleanor when she was sick.
In 1213, John used Eleanor to blackmail her brother-in-law Peter I, Duke of Brittany, into an alliance with England, tempting him with the offer of Eleanor's earldom of Richmond, but Peter kept loyal to France even after John's capture of Peter's elder brother Robert. In 1213 John declared England a papal fief, and Pope Innocent III thus claimed to be guardian of Eleanor. In February 1214 John campaigned in Aquitaine and Poitou with Eleanor (as well as Queen Isabella and Prince Richard) against Alix, hoping to get Breton support and establish Eleanor as his puppet duchess; his ambition was dashed in his defeat at the Battle of Roche-au-Moine. In July John withdrew to England with Eleanor still in hand. In the same year, John again talked with Breton nobles about the rights and freedom of Eleanor, but, after this expedition, John became convinced that he could get nothing from her claim to the duchy; he recognized Alix as duchess of Brittany and never again supported Eleanor even in name. Up to then Philip II had taken the bulk of Angevin territories, and neither Bretons nor Philip II ever positively requested the release of Eleanor, as it seemed more stable for them to have her imprisoned in England rather than become a French duchess.