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Secondary sourceSculpturec. 1200

Tomb Effigy of Henry II at Fontevraud

c. 1200

A painted stone effigy of King Henry II, lying beside Eleanor of Aquitaine's own tomb effigy in the abbey church of Fontevraud.

Henry II's effigy lies beside Eleanor's at Fontevraud, the mausoleum she helped shape for her family.

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Two painted stone effigies lying side by side on a tomb in a church. The figure on the left wears a veil and holds an open book. The figure on the right wears a crown and rests its head on a stone cushion. Both have traces of red and blue paint.
Tomb effigy of Henry II, c. 1200. Fontevraud Abbey.

About this source

What it is

This is a painted stone tomb effigy (gisant) of King Henry II of England, made around 1200 and kept at Fontevraud Abbey. It lies next to the effigy of Eleanor of Aquitaine as part of the Plantagenet family burial place.

Why it matters

Henry II was Eleanor's husband, and the two effigies placed side by side show how the family wanted to be remembered together after a marriage that included long periods of conflict, including her imprisonment. Fontevraud became a mausoleum for the Plantagenet dynasty, and the choice to bury Henry and Eleanor together says something about how their successors wanted their story told.

Look closer

  • What does it mean that the effigies are placed side by side, despite their troubled marriage?
  • What do the objects each figure holds or wears tell you about how they wanted to be remembered?
  • Why might later generations have wanted to show them as a unified royal pair?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Eleanor of Aquitaine on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Primary source

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