To prevent problems with succession, Louis I, divided his lands between his three sons. Lothair, the eldest, became joint ruler of the empire, while Pepin, the second son, became ruler of Aquitaine, and Louis, the youngest, became ruler of Germany. Unfortunately, the plan to get the brothers to work together failed and it led to revolt and conflict.

The abbey of Cluny was founded by William I, Duke of Aquitaine (d.918). The abbey became the founding member of a new Order of Monks known as the Cluniacs. All of Cluny's daughter houses sent money back to the abbey and it became very rich. ¹

After marrying Eleanor Henry came under attack by Louis, Eleanor's previous husband, who did not recognise Henry as the new Duke of Aquitaine. Stephen sent troops and his son Eustace to help Louis against Henry. Henry's younger brother, Geoffrey, was also not happy with the situation and joined the quarrels. Henry moved quickly attacking Louis and capturing Geoffrey to secure his position as Duke.

King Henry II claimed the area around Toulouse in the name of his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, At Poitiers he gathered his army and on June 24th the army began its march. He invaded the region and advanced on the city of Toulouse. Louis VII of France was unhappy with Henry's increasing power and took an army to Toulouse to prevent the English king entering the city. As Henry was the vassal of King Louis he backed down from attacking the city while Louis was inside. ¹

King Henry II and Eleanor's marriage is effectively ended when she moves back to Aquitaine leaving Henry to rebuild England after the civil war in King Stephen's reign. ¹

In a ceremony held at the church of St. Hilary in Poitiers, Richard was granted the title of Duke of Aquitaine. ¹

Within two weeks Richard broke the defences of the fortress town of Taillebourg. King Henry II employed his son Richard to bring the rebellious barons of the Aquitaine area under control. ¹

Failing to attend the court of Philippe II, John was declared to be a rebel and to have forfeited the areas of Aquitaine, Poitou and Anjou. Philippe tried to mediate in the problems between John and the Lusignans but was ignored by John. The lands were given to Arthur of Brittany. Philippe kept Normandy for himself. ¹

Philippe II, King of France won control of Rouen, the capital of Normandy and Normandy itself. John still had control of Aquitaine. ¹

Philippe II of France held a meeting in Normandy to discuss invading England. This forced King John to abandon his own plans of invading Normandy as he could not risk moving his army abroad when the French were about to attack. The planned French invasion never materialised. ¹

After Philippe failed to invade England the year earlier, John took to opportunity to land an army at La Rochelle to defend his interests in Aquitaine which was his from his inheritance from Eleanor of Aquitaine, John's mother. John moved his army north and took back some of the lands he had lost to Philippe. ¹

While King Henry was occupied with problems caused by the barons, Louis VIII took the opportunity to take an army into Poitou and besiege La Rochelle. Unable or unwilling to send assistance from England, Henry allowed the town to be captured and by the end of the year the northern part of Aquitaine fell to the French.

The Treaty of Paris also known as the treaty of Albeville/Abbeville was a treaty between Louis IX of France and King Henry III of England in which Henry agreed to the loss of Normandy, Maine, Anjou and Poitou. These areas had been lost under the reign of King John. Henry was able to keep the lands of Gascony and parts of Aquitaine. This won Henry the support of Louis IX of France against the rebellious Barons back in England.

In England, King Edward II was persuaded not to go to France by the Despensers. The Despensers were worried that because their position of power in England was precarious, if Edward left the country they could easily lose that power. Instead, it was decided that the King's son Prince Edward, only thirteen years old should go to France and pay homage instead. Before the prince left for France, the King bestowed the title of Count of Ponthieu on his son and the French King gave consent for him to to have Aquitaine as well. On the 12th of September Prince Edward left England and sailed to France. ¹

Prince Edward met Charles IV and paid him homage. The French king gave the Prince the title of Duke of Aquitaine and informed the English King that the French were going to retain the Agenais, an area of southwest France. Prince Edward had effectively been captured and his mother, Isabella the English Queen, had begun the plans of removing her husband from the throne of England. ¹

King Edward III agreed to do homage to Philippe of Valois for the lands he held in Aquitaine. Edward did not place his hands between Philippe's, a sign of total loyalty which would have been hard to reverse, as Edward was unhappy about Philippe's claim to the French throne. Edward was hoping diplomatic endeavours would help his position and wanted Philippe's daughter Joan to marry his first son Edward the Black Prince.  ¹

After Bordeaux fell to the French it was only a matter of time before Bayonne fell as well. This marked the end of English control in Aquitaine after some three hundred years. It was in 1152 that Eleanor of Aquitaine had married King Henry II of England.