But there were enough ill omens for her second marriage too. The Poitevin line was thought to be unlucky, and there was the hermit’s curse on all the descendants of William IX. Moreover, the Angevins themselves were hardly an auspicious stock. Henry’s forebear, count Fulk Nerra (the Black), had been an unusually bloodstained warlord even by the standards of the eleventh century, and especially infamous as a plunderer of monasteries.
He had bequeathed some uncomfortable legends. The worst of these was that he had married an evil spirit, Melusine, who was the daughter of Satan himself; she was said to have flown back to hell after bearing the count’s children. Henry’s family therefore had the distinction of being directly descended from the devil.
Source:
Seward, Desmond. “Queen of England.” Eleanor of Aquitaine. New York: Times , 1979. 90. Print.
Further Reading:
Henry II of England / Henry Court-manteau (Henry Curtmantle) / Henry FitzEmpress / Henry Plantagenet
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