---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Giraldus claimed that he had heard about…"
description: "\"“Giraldus claimed that he had heard about Eleanor's adultery with Geoffrey from the saintly Bishop Hugh of Lincoln, who had learned of it from Henry II..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/alison-weir-13208_adultery_giraldus-claimed-that-he-had-heard-about_2876650.png"
---

#  Giraldus claimed that he had heard about Eleanor's…

![“Giraldus claimed that he had heard about Eleanor's adultery with Geoffrey from the saintly Bishop Hugh of Lincoln, who had learned of it from Henry II of England, Geoffrey's son and Eleanor's second husband. Eleanor was estranged from Henry at the time Giraldus was writing, and the king was trying…” quote by Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/alison-weir-13208_adultery_giraldus-claimed-that-he-had-heard-about_2876650.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/alison-weir-13208_adultery_giraldus-claimed-that-he-had-heard-about_2876650.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/alison-weir-13208_adultery_giraldus-claimed-that-he-had-heard-about_2876650.png)

> ““Giraldus claimed that he had heard about Eleanor's adultery with Geoffrey from the saintly Bishop Hugh of Lincoln, who had learned of it from Henry II of England, Geoffrey's son and Eleanor's second husband. Eleanor was estranged from Henry at the time Giraldus was writing, and the king was trying to secure an annulment of their marriage from the Pope. It would have been to his advantage to declare her an adulterous wife who had had carnal relations with his father, for that in itself would have rendered their marriage incestuous and would have provided prima facie grounds for its dissolution.””

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The passage explains political motives behind accusations of adultery to facilitate annulment.

**In simple terms:** Political intrigue used personal scandal to end marriage.

Key Takeaway

Recognize how power can manipulate personal narratives.

Themes

politics marriage scandal power law

Mood

analytical critical

Type

historical political

When to use this quote

- court intrigue
- legal proceedings
- historical analysis

Key Concepts

medieval history political strategy

Questions to Reflect On

- What motivations drive political accusations?
- How do personal relationships affect political decisions?

A Different Perspective

Historical records may be biased or incomplete.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Adultery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adultery/) [Adultery Geoffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adultery-geoffrey-3963432/) [Annulment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annulment-9080/) [Divorce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorce/) [Eleanor Adultery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eleanor-adultery-3963431/) [Eleanor Estranged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eleanor-estranged-3963435/) [Eleanor-of-aquitaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eleanor-of-aquitaine-53902/) [Giraldus Claimed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giraldus-claimed-3963433/) [Giraldus Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giraldus-writing-3963434/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Infidelity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infidelity/) [Royalty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/royalty/)

## Related quotes

> [I tried to become a family man. I got married, but it didn't work out. After 22 months we got an annulment. Then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-chianese/i-tried-to-become-a-family-man-i-got-married-but-it-didn-t-work-out/)

[Dominic Chianese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-chianese/)

> [Here, everything is tragic through and through, and the will, that fain would shape a world according to its wish, at last can reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/here-everything-is-tragic-through-and-through-and-the-will-that-fain/)

[Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/)

> [“You know, you really don't have to kill anyone over this. I'll get an annulment. It will be like never happened" His eyes came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/you-know-you-really-don-t-have-to-kill-anyone-over-this-i-ll-get-an/)

[Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/)

> [Whereas a man is entitled to marry three more times and that fosters great abuse, even scholars accept that. So certainly since the 1980s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/whereas-a-man-is-entitled-to-marry-three-more-times-and-that-fosters/)

[Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/)

> [“In 1770, a British law was proposed to Parliament granting grounds for annulment if a bride used cosmetics prior to her wedding day. —Marjorie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-klassen/in-1770-a-british-law-was-proposed-to-parliament-granting-grounds-for/)

[Julie Klassen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-klassen/)

> [Contrary to popular belief, Henry VIII did not divorce any of his wives. He had sought an annulment from Catherine of Aragon - which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/contrary-to-popular-belief-henry-viii-did-not-divorce-any-of-his/)

[Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/)

> [“They throw rice at a new marriage, then give him beans in a divorcement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/they-throw-rice-at-a-new-marriage-then-give-him-beans-in-a-divorcement/)

[Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/)

> [“Unfortunately for Henry, Pope Clement VII was at the time imprisoned and under the direct control of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/unfortunately-for-henry-pope-clement-vii-was-at-the-time-imprisoned/)

[Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/)

## More by Alison Weir

> [“the weight of evidence ‘cannot convince those who do not wish to believe”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/the-weight-of-evidence-cannot-convince-those-who-do-not-wish-to/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

> [“The King ruled in consultation with his chief nobles, who fromed the nucleus of what was in effect a military aristocracy, whose power was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/the-king-ruled-in-consultation-with-his-chief-nobles-who-fromed-the/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

> [It gives me a huge buzz when people say they've enjoyed my books, because this grew out of a hobby, and it's an absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/it-gives-me-a-huge-buzz-when-people-say-they-ve-enjoyed-my-books/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

> [“The formal education of women was rarely considered important. Girls of good birth were taught domestic skills at home or in a convent, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/the-formal-education-of-women-was-rarely-considered-important-girls/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

> [“I waste so much time sleeping. And time is of all losses the most irrecuperable, for it can never be redeemed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/i-waste-so-much-time-sleeping-and-time-is-of-all-losses-the-most/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

> [I cannot go with you all the way on your journey, but I would go as far as I might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/i-cannot-go-with-you-all-the-way-on-your-journey-but-i-would-go-as/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

> [“This obsession with death and suffering revealed itself in literature, poetry, art, and particularly in sculpture, with the appearance of cadaver tombs with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/this-obsession-with-death-and-suffering-revealed-itself-in-literature/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

> [“There are too many Dudleys already in this world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/there-are-too-many-dudleys-already-in-this-world/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

> [“But I wish you to know that, were I just Edward and you just Jane, I would prefer to marry you. We accord well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/but-i-wish-you-to-know-that-were-i-just-edward-and-you-just-jane-i/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

> [If only they would all just leave me alone with my books and my letters, I would be content to let life, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/if-only-they-would-all-just-leave-me-alone-with-my-books-and-my/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

> ['Britain's Royal Families' became my first published book, in 1989, from The Bodley Head, and the rest of the story is - dare I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/britain-s-royal-families-became-my-first-published-book-in-1989-from/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

> [“My lady, for your virtue and goodness, God would receive you in rags.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/my-lady-for-your-virtue-and-goodness-god-would-receive-you-in-rags/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

> [“face that journey again in the winter.” Arthur did not answer, and when she turned to look at him, she saw that”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/face-that-journey-again-in-the-winter-arthur-did-not-answer-and-when/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

> [“Although, by todays standards, he set a vast amount of work, he believed as he told Mrs Ashley, that 'If you pour much drink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/although-by-todays-standards-he-set-a-vast-amount-of-work-he-believed/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

> [“A husband or wife did not have the right either to demand sex from his or her spouse or to refuse it, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/a-husband-or-wife-did-not-have-the-right-either-to-demand-sex-from/)

[Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

[Explore all 51 Alison Weir quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/)

## More Adultery quotes

> [A hundred years ago Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter was given an A for adultery; today she would rate no better than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/a-hundred-years-ago-hester-prynne-of-the-scarlet-letter-was-given-an/)

[Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/)

> [“Reality has a way of bursting the bubble of illusion, and an affair is one of the biggest illusions that anyone can experience in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/reality-has-a-way-of-bursting-the-bubble-of-illusion-and-an-affair-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Once a cheater always remain's a cheater, if you love your partner, why cheat? That dosent makes any sense, that can tell that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittannia-calder/once-a-cheater-always-remain-s-a-cheater-if-you-love-your-partner-why/)

[Brittannia Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittannia-calder/)

> [Marriage is honourable, as you say; and if so, wherefore should Cuckoldom be a Discredit, being deriv'd from so honourable a Root?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/marriage-is-honourable-as-you-say-and-if-so-wherefore-should/)

[William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/)

> [L'adulte' re introduit l'esprit dans la lettre quebien souvent le mariage e u" t laisse e morte. Adultery breathes new life into marriages which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/l-adulte-re-introduit-l-esprit-dans-la-lettre-quebien-souvent-le/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“I shan't make a fuss over the babe's father.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/i-shan-t-make-a-fuss-over-the-babe-s-father/)

[Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/)

> [When adultery walks in, everything worth having walks out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-m-kroll/when-adultery-walks-in-everything-worth-having-walks-out/)

[Woodrow M. Kroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-m-kroll/)

> [Splendid couple - slept with both of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-bowra/splendid-couple-slept-with-both-of-them/)

[Maurice Bowra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-bowra/)

> [“I was thinking of murder, mutilation and dessert like Ignacia Sandoval’s instructions for delectable empanadas made of minced mother-in-law’s tongue (said to induce peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-ramos-o-briant/i-was-thinking-of-murder-mutilation-and-dessert-like-ignacia-sandoval/)

[Sandra Ramos O'Briant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-ramos-o-briant/)

> [Adultery is an image of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/adultery-is-an-image-of-hell/)

[Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/)

> [Adolescence: A stage between infancy and adultery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/adolescence-a-stage-between-infancy-and-adultery/)

[Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/)

> [Sin aims always at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, if it has its own way it will go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/sin-aims-always-at-the-utmost-every-time-it-rises-up-to-tempt-or/)

[John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/)

> [“Next to Joel on the beach was Martha. Two years back in time she had been Joel’s bimbo. That’s because Joel was still married…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-deck/next-to-joel-on-the-beach-was-martha-two-years-back-in-time-she-had/)

[Stephen Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-deck/)

> [Homer and Hesiod attributed to the gods all things which are disreputable and worthy of blame when done by men; and they told of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xenophanes/homer-and-hesiod-attributed-to-the-gods-all-things-which-are/)

[Xenophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xenophanes/)

> [I was growing tired of all the fussing and prevaricating, of the stolen hours and the secret rendez-vous; of the small indignities and broad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/i-was-growing-tired-of-all-the-fussing-and-prevaricating-of-the/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

[Browse all 426 Adultery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adultery/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Giraldus claimed that he had heard about Eleanor's adultery with Geoffrey from the saintly Bishop Hugh of Lincoln, who had learned of it from Henry II of England, Geoffrey's son and Eleanor's second husband. Eleanor was estranged from Henry at the time Giraldus was writing, and the king was trying to secure an annulment of their marriage from the Pope. It would have been to his advantage to declare her an adulterous wife who had had carnal relations with his father, for that in itself would have rendered their marriage incestuous and would have provided prima facie grounds for its dissolution.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alison Weir"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/giraldus-claimed-that-he-had-heard-about-eleanor-s-adultery-with/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Adultery"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/giraldus-claimed-that-he-had-heard-about-eleanor-s-adultery-with/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/alison-weir-13208_adultery_giraldus-claimed-that-he-had-heard-about_2876650.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/alison-weir-13208_adultery_giraldus-claimed-that-he-had-heard-about_2876650.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/alison-weir-13208_adultery_giraldus-claimed-that-he-had-heard-about_2876650.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Giraldus claimed that he had heard about Eleanor's adultery with Geoffrey from the saintly Bishop Hugh of…” — Alison Weir",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Alison Weir",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Giraldus claimed that he had heard...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/giraldus-claimed-that-he-had-heard-about-eleanor-s-adultery-with/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/giraldus-claimed-that-he-had-heard-about-eleanor-s-adultery-with/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
