Agnes, shortly after her marriage to Philippe.
After the death of her father, Agnes found herself holding a power in her hands that most females of her time would have considered foreign and strange. Agnes now had a double-edged view of her new husband, Philippe, being that she was both his wife and vassal. As his wife, she was meant to be his, to hear his thoughts and obey him as she would God. Yet Agnes was also the Duchess of Aquitaine, vassal to the King of France. Outside the home, Philippe was weak…he ruled only Paris, and if anything, was an equal to her. Agnes understood this, despite being only fourteen, which helped shape her personality during her stay in Paris (Personality Matures: +Deceitful, Proud).
Agnes’ earliest days were not without controversy, her opinions causing several arguments with the staid Frankish nobles, who did not understand the Provençal court from which she came. Yet the petty arguments that the Queen faced with the Parisian courtiers did not compare to the vast crisis that Agnes faced her own husband and the ruling Regency of France, the so-called “Intendent Crisis.”
The Intendent Crisis evolved out of Agnes’ rights to Aquitaine, and it’s appointment of officials. The Regent of France, Anne of Kiev, claimed that given her youth, Agnes had no right to govern Aquitaine until she reached a suitable age, and that the right to govern her domains fell to Philippe, and thus the Regency of France. Agnes, bound to remain in Paris by Anne of Kiev (who proved a domineering influence over the French court until her sons’ majority) chose to appoint an “Intendent” to govern Aquitaine until such a time when she could return to Poitiers. Philippe, under the heavy influence of his mother, agreed that Agnes had no right to her domains and that the right fell to his regency council. Undetered, Agnes appointed Isabéu de Montreuil her Intendent, silencing the French Regency, but also provoking the ire of the courtiers and thrusting Agnes into isolation, although it is widely believed that it was in this time that Agnes formed many lifelong friendships with her Occitan ladies, such as Dolça, Carlòta, Eufèmia, and Geneviva, all from important families in Aquitaine.
The Intendent Crisis soured Agnes’ relations with her husband, Philippe, and from 1067 to 1069, they lived apart. Philippe took Agnes’ Occitan lady Dolça as his mistress, and Agnes busied herself with the affairs of her duchy, and the courtly affairs of Paris. It was only thanks to Dolça that Philippe and Agnes’ relationship was restored, and on June 5th, 1069, Agnes announced to the court that she was pregnant.
Painted during her pregnancy, the painter glorifies Agnes akin to the Virgin Mary, with her unborn child as Jesus Christ.
After her pregnancy was announced, Philippe doted upon his Queen, and visits to his mistress declined. Agnes wrote to her mother, stating, “I have never been as happy as I am now…with each passing day I feel this child grow within me, and I pray that I will give Philippe the son he desires.” Yet the wishes of Agnes were not meant to be. On March 1st, 1070, the Queen complained of much pain, and retired to her chambers early in the evening. The midwives were summoned, but little could be done, Agnes giving birth to a stillborn child. The Queen was crushed, and Philippe was equally depressed, who retreated to Dolça to provide him with comfort. Not wishing to face the humiliation of the court, Agnes announced her intention retire to Poitiers for some time, to be with her mother and family.
