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Marie's birth was a bitter disappointment to her royal parents, French King Louis VII and his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who desperately wanted a son. Yet, despite her parents' divorce and her separation from her mother when she was only seven, she clearly inherited Queen Eleanor's grit and determination, as well as her love of song and poetry. Today, the name of Marie, who became countess of Champagne, is associated with the medieval courts of love, and she is recognized as one of the greatest literary patrons of her day. As the crusades tore her life apart, she ruled over one of the largest domains in France for almost two decades. During that time, and well aware of the disadvantage of being a woman, she was compelled to defend her rights and those of her children--even to the point of going to war against her half-brother, Philip Augustus. Striving to meet the political demands of her fractured world, she became keenly aware of the competing needs of love, family, honor, and desire. Her story still resonates today.