Geoffrey de Rancon was a French army commander that lived in the 12th century. He served as Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...

's army commander during the Second Crusade

Second Crusade

The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade by Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098...

. When the Crusaders, led by King Louis VII of France

Louis VII of France

Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...

 (Eleanor's consort) climbed Mount Cadmos, Rancon disobeyed orders and chose to march further than the spot chosen by the King for camp. He decided in concert with the Count of Maurienne (Louis´ uncle), that a nearby plateau would make a better camp, but such disobedience was reportedly common in the army, due to the lack of command from the King. As a result, the army was split and disorganized, and the Turks

Turkish people

Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...

 successfully ambushed a portion. The King narrowly escaped, and the blame for the massacre fell on Rancon.

King Louis sent Rancon home from the Crusade early, as a punishment. In the novel, The Book of Eleanor, by Pamela Kaufman, he is renamed Richard of Rancon, and is Eleanor's lover. However, there is no historical evidence that this was in fact the case.

A descendent of Rancon was married to Isabelle

Isabella of Lusignan

Not to be confused with Isabella of CyprusIsabella of Lusignan was a daughter of Hugh X of Lusignan and his wife Isabella of Angoulême, Dowager Queen of England. Isabella was half-sister to Henry III of England. She was Dame de Beauvoir-sur Mer et de Mercillac...

, the daughter of Eleanor's daughter in law Isabella of Angoulême

Isabella of Angoulême

Isabella of Angoulême was queen consort of England as the second wife of King John from 1200 until John's death in 1216. They had five children by the king including his heir, later Henry III...

.