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- William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 - 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Guillaume le Maréchal), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He has been described as the "greatest knight that ever lived" (Stephen Langton). He served four kings - Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, John and Henry III - and rose from obscurity to become a regent of England for the last of the four, and so, one of the most powerful men in Europe. Before him, the hereditary title of "Earl Marshal" designated head of household security for the king of England; by the time he died, people throughout Europe (not just England) referred to him simply as "the Marshal".
Early life
In 1152, when William was probably about six years old, his father John Marshal switched sides during the period of civil war in England often referred to as The Anarchy, The civil war was between King Stephen and Empress Matilda, both whom claimed the Monarchy. According to one chronicler, when King Stephen besieged Newbury Castle, Stephen used the young William as a hostage to ensure that John kept a promise to surrender the castle. John however, used the time alloted to reinforce the castle and alert Matilda's forces. When Stephen ordered John to surrender immediately or watch as he hanged William in front of the castle, John replied that he go ahead, saying "I still have the hammer and the anvil with which to forge still more and better sons!" Fortunately for the child, Stephen could not bring himself to hang young William.
Knight-Errant:
As a younger son of a minor nobleman, William had no lands or fortune to inherit, and had to make his own way in life. As a youth he was sent to Normandy to serve in the household of William de Tancarville, where he began his training to become a knight. Through William de Tancarville, he then served in the household of his mother's brother, Patrick, Earl of Salisbury. In 1168 William's uncle was killed in an ambush by Guy of Lusignan. William was injured and captured in the same battle, but was ransomed by Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was apparently impressed by tales of his bravery. He had been knighted in 1167 and soon found he could make a good living out of winning tournaments. At that time tournaments were dangerous, often deadly, staged battles, not the jousting contests that would come later, and money and valuable prizes could be won by capturing and ransoming opponents. His record is legendary: he supposedly fought in 500 such bouts in his life and never lost once.
Royal favour:
Upon his return William rejoined the court of King Henry II, and now served the father through the many rebellions of his remaining sons (Richard, Geoffrey, and John). In 1189, while covering the flight of Henry II from Le Mans to Chinon, William unhorsed the undutiful Richard in a skirmish. William could have killed the prince but killed his horse instead, to make that point clear. He is said to be the only man ever to unhorse Richard. After Henry's death, he was welcomed at court by his former adversary, now King Richard I, who was not foolish enough to exclude a man whose legend, and power, just kept growing.
In August 1189, when he was 43, King Richard arranged for him to marry the second-richest heiress in England, Isabel de Clare (1172-1220), the 17-year-old daughter of Richard Strongbow. Her father had been Earl of Pembroke, and this title was granted to William, along with large estates in England, Wales, Normandy and Ireland. The marriage transformed the landless knight from a minor family into one of the richest men in the kingdom, a sign of his power and prestige at court. They had five sons and five daughters, and have numerous descendants (see below). William made numerous improvements to his wife's lands, including extensive additions to Pembroke Castle and Chepstow Castle.
William was included in the council of regency which the King appointed on his departure for the Third Crusade in 1190. He took the side of Prince John when the latter expelled the justiciar, William Longchamp, from the kingdom, but he soon discovered that the interests of John were different from those of Richard. Hence in 1193 he joined with the loyalists in making war upon the prince. Richard forgave Marshal his first error of judgement, and allowed him to succeed his brother, John Marshal, in the hereditary marshalship, and on his death-bed designated him as custodian of Rouen and of the royal treasure during the interregnum.
King John and Magna Carta:
William supported King John when he became king in 1199, but they had a falling out when William paid homage to King Philip II of France for his Norman lands of Orbec and Longueville. William left for Leinster in 1207 and stayed in Ireland until 1212, during which time he had Carlow Castle erected[1]. In 1212 he was summoned to fight in the Welsh wars. Despite these differences, it was William on 15 June 1215 at Runnymede who dealt with the barons who made King John agree to the Magna Carta, and he was one of the few English noblemen to remain loyal to the royal side through the First Barons' War. It was William whom King John trusted on his deathbed to make sure John's nine-year-old son Henry would get the throne.
On 11 November 1216, upon the death of King John, William Marshal was named by the king's council (the chief barons who had remained loyal to King John in the First Barons' War) to serve as both regent of the 9 year old King Henry III, and regent of the kingdom. In spite of his advanced age (around 70) he prosecuted the war against Prince Louis and the rebel barons with remarkable energy. In the battle of Lincoln he charged and fought at the head of the young King's army, leading them to victory. He was preparing to besiege Louis in London when the war was terminated by the naval victory of Hubert de Burgh in the straits of Dover. He was criticized for the generosity of the terms he accorded to Louis and the rebels in September 1217; but his desire for an expeditious settlement was dictated by sound statesmanship. Self-restraint and compromise were the key-notes of Marshal's policy, hoping to secure peace and stability for his young liege. Both before and after the peace of 1217 he reissued Magna Carta, in which he is a signatory as one of the witnessing barons. Without his presence England might not have survived the disastrous reign of John; where the French and the rebels would not trust the English king's word, they would trust William.
Death and legacy
William Marshal was interred in Temple Church, London
William Marshal's health finally failed him in February 1219. In March 1219 he realized that he was dying, so he summoned his eldest son, also William, and his household knights, and left the Tower of London for his estate at Caversham in Oxfordshire, near Reading, where he called a meeting of the barons, Henry III, the papal legate, the royal justiciar (Hubert de Burgh), and Peter des Roches (Bishop of Winchester and the young King's guardian). William rejected the Bishop's claim to the regency and entrusted the regency to the care of the papal legate; he apparently did not trust the Bishop or any of the other magnates that he had gathered to this meeting. Fulfilling the vow he had made while on crusade, he was invested into the order of the Knights Templar on his deathbed. He died on 14 May 1219 at Caversham, and was buried in the Temple Church in London, where his effigy can still be seen.
After his death, his eldest son, also named William, commissioned a biography of his father to be written called L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechal. This book, written so soon after his death, has preserved (and probably enhanced) the legend of William Marshal for posterity. While his knightly achievements may be debatable, there is no doubt of his impact on the history and politics of England, from his stalwart defence of the realm to his support of the Magna Carta.
Descendents of William Marshal & Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke:
William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (1190 - 6 April 1231), married (1) Alice de Bethune, daughter of Earl of Albemarle; (2) 23 April 1224 Eleanor Plantagenet, daughter of King John of England. They had no children.
Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1191 - 16 April 1234), married Gervase le Dinant. He died in captivity. They had no children.
Mahelt/Maud/Matilda Marshal (1194 - 27 March 1248), married (1) Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, they had four children; (2) William de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, they had two children; (3) Walter de Dunstanville.
Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke (1197 - 27 June 1241), married (1) Marjorie of Scotland, youngest daughter of King William I of Scotland; by an unknown mistress he had one illegitimate daughter:
Isabel Marshal, married to Rhys ap Maeldon Fychan.
Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke (c. 1199 - November 1245), married Margaret de Quincy, granddaughter of Hugh de Kevelioc, 3rd Earl of Chester. No children.
Isabel Marshal (9 October 1200 - 17 January 1240), married (1) Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford, whose daughter Isabel de Clare married Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale, the grandfather of Robert the Bruce; (2) Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Cornwall
Sibyl Marshal (c. 1201 - 27 April 1245), married William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby - they had seven daughters.
Agnes Ferrers (died 11 May 1290), married William de Vesci.
Isabel Ferrers (died before 26 November 1260)
Maud Ferrers (died 12 March 1298)
Sibyl Ferrers, married Sir Francis or Franco de Bohun, an ancestor of American pioneer Daniel Boone.
Joan Ferrers (died 1267)
Agatha Ferrers (died May 1306), married Hugh Mortimer, of Chelmarsh.
Eleanor Ferrers (died 16 October 1274), married to:
Lady Eva Marshal (1203 - 1246), married William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny - from whom was descended Queen Jane Seymour
Isabella de Braose (b.1222), married Prince Dafydd ap Llywelyn. She died childless.
Maud de Braose (1224-1301, in 1247, she married Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Wigmore.
Eve de Braose (1227- 28 July 1255), married William de Cantelou.
Eleanor de Braose (c.1228- 1251). On an unknown date after August 1241, she married Humphrey de Bohun.
Anselm Marshal, 6th Earl of Pembroke (c. 1208 - 22 December 1245), married Maud de Bohun, daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford. They had no children.
Joan Marshal (1210 - 1234), married Warin de Munchensi (d. 1255), Lord of Swanscombe
Joan de Munchensi (1230 - September 20, 1307) married William of Valence, the fourth son of King John's widow, Isabella of Angoulême, and her second husband, Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche. Valence was half-brother to Henry III and Edward I's uncle.
The Fate of the Marshal Family:
During the civil wars in Ireland, William had taken two manors that the Bishop of Ferns claimed but could not get back. Some years after William's death, that bishop is said to have laid a curse on the family that William's sons would have no children, and the great Marshal estates would be scattered. Each of William's sons did become earl of Pembroke and marshal of England, and each died without issue. William's vast holdings were then divided among the husbands of his five daughters. The title of "Marshal" went to the husband of the oldest daughter, Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, and later passed to the Mowbray dukes of Norfolk and then to the Howard dukes of Norfolk, becoming "Earl Marshal" along the way. The title of "Earl of Pembroke" passed to William of Valence, the husband of Joan Marshal's daughter, Joan de Munchensi; he became the first of the de Valence line of earls of Pembroke.
William Marshal in fiction:
William appears (named only as the Earl of Pembroke) in William Shakespeare's historical play King John.
Four generations of the Marshal family, from Isabel de Clare's parents through William fitzWilliam's fictitious bastard son, are the subjects of a series of four historical romances by Mary Pershall. Dawn of the White Rose (©1985) is the one about William Marshal and Isabel de Clare.
William Marshal also appears as a supporting character in Thomas B. Costain's out of print novel Below the Salt, and Sharon Kay Penman's novels Time and Chance and Devil's Brood, as well as a minor appearance in Penman's When Christ and His Saints Slept, illustrating the story about young William's time as King Stephan's hostage and John Marshal's defiance.
William Marshal is the main character of the novel A Pride of Kings by Juliet Dymoke, published by the New English Library in 1978.
William Marshal is a significant secondary character in the novel The Witch Hunter by Bernard Knight, in the author's John Crowner medieval mystery series, published in 2004.
A new novel about William Marshal, The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick, based on primary sources and the main secondary source biographies of professors Painter, Duby and Crouch was published by Time Warner Books on 3 November 2005. A sequel, The Scarlet Lion followed in 2006. As one of the prominent historical figures of the period, Marshal also appears as a minor character in several of her other novels set around the same time.
In film, Marshal makes a minor appearance in 1968's The Lion in Winter, portrayed by Nigel Stock. Clive Wood portrays Marshal in the 2003 remake.
Many events in William Marshal's life were incorporated into the 2001 film A Knight's Tale.
Another novel about William and his wife is Champion (in German "Der Ritter der Könige) from Christian Balling of the year 1988.
William Marshal is a major character in the novels The Devil is Loose and its sequel, Wolf at the Door by Graham Shelby. The books are about Richard Lionheart and King John, and are historical fictions about the events after the death of Henry II and the fall of the Angevin Empire.
William Marshal also has 2 appearances in the historical romance novels "The Falcon and the Flower" and "The Dragon and the Jewel" by author Virginia Henley.
He is a major character in Sharon Penman's 'Devil's Brood'.
William Marshal is also a major character in Sir Ridley Scott's upcoming Robin Hood epic, in which he is played by William Hurt.
William Marshal is also a key character in Christopher Morley's new play The King's Disposition.
References:
^ "Carlow Castle". Carlow Town.com. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
Paul Meyer, L'Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal (Paris: Société de l'histoire de France, 1891-1901), with partial translation of the original sources into Modern French. Edition and English translation, History of William Marshal, ed. A.J. Holden and D. Crouch, trans. S. Gregory (3 vols, Anglo-Norman Text Society, Occasional Publication Series, 4-6, 2002-2007).
Sidney Painter, William Marshal, Knight-Errant, Baron, and Regent of England (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1933; reprint Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982).
Georges Duby, William Marshal, the Flower of Chivalry (New York: Pantheon, 1985).
David Crouch, William Marshal: Knighthood, War and Chivalry, 1147-1219 (2n edn, London: Longman, 2002). A healthy corrective to Duby's excessive reliance on the Histoire.
John Gillingham, 'War and Chivalry in the History of William the Marshal' in Thirteenth Century England II ed. P.R. Cross and S.D. Lloyd (Woodbridge, 1988) 1-13.
Larry D. Benson, 'The Tournament in the romances of Chrétien de Troyes and L'Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal' in Studies in Medieval Culture XIV 1980 1-24.
David Crouch, "Biography as Propaganda in the 'History of William Marshall", in Convaincre et persuader: Communication et propagande aux XII et XIIIe siècles. Ed. par Martin Aurell. Poitiers: Université de Poitiers-centre d'études supérieures de civilisation médiévale, 2007.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Marshal
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1146 - 1219 (73 years)
