William Marshall, 1147 - 1219 1st Earl of Pembroke has recently become something of a phenomenon with books and television programmes highlighting his life and times, has The Greatest Knight, even though we've long known of his presence simply through the Magna Carta.
William Marshall, born the forth son of a minor 12th century baron, rose to be Regent of England and ruled on behalf of the boy-king Henry lll And in the process made himself one of the wealthiest men in England, defeated at least 500 opponents in single combat, knighted two kings, beat a powerful French Army upon English soil and in doing so, saved the kingdom of England and earned a mention upon the Magna Carta.
William's early years were centered in hard and difficult times, war raged between Stephen and Matilda, over the English throne, Stephen besieged Newbury Castle 1152 and sought to use the young William as a hostage, in an attempt to persuade his father John Marshall, to surrender the castle. Surprisingly John refused and in a rage Stephen, threatened to execute the boy, but later spared him and William was to later become a favourite of Stephen.
Being a royal favourite may well have helped William to some degree, but being the son of a minor baron with little in the way of inheritance offered little in the way of prospect for the future. Fortunately with the influence of a cousin upon his mother's side, William was sent to be trained as a Knight with William de Tancarville in Normandy, this was to be long years of hard physical training in every aspect of medieval warfare, until he was eventually knighted in 1166 fighting in the north of Normandy.
After seven years, William left Tancarville, to join the household of his Mother's Brother, Patrick, Earl of Salisbury, where he won some distinction on behalf of Eleanor of Aquitaine. With the death of his father and with little in the way of inheritance, William decided upon a new career as a professional tournament fighter upon the circuit of such events, this was often organised but the most deadly combat with team consisting of small armies fighting to the death over a large area of land. Yet the rewards for such victories, often meant money, horses and armour and on top of this great riches could be earned by the capture and ransom of an adversary.
By 1170 William was drawn to the attention of the young Henry, son of Henry ll, they became friends and fought together at many tournaments, and made great fortunes. William was at Henry's side when he died of dysentery at Limoges in 1183. Next William was on crusade in the Holy Land, carrying out the vow of his former companion and employer, but also with the blessing of Henry ll. Upon his return to England William became part of Henry ll household, and helped him deal with his rebellious heir, Richard, Count of Poitou, soon to be Richard l The Lionheart. And for his trouble was gifted the large estate of Cartmel in Cumbria (South Lakeland)
It was a short time later, in Northern France, William came face to face with the young Richard and unhorsed him, Richard had to beg for his life and William, instead, lanced his horse, simply to make a meaningful point. Soon after this Richard ll was dead, but William was now welcomed to the court of the now Richard l whom gifted William the hand in marriage of Isabel de Clare, daughter of Richard Strongbow and upon doing so also came into large and wealthy estates in England, Ireland, Normandy and Wales and by 1199 received the Earldom of Pembroke. By now and thanks to this marriage, William had become landed, titled and wealthy with Pembroke and Chepstow castles, the marriage was also blessed with five sons and five daughters.
The Majestic and powerful Chepstow Castle.
With Richard away on Crusade in the Holy Land, William was appointed to the Council of Regency, to act upon the kings behalf, which included continuing the wars in Northern France, against Phillip ll and dealing with the rebellious John whose ideas and plans didn't always coincide with those of his brother. In 1193 William and the Barons loyal to Richard, stood against John and his followers. William's elder brother Richard Marshall was John's Seneschal and in the course of the struggles was killed defending Marlborough, Richard allowed William to succeed his brother and now became William, Marshall of England. Upon his deathbed Richard granted William as custodian of Rouen and of the royal treasure during the interregnum.
With Richard's death in 1199 William now became John's loyal follower, but with problems in France and Ireland and John's often poor decisions and leadership the two were often at loggerheads, with William spending his time in Ireland, defending his wife's lands and erecting defensive structures
However, back in favour by 1212 William was recalled to Court, though William remained loyal to John, differences with his barons came to the fore in 1215 culminating in the Magna Carta at Runneymede. The Marshall witnessed it on behalf of John, with his eldest son William sealed it as one of the 25 barons named in the security clause.
William remained loyal to John and the king, upon his deathbed, entrusted William, to take care of his nine-year old son Henry and to ensure he would succeed him to the throne. William also arranged John's funeral at Worcester Cathederal.
Prior to John's death, the majority of the more powerful barons had already decided to overthrow the king, even without William's support and even went as far as to have Prince Louis of France, crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
On his own initiative, William had the young Henry crowned Henry lll and reissued the Magna Charta, and now facing a superior armed force, took his troops to Lincoln, where at the great age of 70, led his troops to a resounding victory over the French King and his supporting barons. This was soon followed by a naval victory in the straights of Dover and the war was over, with William on hand to negotiate the final treaty.
Afterwards, with his duty complete, his health failing by 1219 he was invested in the Order of the Knights Templar. He died on 14 May 1219 and is buried in the Temple Church in London.
The Magna Carta
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