Knight house general phenom biography of william

12th-century Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman

"William Marshal" redirects here. For other uses, see William Marshal (disambiguation).

William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke ( or – 14 May ), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: Williame li Mareschal,^[1]French: Guillaume le Maréchal), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman during High Medieval England who served five English kings: Henry II and his son and co-ruler Young Henry, Richard I, John, and finally Henry III.

Knighted in , William Marshal spent his younger years as a knight errant and a thriving tournament competitor; Stephen Langton eulogised him as the "best knight that ever lived."^[3] In , he became the de factoearl of Pembroke through his marriage to Isabel de Clare, whose parents were Aoife MacMurrough and Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke.

The title of earl was not officially granted until , and is considered to be the second creation of the Pembroke earldom. In , upon the death of King John, William was appointed protector for John's nine-year-old Henry III and regent of the kingdom.

Just before his death, he fulfilled a promise he said he made in his youth while on crusade by taking vows as a Knight Templar, and was buried in the Temple Church in London.

Before William, his father's family held a hereditary title of Marshal to the King, which by his father's time had become recognised as a leader or master Marshalcy, involving handling over other Marshals and functionaries.

William became known as "the Marshal", although by his moment much of the function was delegated to more specialised representatives (as happened with other functions in the King's household). Because he was an earl, and also known as the marshal, the term "earl marshal" was commonly used and this later became an established hereditary title in the English peerage.^[4]

Early life

William's father, John Marshal, supported King Stephen when Stephen took the throne in , but in about he changed sides to support the rival claimant Empress Matilda in her war of succession against Stephen, which led to the collapse of England into a year civil war known as "the Anarchy".^[5]

When King Stephen besieged Newbury Castle in , according to William's biographer, he used the young William as a hostage to assure that John kept his commit to surrender the castle.

John, however, used the time allotted to reinforce the castle and to alert Matilda's forces. When Stephen ordered John to surrender immediately, threatening that William would be hanged, John replied that he should go ahead, saying, "I still have the hammer and the anvil with which to forge still more and better sons!" Subsequently, a pretence was made to launch William from a pierrière (a type of trebuchet) towards the castle, but Stephen could not take himself to harm young William.^[6] William remained a crown hostage for many months, and was released following the peace resulting from the terms agreed at Winchester on 6 November , by which the civil war was ended.

Knight errant

As a younger son of a small nobleman, William had no lands or fortune to inherit, and had to make his control way in life. Around the age of twelve, when his father's career was faltering, he was sent to the Château de Tancarville in Normandy to be brought up in the household of William de Tancarville, a great magnate and cousin of young William's mother.

Here he began his training as a knight. This would contain included biblical stories, Latin prayers, and exposure to French relationship literature to confer precepts of chivalry upon the future knight.^[7] In Tancarville's household he is also likely to have learned practical lessons in the politics of courtly life.

According to his thirteenth-century biography, L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechal, Marshal had enemies at Tancarville's court who plotted against him—presumably men threatened by his close relationship with the magnate.^[8]

In , William was knighted on campaign in Upper Normandy, then being invaded from Flanders.

His first experience in battle received mixed reviews. According to L'Histoire, everyone who witnessed the young knight in combat agreed that he had acquitted himself well. However, as medieval historian David Crouch remarks, "War in the twelfth century was not fought wholly for honour.

Profit was there to be made"^[9] In this regard Marshal was not so successful, as he was unable to translate his combat victories into earnings from either ransom or seized booty. L'Histoire relates that the Earl of Essex, expecting the customary tribute from his valorous knight after the battle, jokingly remarked: "Oh?

But Marshal, what are you saying? You had forty or sixty of them—yet you refuse me so tiny a thing!"^[10]

In , William was sponsored by William de Tancarville in his first tournament, where he found his true calling and began to develop skills that later made him a tournament champion.

In William served in the household of his mother's brother, Patrick, Earl of Salisbury. Later that year Patrick was escorting Queen Eleanor on a journey near the boundary of her province of Aquitaine and Marshal was part of the escort.

They were ambushed by Guy de Lusignan, who was trying to capture Queen Eleanor. Although Eleanor escaped unharmed, Patrick was killed; William was wounded in the thigh and was taken prisoner and conveyed to a Lusignan castle to be held for ransom. Someone at the castle took pity on the young knight because it is told that he received a loaf of bread in which were concealed several lengths of clean linen bandages with which to dress his wounds.

This act of gentleness by an unknown person perhaps saved William's life as infection of the wound could contain killed him. After a period of time, he was ransomed by Queen Eleanor, who was apparently impressed by tales of his bravery.

He would persist a member of Eleanor's domesticated for the next two years, taking part in tournaments and increasing his reputation as a chivalrous knight.^[11]

Service to Young King Henry

In , Henry II appointed William as tutor-in-arms to his son, Henry the Young King.

During the Revolt of – led by the Young King, little is known of William's specific activities besides his loyalty to Young Henry. After the failed rebellion, Young Henry and his retinue, including William, travelled with Henry II for eighteen months, before asking for, and receiving, permission to travel to Europe to participate in knightly tournaments.^[12] William followed the Juvenile King, and from to both men gained prestige from winning tournaments.^[13] Tournaments were dangerous, often deadly, staged battles in which money and valuable prizes were to be won by capturing and ransoming opponents, their horses and armour.

William became a legendary tournament champion: on his deathbed, he recalled besting knights during his tournament career.^[14][15]

In sdelayed , William was accused of having an affair with Youthful Henry's wife, Margaret of France.

Historian Thomas Asbridge has stated that, while the affair very strongly appears to have been fabricated by William's political enemies within the Young King's service, it cannot be proven either way.^[16] David Crouch has suggested that the charge against William was actually one of lèse-majesté, brought on by William's control arrogance and greed, with the charge of adultery only introduced in the Life of William Marshal as a distraction from the real charges, of which he was most probably ashamed.

Knighted inWilliam Marshal spent his younger years as a knight errant and a successful tournament competitor; Stephen Langton eulogised him as the "best knight that ever lived. The title of earl was not officially granted untiland is considered to be the second creation of the Pembroke earldom. Just before his death, he fulfilled a guarantee he said he made in his youth while on crusade by taking vows as a Knight Templarand was buried in the Temple Church in London. Before William, his father's family held a hereditary title of Marshal to the Kingwhich by his father's time had get recognised as a chief or master Marshalcy, involving management over other Marshals and functionaries.

Regardless of the truth of the accusations, by early William had been removed from the Juvenile King's service.^[17]

Young Henry declared war against his brother Richard in January , with Henry II siding with Richard.

By May, William had been cleared of all charges against the Adolescent King, and returned to his service. However, the Young King became sick in late May, and died on 11 June On his deathbed, the Youthful King asked William to fulfil the vow the Young King had made in to accept up the cross and undertake a crusade to the Divine Land, and after receiving Henry II's blessing William left for Jerusalem in late ^[18] Nothing is known of his activities during the two years he was gone, except that he fulfilled Young Henry's vow, and secretly committed to joining the Knights Templar on his deathbed.^[19]

Royal favour

After his return from the Holy Land in late or early ,^[20] William rejoined the court of King Henry II, and now served as a loyal captain through the many difficulties of Henry II's last years.

The returns of royal favour were almost immediate. The king gave William the huge royal estate of Cartmel in Cumbria, and the keeping of Heloise, the heiress of the northern barony of Lancaster. It may be that the king expected him to take the opportunity to marry her and become a northern baron, but William seems to have had grander ambitions for his marriage.

In , faced with an attempt by Philip II to seize the disputed region of Berry, Henry II summoned the Marshal to his side. The letter by which he did this survives, and makes some sarcastic comments about William's complaints that he had not been properly rewarded to date for his service to the king.

Henry therefore promised him the marriage and lands of Dionisia, lady of Châteauroux in Berry. In the resulting campaign, the king fell out with his heir Richard, count of Poitou, who consequently allied with Philip II against his father.

In , 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 have been the only man ever to unhorse Richard. Nonetheless, after Henry's death Marshal was welcomed at court by his former adversary, now King Richard I, apparently recognising that Marshal's loyalty and military accomplishments were too useful to overlook, especially for a king who was intending to go on Crusade.

During the old king's last days he had promised the Marshal the hand and estates of Isabel de Clare (c.

–), but had not completed the arrangements. King Richard, however, confirmed the offer and so in August , the Marshal married the daughter of Richard de Clare (Strongbow). She was either 17 or 18 at the time of the marriage and her father had been Earl of Pembroke.

The striking story of the life of William Marshal is chronicled in the Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal, the only known written biography of a non-royal to survive from the Middle Ages. The poem, composed after his death by an unknown writer called John, extols William as being ‘the best knight in the world’, and offers a unique window.

Marshal acquired massive estates and claims in England, Wales, Normandy and Ireland. Some estates, however, were excluded from the deal. Marshal did not obtain Pembroke and the title of earl, which his father-in-law had enjoyed, until , as it had been taken into the king's hand in However, 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. William made many improvements to his wife's lands, including extensive additions to Pembroke Castle and Chepstow Castle.^[21] Even though the marriage was a reward for his political and military services, and despite a significant age difference, the couple appear to acquire developed a real love and affection for each other.

It is also notable that there is no evidence that Marshal ever took a mistress, which was commonplace for nobles and often widely discussed and reported.^[22]

William was included in the council of regency which King Richard appointed on his departure for the Third Crusade in He took the side of John, the king's brother, when the latter expelled the justiciar, William Longchamp, from the kingdom, but he soon discovered that the interests of John were diverse from those of Richard.

Hence in he joined with the loyalists in making war upon him. In Spring , during the course of the hostilities in England and before King Richard's return, William Marshal's elder brother John Marshal (who was serving as seneschal) was killed while defending Marlborough for the king's brother John.

Richard allowed Marshal to succeed his brother in the hereditary marshalship, and his paternal honour of Hamstead Marshall. The Marshal served the king in his wars in Normandy against Philip II. On Richard's death-bed, the king designated Marshal 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 , arguing against those who maintained the claims of Arthur of Brittany, the teenage son of John's elder brother Geoffrey.^[24] William was heavily engaged with the defence of Normandy against the growing pressure of the Capetian armies between and He sailed with King John when he abandoned the duchy in December He and the king had a falling out in the aftermath of the decrease of the duchy, when he was sent with the earl of Leicester as ambassadors to negotiate a truce with King Philip II of France in The Marshal took the opportunity to negotiate the continued possession of his Norman lands.

Before commencing negotiations with King Philip, William had been generously permitted to do homage to the King of France by King John so he might preserve his possessions in Normandy; country which must have been of sentimental value due to the time spent there in his adolescence.

However, once official negotiations began, Philip demanded that such homage be paid exclusively to him, which King John had not consented to.^[25] When William paid homage to King Philip, John took offence and there was a major row at court which led to fresh relations between the two men.

This became outright hostility in when John began to advance against several major Irish magnates, including William. Though he left for Leinster in William was recalled and humiliated at court in the autumn of , while John's justiciar in Ireland Meilyr fitz Henry invaded his lands, burning the town of New Ross.

Meilyr's defeat by Countess Isabel led to her husband's return to Leinster. He was once again in struggle with King John in his war with the Braose and Lacy families in , but managed to survive. He stayed in Ireland until , during which time he had Carlow Castle erected^[26] and restructured his honour of Leinster.

Taken support into favour in , he was summoned in to restore to the English court. Despite their differences, William remained faithful throughout the hostilities between John and his barons which culminated on 15 June at Runnymede with the sealing of Magna Carta.

William was one of the few English earls to remain loyal to the king 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. It was William who took responsibility for the king's funeral and burial at Worcester Cathedral.

Regent for Henry III

On 11 November at Gloucester, 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 protector of the nine-year-old King Henry III, and regent of the kingdom.

William was born around As the younger son of a minor noble he would have understood from a very early age that he could expect no lands or riches to come knocking at his door, and that he would have to make his own way in life. It was here that young William would have learned to apply the tools of his chosen profession, which included mastering the latest shock tactic of the day, that of riding into battle atop a horse whilst carrying a carefully aimed war lance. It was however in the final year of his apprenticeship, that the now six foot tall William learned that his father had died and, as expected, had left him no money at all.

In spite of his advanced age (around 70) he prosecuted the war against Prince Louis and the rebel barons with unusual 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.

William was criticised for the generosity of the terms he accorded to Louis and the rebels in September , but his expedient settlement was dictated by sound statesmanship and a desire to eliminate the French from England as quickly as possible.^[27] Self-restraint and compromise were the keynotes of Marshal's policy, hoping to secure peace and stability for his young liege.

Both before and after the peace of he reissued Magna Carta, in which he is a signatory as one of the witnessing barons.

Death and legacy

Further information: Cultural depictions of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke

William Marshal, who had enjoyed robust health throughout his life, was "plagued by illness and pain" in early ^[28] By March, he realised 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 Berkshire, near Reading, where he called a conference of the barons, Henry III, the Papal legatePandulf Verraccio, the royal justiciar (Hubert de Burgh), and Peter des Roches (Bishop of Winchester and the adolescent 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 peacefully on 14 May at Caversham, surrounded by his friends and family. He was buried in the Temple Church in London, where his tomb can still be seen.

A statue of Marshal on horseback was unveiled in front of Pembroke Castle in May It was created by Harriet Addyman, and followed a campaign by Pembroke and Monkton Local History Society.^[29]

Descendants of William Marshal and Isabel de Clare

1. William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (&#;&#; 6 April ), married (1) Alice de Béthune, daughter of Baldwin of Bethune; (2) 23 April Eleanor Plantagenet, daughter of King John of England.

   They had no children.

2. Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (&#;&#; 16 April ), married Gervaise de Dinan.
   Knight, William, Property (Canby, Oregon) | Oregon Digital: “A legend had been born, I’m next to the king to be kinged of the kingdom” – Phenom. Popularly famous as the KnightHouse general, Phenom is steadily making his way to a well earned position on the Nigerian hip-hop scene.

   He died in captivity. They had no children.

3. Maud Marshal (&#;&#; 27 March ), married (1) Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, they had four children; (2) William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey, they had two children.
4. Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke (&#;&#; 27 June ), married (1) Marjorie of Scotland, youngest daughter of King William I of Scotland; by an unknown mistress he had one illegitimate daughter:
   1. Isabel Marshal, betrothed to Rhys ap Maelgwn Fychan (son of Maelgwn ap Rhys)
5. Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke (c.

   &#;&#; November ), married Margaret de Quincy, Countess of Lincoln, granddaughter of Hugh de Kevelioc, 3rd Earl of Chester. No children.

6. Isabel Marshal (9 October &#;&#; 17 January ), married (1) Gilbert de Clare, 4th 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
7. Sibyl Marshal (c.

   &#;&#; 27 April ), married William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby; they had seven daughters.

   1. Agnes de Ferrers (died 11 May ), married William de Vesci.
   2. Isabel de Ferrers (died before 26 November )
   3. Maud de Ferrers (died 12 March ), married (1) Simon de Kyme, (2) William de Vivonia (de Forz), and (3) Amaury IX of Rochechouart.
   4. Sibyl de Ferrers, married Sir Franco de Bohun.
   5. Joan de Ferrers (died )
   6. Agatha de Ferrers (died May ), married Hugh de Mortimer, of Chelmarsh.
   7. Eleanor de Ferrers (died 26 October ), married (1) William de Vaux of Tharston and Wisset, (2) Roger de Quincy, Earl of Winchester, and (3) Roger de Leyburne of Elham.
8. Eva Marshal (–), married William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny
   1. Isabella de Braose (born ), married Prince Dafydd ap Llywelyn.

      She died childless.

   2. Maud de Braose (–), in , she married Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer and they had descendants.
   3. Eva de Braose (&#;&#; 28 July ), married Sir William de Cantelou and had descendants.
   4. Eleanor de Braose (c.

      &#;&#; ). On an unknown date after August , she married Sir Humphrey de Bohun and had descendants.

9. Anselm Marshal, 6th Earl of Pembroke (c. &#;&#; 22 December ), married Maud de Bohun, daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford.

   They had no children.

10. Joan Marshal (–), married Warin de Munchensi (died ), Lord of Swanscombe
    1. Joan de Munchensi (&#;&#; 20 September ) 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.

Fate of the Marshal family

During Ireland's civil wars, William took 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 possess no children, and the superb Marshal estates would be scattered.^[30] Each of William's sons did become earl of Pembroke and marshal of England, and each died without legitimate 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.

Through his daughter Isabel, William is an ancestor to both the Bruce and Stewart kings of Scots.

Through his granddaughter Maud de Braose, William is an ancestor to the last Plantagenet kings, Edward IV through to Richard III, and all English monarchs from Henry VIII and afterward.

See also

Notes

References

Attribution

Sources

• Asbridge, Thomas ().

  The Greatest Knight: The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, Power Behind Five English Thrones. London: Simon & Schuster.

• Benson, Larry D. (). 'The Tournament in the romances of Chrétien de Troyes and L'Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal' in Studies in Medieval Culture XIV 1–24
• Crouch, David ().

  "Biography as Propaganda in the 'History of William Marshal", 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.

• Crouch, David edited ().

  The Acts and Letters of the Marshal Family, Marshals of England and Earls of Pembroke, –. Camden Society, 5th series, vol.

• Crouch, David (). William Marshal: Knighthood, War and Chivalry, – (3rd&#;ed.).

  London: Routledge. doi/ ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;

• Duby, Georges (). William Marshal, the Flower of Chivalry. Recent York: Pantheon.
• Gillingham, John (). "War and Chivalry in the History of William the Marshal" in Thirteenth Century England II ed.

  P.R. Coss and S.D. Lloyd. Woodbridge, 1–

• Meyer, Paul (–). L'Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal, with partial translation of the first sources into Modern French. Edition, History of William Marshal, (3 vols). Paris: Société de l'histoire de France.

  Volume 1Volume 2Volume 3

• Painter, Sidney (). William Marshal, Knight-Errant, Baron, and Regent of England. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.

External links