William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke
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.[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 1153, by which the civil war was ended.This would have included biblical stories, Latin prayers, and exposure to French romance literature to confer precepts of chivalry upon the future knight.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.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.[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.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.The king gave William the large royal estate of Cartmel in Cumbria, and the keeping of Heloise, the heiress of the northern barony of Lancaster.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.[21] Even though the marriage was a reward for his political and military services, and despite a significant age difference, the couple appear to have developed a real love and affection for each other.[25] When William paid homage to King Philip, John took offence and there was a major row at court which led to cool relations between the two men.Though he left for Leinster in 1207 William was recalled and humiliated at court in the autumn of 1208, while John's justiciar in Ireland Meilyr fitz Henry invaded his lands, burning the town of New Ross.Despite their differences, William remained loyal throughout the hostilities between John and his barons which culminated on 15 June 1215 at Runnymede with the sealing of Magna Carta.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.[2][23] William was criticised for the generosity of the terms he accorded to Louis and the rebels in September 1217, but his expedient settlement was dictated by sound statesmanship and a desire to remove the French from England as quickly as possible.[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 meeting of the barons, Henry III, the Papal legate Pandulf Verraccio, the royal justiciar (Hubert de Burgh), and Peter des Roches (Bishop of Winchester and the young King's guardian).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.
William Marshal (disambiguation)Temple ChurchCavershamOxfordshireLondonNoble familyMarshalIsabel de ClareJohn MarshalNorman FrenchFrenchAnglo-NormanHigh Medieval EnglandEnglish kingsHenry IIYoung HenryRichard IHenry IIIKnightedknight erranttournamentStephen Langtonearl of PembrokeAoife MacMurroughRichard de ClareregentcrusadeKnight Templarearl marshalEnglish peerageKing StephenEmpress Matildawar of successioncivil warthe AnarchyNewbury Castlehostagehangedtrebuchetterms agreed at WinchesterChâteau de TancarvilleNormandyTancarvilleromance literaturechivalryL'Histoire de Guillaume le MarechalUpper NormandyFlandersDavid CrouchPatrick, Earl of SalisburyQueen EleanorGuy de LusignanHenry the Young KingRevolt of 1173–1174Margaret of Francelèse-majestéLife of William MarshalRichardJerusalemKnights TemplarCartmel PrioryCumbriaCartmelPhilip IIChâteaurouxPoitouLe MansChinonPembroke CastleChepstow CastleThird CrusadeWilliam LongchampseneschalMarlboroughmarshalshipHamstead MarshallinterregnumSecond Battle of LincolnLincoln CastleArthur of BrittanyGeoffreyCapetianPhilip II of Francepaid homageLeinsterjusticiarMeilyr fitz HenryNew RossCarlow CastleRunnymedeMagna CartaFirst Barons' WarWorcester CathedralGloucesterKing Henry IIIPrince Louisbattle of Lincolnthe naval victoryHubert de Burghstraits of DoverMatthew ParisCultural depictions of William Marshal, 1st Earl of PembrokeTower of LondonReadingPapal legatePandulf VerraccioPeter des RochesBishop of WinchesterWilliam Marshal, 2nd Earl of PembrokeBéthuneBaldwin of BethuneEleanor PlantagenetJohn of EnglandRichard Marshal, 3rd Earl of PembrokeMaud MarshalHugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of NorfolkWilliam de Warenne, 5th Earl of SurreyGilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of PembrokeWilliam I of ScotlandMaelgwn ap RhysWalter Marshal, 5th Earl of PembrokeMargaret de Quincy, Countess of LincolnHugh de Kevelioc, 3rd Earl of ChesterIsabel MarshalGilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of HertfordRobert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale