William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke

William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (

William's father, John Marshal, supported King Stephen when Stephen took the throne in 1135, but in about 1139 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 15-year civil war known as "the Anarchy".^[5]

When King Stephen besieged

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. Around the age of twelve, when his father's career was faltering, he was sent to the

In 1166, 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 profit 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 small a thing!"^[10]

In 1167, 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 1168 William served in the household of his mother's brother,

In 1170, Henry II appointed William as tutor-in-arms to his son, Henry the Young King. During the Revolt of 1173–1174 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 Young King, and from 1176 to 1182 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 500 knights during his tournament career.^[14][15]

In late 1182, William was accused of having an affair with Young Henry's wife,

Young Henry declared war against his brother Richard in January 1183, with Henry II siding with Richard. By May, William had been cleared of all charges against the Young King, and returned to his service. However, the Young King became sick in late May, and died on 11 June 1183. On his deathbed, the Young King asked William to fulfil the vow the Young King had made in 1182 to take up the cross and undertake a crusade to the Holy Land, and after receiving Henry II's blessing William left for Jerusalem in late 1183.^[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]

After his return from the Holy Land in late 1185 or early 1186,^[20] William rejoined the court of King Henry II, and now served as a loyal captain through the many difficulties of Henry II's final years. The returns of royal favour were almost immediate. 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. 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 1188, 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 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 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 ignore, especially for a king who was intending to go on Crusade.^[2]

During the old king's last days he had promised the Marshal the hand and estates of Isabel de Clare (c. 1172–1220), but had not completed the arrangements. King Richard, however, confirmed the offer and so in August 1189, 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. Marshal acquired large 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 1199, as it had been taken into the king's hand in 1154. 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.^[2] 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 have 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

William supported King John when he became king in 1199, 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 1200 and 1203. He sailed with King John when he abandoned the duchy in December 1203. He and the king had a falling out in the aftermath of the loss 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 1204. 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 keep his possessions in Normandy; land 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 cool relations between the two men. This became outright hostility in 1207 when John began to move against several major Irish magnates, including William. Though he left for

Meilyr's defeat by Countess Isabel led to her husband's return to Leinster. He was once again in conflict with King John in his war with the Braose and Lacy families in 1210, but managed to survive. He stayed in Ireland until 1213, during which time he had Carlow Castle erected^[26] and restructured his honour of Leinster. Taken back into favour in 1212, he was summoned in 1213 to return to the English court. 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. 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.^[2]

On 11 November 1216 at

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.^[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 1217 he reissued Magna Carta, in which he is a signatory as one of the witnessing barons.^[23]

William Marshal, who had enjoyed robust health throughout his life, was "plagued by illness and pain" in early 1219.

A statue of Marshal on horseback was unveiled in front of Pembroke Castle in May 2022. It was created by Harriet Addyman, and followed a campaign by Pembroke and Monkton Local History Society.^[29]

1. John of England
   . They had no children.
2. Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1191 – 16 April 1234), married Gervaise de Dinan. He died in captivity. They had no children.
3. Maud Marshal (1194 – 27 March 1248), 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. 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. Hugh de Kevelioc, 3rd Earl of Chester
   . No children.
6. Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale, the grandfather of Robert the Bruce; (2) Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Cornwall
7. Sibyl Marshal (c. 1201 – 27 April 1245), married William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby; they had seven daughters.
   1. Agnes de Ferrers (died 11 May 1290), married William de Vesci.
   2. Isabel de Ferrers (died before 26 November 1260)
   3. Maud de Ferrers (died 12 March 1298), 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 1267)
   6. Agatha de Ferrers (died May 1306), married Hugh de Mortimer, of Chelmarsh.
   7. Eleanor de Ferrers (died 26 October 1274), 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 (1203–1246), married William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny
   1. Isabella de Braose (born 1222), married Prince Dafydd ap Llywelyn. She died childless.
   2. Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer
      and they had descendants.
   3. Eva de Braose (1227 – 28 July 1255), married Sir William de Cantelou and had descendants.
   4. Eleanor de Braose (c. 1228 – 1251). On an unknown date after August 1241, she married Sir Humphrey de Bohun and had descendants.
9. 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.
10. Joan Marshal (1210–1234), married Warin de Munchensi (died 1255), Lord of Swanscombe
    1. Count of La Marche. Valence was half-brother to Henry III and Edward I
       's uncle.

• Cultural depictions of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke