1947
Search results
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: Williame li Mareschal, French: Guillaume le Maréchal), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman during High Medieval England who served five English kings of the Angevin Empire: Henry II and his son and co-ruler Young Henry ...
May 15, 2018 · William Marshal was born c. 1146 CE and he experienced his very first misadventure aged just six when his father's castle at Newbury was attacked by an army of King Stephen's (r. 1135-1154 CE). John Marshal was forced to give up his young son William as a hostage while the attack was suspended in order for the terms of a surrender to be settled.
May 14, 1219, Caversham, Berkshire, England. William Marshal, 1st earl of Pembroke (born c. 1146—died May 14, 1219, Caversham, Berkshire, England) was a marshal and then regent of England who served four English monarchs— Henry II, Richard I, John, and Henry III —as a royal adviser and agent and as a warrior of outstanding prowess.
Yet William Marshal – or William the Marshal – was one of the greatest men ever to have lived and arguably the greatest ever Englishman. Although inexplicably omitted from schoolroom history he has a dozen claims to fame. He unhorsed Richard, the future King Richard I, the Lionheart, in battle and spared his life.
The remarkable 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 author called John, extols William as being ‘the best knight in the world’, and offers a unique window into courtly life of the time.
William Marshal was born in 1146 or 1147, into a period of English history fraught with feudal strife and the early rumblings of what would become the Hundred Years' War. He was the son of John Marshal, a man of modest noble heritage known for his loyal service to King Stephen of England, and Sybil of Salisbury, whose own lineage boasted ties to the Earl of Salisbury.
Let’s delve into 10 key facts about William Marshall, shedding light on the life and legacy of this remarkable medieval warrior. 1. Origins and Humble Beginnings. William Marshall was born around 1146, the second son of John FitzGilbert, a minor nobleman in England. His family’s modest status did not hint at the greatness he would achieve ...
