The greatest and most loyal knight ever was William Marshal. He outlived his enemies, amassed great landholdings and titles, and married a woman he loved. He managed it all while serving a family that makes Game of Thrones and Empire seem tame.
William was born around 1147 during the civil war between Stephen of Blois and Empress Matilda. Both were grandchildren of William the Conqueror and both claimed the English throne. William’s father, John Marshal, supported Matilda which was a lucky break when her son was designated as Stephen’s heir.
In 1170 her son became Henry II, the first Angevin/Plantagenet king of England. At the time, William was a household knight of Henry’s wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. He had joined her household around the age of 21 after Eleanor paid his ransom when he was captured in an ambush.
Henry II and Eleanor were the original power couple. Eleanor handled administrative affairs of the kingdom while Henry was off fighting somewhere. Mostly they fought each other. Remarkably, William managed to simultaneously serve them both.
William was so trusted by Henry II and Eleanor that they appointed him to teach their son, Henry (the Young King) how to be a knight. When Young Henry reached adulthood, his parents gave him permission to participate with William in jousting tournaments.
Knights on the jousting circuit were sports celebrities. Winners could demand a ransom from the losers allowing some to obtain sizable fortunes. Thanks to William’s skill, they won most of their jousts.
But jousting success wasn’t enough for Young Henry. He thought he deserved more from daddy. When Henry II refused to cede control of the kingdom to him, Young Henry went to war with his father. Unfortunately for Young Henry, his father was a much better soldier.
As the rebellion fizzled, a few of Young Henry’s entourage schemed to get rid of William because they were jealous of his influence. They smeared him with accusations of adultery with Young Henry’s wife. Although the accusation was quickly discredited, William was exiled.
Lacking a liege lord, he decided to become a crusader. He arrived in the Holy Lands around 1183 during a lull in the fighting and only stayed for two years. Leaving probably saved his life because most of the Christian knights were killed by Saladin’s army at the battle of Hattin in 1187.
Returning to England, William joined the household of Henry II who was fighting his sons Richard the Lion-Hearted, Geoffrey of Brittany, and John. As a reward for his loyalty, Henry II arranged William’s marriage to a crown ward, Isabel of Clare, an 18-year-old orphaned heiress. Despite the difference in their ages, it seems to have been a love match.
Their marriage in 1189 endowed William with vast estates in England, Wales, Normandy and Ireland which were jeopardized immediately when Henry II died that year and was succeeded by Richard. Richard’s clever plan for financing the Third Crusade was to force officials to repurchase their government jobs and nobles their titles.
Richard died of battle injuries ten years later and John became king in 1199. John was so wretched that England has never had another king of that name. He was paranoid and vindictive, throwing real and perceived enemies into castle dungeons and leaving them to starve to death. His victims included his nephew, Arthur of Brittany.
Eventually, John’s erratic behavior caused a rebellion that ended when his nobles forced him to sign the Magna Carta. But John had no intention of honoring the deal. Anticipating renewed warfare, the nobles asked the French king for help. Then John died unexpectedly.
With a child (Henry III) on the throne and most of the landowners siding with the French invaders, England’s future looked bleak. But William Marshal once again proved his loyalty to the family. In 1217, at the age of 70, William personally led the army that defeated the French and English forces at the Battle of Lincoln. An Angevin remained on the throne and England remained an independent nation.
William Marshal died in 1219 aged about 72 years old having served five Angevin/Plantagenet kings of England between 1170 and 1219. His tomb is in the Temple Church in London.
An excellent biography of William Marshal is, The Greatest Knight, by Thomas Asbridge (2014). A deliciously funny fictionalized account is the movie, The Lion in Winter, starring Peter O’Toole, Kathryn Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton.
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