Osprey - General Military - Knight - The Warrior and ... - Brego-weard

0younger son of a minor nobleman who
became a notable tourneyer and warrior, a
comrade to princes and kings, a powerful
landowner and, ultimately, the regent of England and
preserver of the Plantagenet dynasty, William
Marshal's career perhaps best typifies the breadth of
the world of the knight.
Born in 1147, the fourth son of John Marshal, a
mid-rank knight from southern England, William was
thrust into the political limelight from a very early
age. John was holding Newbury Castle for Henry I's
daughter Matilda against King Stephen who, in turn,
held the infant William hostage. When Stephen
threatened to hang him unless John surrendered the
castle, the elder Marshal replied that he 'still had the
anvils and hammers to produce even finer ones'.
Stephen went to carry out his threat but because of
the child's naive innocence he could not bring
himself to do so.
At around the age of 12 William was despatched
to the continent where he entered the service
of William de Tancarville, the Chamberlain of
Normandy and a distant relative of his mother,
where for eight years he served as a squire and learnt
his trade. In 1166 he was knighted, at a time when
the conflict between Henry II of England and Louis
VII of France offered plenty of opportunities for him
to gain experience. William was quick to show his
prowess as an individual warrior, being equally
successful on the tournament field and battlefield.
In 1168 William entered the household of
Henry 1 I's son Henry 'the Young King', where he
trained the young prince, who was about five years
his junior, in skill at arms. The prince (like Edward
of Woodstock, the Black Prince, son of Edward III,
two centuries later) was at the heart of tournament
and chivalric society, and William's attendance on
him could only improve his standing, giving him
access to a rarefied circle of high nobility and royal
persons. He remained a part of the Young King's
household, effectively serving as its commander,
although at one point a rift between them caused
him to strike out on his own, his own prowess driving
him forwards. At the Young King's death in 1183
William was firmly established and had a following
of his own.
William undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem,
completing the vow originally made by the Young
King before he was taken ill. He returned to enter the
service of Henry II and, on the king's death, that of
his son Richard. In 1189 he married Isabel de Clare,
heiress to Richard de Clare, known as 'Strongbow',
Earl of Clare and Lord of Striguil, gaining lands in
Wales, Ireland, Normandy and England by the
marriage and becoming one of the foremost
magnates of the land.
William was one of the lords to oppose John's
attempt to seize power from his brother whilst
Richard was on crusade, but once the former
became king in 1199 William stood loyally by him
throughout his reign, one of the few barons to do so.
When John died in 1216, he entrusted William with
the task of ensuring that his son, the nine-year-old
Henry III, took the throne, and the Marshal was
appointed regent. He defeated the French army
under Prince Louis that had been invited in by rebel
barons to overthrow John, taking the field at the age
of 70. Showing a statesmanship that ensured a rapid