William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1147 – 1219), was one of the most prominent knights of Medieval England, who served four English monarchs – Henry II, Richard I, John I, and Henry III – as a soldier, statesman, advisor, marshal, and regent. Due to his tireless efforts, he saved the Plantagenet dynasty from destruction, allowing its continuation for centuries to come.
William Marshal was born in 1147 to a minor noble who served in king Stephen’s court. During a civil war between the king and a rival claimant, the empress Matilda, William’s father switched his allegiance to Matilda, but was besieged by the king and forced to surrender, handing over his son William as hostage. William’s father reneged, however, and when the king threatened to kill the child, his father responded that he still had the “hammer and anvil” with which to forge more and better sons. Fortunately, the king could not bring himself to execute a child, so William was kept a prisoner until the civil war ended.
Stephen was succeeded by Henry II, during whose reign William came of age, and after demonstrating his prowess, he was made guardian to Prince Henry, the king’s eldest son. The prince died young, however, so William returned to the king’s side and fought with him in France until the monarch died in 1189. After the new king, Richard I the Lionheart, ascended the throne, William married a wealthy heiress and became earl of Pembroke, with vast estates.
When king Richard went Crusading in 1190, he appointed William to the council of regents. Richard was captured on the way back from the Crusades, and when his younger brother John tried to usurp the throne, William joined other barons in fighting him. He eventually reconciled with John, and helped him ascend the throne peacefully after Richard’s death in 1199.
By 1213, he was king John’s closest advisor, and remained loyal to him during the baronial rebellion that forced the king into signing the Magna Carta in 1215. John died during a civil with his barons, who had invited Louis of France to be their king. Designated regent of John’s minor son, Henry III, William Marshal defeated the barons and Louis of France, and in his last significant act, compelled them to sign a peace in 1217 that restored peace to the realm.