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HISTORY
HEROES AND VILLAINS
William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke (1147 - 1219)
Crusader, Templar, Kingmaker
This
is based on an article written for a tourism website in 2000.
William le Mareschal (or Marshall) was a 12th century jousting champion, die-hard crusader and pre-Machiavellian tactician who survived life in the turbulent courts of Kings Henry II, Richard III and John to become Regent of the Realm, Earl of Pembroke, Lord of Leinster and the richest man in the British Isles by his death in 1219. As successor to Strongbow and Aoife, he arguably did more to establish Anglo-Norman control in Leinster than any other man.
A Useful Start
Born in 1147 near Marlsborough in England, William Marshall's life got off to a grand start when, following the death of his father, he secured the patronage of Henry II and his bride, Eleanor of Aquitaine. A brilliant tactician, he soon found a career as manager of a team of remarkable jousting knights. His team were victorious at innumerable tournaments across France and the British Isles prompting The Sunday Times to refer to William as "the Alex Ferguson of the Middle Ages". This enabled him to marry well and he couldn't have done a better job - Isabel de Clare was sole heiress to Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, aka Strongbow, and his wife Aoife MacMurrough, daughter of Dermot, King of Leinster. (1) By the time William waltzed her up the aisle in August 1189, both her parents were dead. However, being a granddaughter of the mighty Dermot, Isabell had succeeded to a massive estate, covering much of Leinster, Wales and the Welsh borders.
Mixed Blood
On a more symbolic level, Isabel was a very unique individual. She was, after all, a daughter of one of the most famous Cambro-Norman mercenary knights to come to Ireland. Her mother was a daughter of the last King of Leinster. I don't know what language she spoke but French, Irish and Latin would seem to be the most likely candidates. Like her husband she was evidently much given to the thoughts and ways of Jesus Christ.
Kilkenny
Castle
In 1192, William and his young wife took on the task of running Strongbow's mini-empire, beginning with the restoration of Kilkenny town and castle which had been destroyed by the O'Briens in 1173. At this stage, the Castle was an irregular rectangular fortress with a drum-shaped tower at each corner, upon which the present Castle is shaped.
The Earl of Pembroke
In 1189, the same year he married Isabel, William was confirmed in his titles as Earl of Pembroke and created a Baron by Richard the Lionheart. This was a somewhat generous gift considering William had unseated the psychotic crusading monarch at a tournament a year earlier.
King
John's Bee
At this time, the Anglo-Norman part of Ireland was a lordship presided over by the Lionheart's younger brother, Prince John, Lord of Ireland. At first, John seems to have liked William immensely, officially recognising his succession to the Earldom of Pembroke. However, after he succeeded Richard to become King of England in 1599, John had an increasingly paranoid bee in his bonnet about the power of Barons like William. Returning from a lucrative crusading jaunt to the Middle East in 1207, William got wind that the King was contemplating ways to reduce his influence. The Earl and his missus prudently decided to lie low at Kilkenny Castle and build a few abbeys in the neighbourhood.
Diplomatic Solutions
William's strategy of diplomacy and communication with neighbouring Gaelic
chieftains seems to have done far more to promote the spread of Norman feudalism
into Leinster than any of Strongbow's military forays. William is also credited
with founding Tintern Abbey, Wexford, as a thank you gift to God for granting
him safe passage across the Irish Sea during a particularly rough storm.
Regent of England
Ironically, it was William who came to King John's defence when the Barons of England threatened to depose him. He was one of the signatories of Magna Carta, an executor of King John' will and, following John's untimely death in 1216, served as Regent of the Realm during the minority of Henry III. For the next 3 years, William consolidated both his own family fortunes and the supremacy of Royal Authority.
Death of the Richest Man
Shortly before his death in 1216, William was made an honorary knight of the Order of the Knights Templar. It is my belief that he subsequently donated the lands at Ballintemple to the Knights Templar for use as a sanctuary. William was the richest man in the kingdom when, aged 72, he died at Caversham in England on 14th May 1219. He was buried as a Knight Templar in the Temple Church, London. Isabel died a year later and is probably buried in a tomb in Sr. Mary's Church, New Ross, which bears the inscription "ISABEL LA FEM".
The Succession
By an act of partition dated 9th May 1247, the Marshalls vast estates were divided among William and Isabel's five daughters - Maud, Joan, Eva, Isabel and Sibyl - and their families - Bigod, de Munchinsi, de Braoise, de Clare and de Ferrers. (2) Probably the most powerful of these heirs was Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester and Hereford, who married Isabel Marshall and secured the entire county of Kilkenny as part of her dowry. County Kilkenny later passed by marriage through the Le Spencer family (forbears of Princess Di) to James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde.
William's Legacy
In 2000, The Sunday Times listed William Marshal as the 2nd richest man in the British Isles to have lived during the 13th century, worth about STG£9.9 million in today's money. The richest was Richard, Earl of Cornwall, a younger brother of Henry III. Among William Marshal's legacies to survive are the Black Abbey in Kilkenny City and Ferns Castle, St. Mary's Church, Tintern Abbey and the bridge at New Ross in Co. Wexford.
(1) Strongbow descended from the Carolingian Line, tracing its roots back to Charlemagne. By marrying his daughter, William Marshall thus ensured his heirs were also descended from the Carolingian Line.
(2) A family tree showing William Marshall's descendents can be found here.