The Knight Who Would Rule a Kingdom | William Marshal

This is Oli from History Profiles and welcome to another video. Today's video will be about the knight and warrior William Marshall, the fourth son of a 12th century baron and how he rose to become one of the greatest well-known knights in all the realm. William was born in England around the year 1146. His father John Marshall was a minor noble who was involved in civil war between succession of Empress Matilda and King Stephen. This would lead to a long war called the Anarchy and England would become a lawless and chaotic land. King Stephen besieged John Marshall's castle and then took a young William hostage to ensure his father John would surrender the castle. However, John Marshall used this opportunity in which to reinforce the castle and to alert Matilda's forces. King Stephen then ordered John to surrender or William would be hanged and his father said, go ahead I still have the anvil with which to forge more and better sons. King Stephen could not bring himself to harm the young boy, thus William was spared. He remained a hostage for several months and was released when the civil war ended. Knowing he was the he knew he would have to make his own way. At the age of 12 he was sent to the Chateau de Trancarville, a castle in Normandy. He would be brought up in the household of William de Trancarville, a cousin of William's mother. Here he would begin his training to become a knight. He would learn about biblical stories, latin prayers and would hear French romance literature and learn concepts of chivalry. In 1166, when he was aged 20, he would be knighted on a campaign in Upper Normandy. This is where he first had his true taste of battle, where he is said to have fought well and with valour. One year later he would be sponsored to fight in his first tournament, where he would further develop his skills with the horse and lance and test his combat abilities with the sword and mace against other knights from all over Europe. These endeavors would later make him a tournament champion as he was very gifted with the sword. In 1168, William would find himself serving the household of his uncle, Patrick, Earl of Salisbury. One day, Patrick was riding with Queen Eleanor and William was part of the escort. However, they were ambushed by Guy de Louisiane, who was attempting to capture the Queen. In the ambush, William's uncle Patrick was killed while the Queen managed to escape the danger. William would receive a wound to his thigh and was then taken as hostage. After a time, he was ransomed by the Queen, who was impressed by his bravery. He would then join the Queen's household and remain there for two years. William would then become young King Henry's tutor in arms and would travel with the boy around Europe to participate in tournaments. From 1176 to 1182, William and the young Henry would gain reputation and prestige from besting all their opponents and crushing or cleaving their way into victory. These melees could be deadly as warriors would be in a full suit of armour, thrusting and slashing at each other with their weapons until someone fell from the field. William would later become a legend due to his constant victories and would be held as the tournament champion many times over. It is said that he bested over 500 knights in his time in single combat and the joust. Both William and the young King became somewhat celebrities due to their skills and martial prowess. William and young King Henry's friendship would come to an end however, as William was accused of having an affair with the King's wife. By 1183, he was removed from the young King's service and he was now lost. After a while, William was cleared of all charges against the King and they had a reconciliation, but the young King quickly became sick and died on the 11th of June 1183. On his deathbed, the young King asked William to carry out a task. This task was for William to take up the crusade to the Holy Land as the young King had vowed to do it, but knowing his impending death awaited, he could not complete this vow. So his friend William would complete this vow for him. William left for the Holy Lands in 1183 and nothing is known of his activities in the Holy Lands except he fought alongside King Guy of Jerusalem and the Knights Templar. He fulfilled the King's vow. After he returned from the Holy Lands, he joined King Henry II's court. In 1189, a skirmish would take place where Henry II would have to take flight on his horse in order to avoid his son Richard the Lionheart who would try and seize the crown for himself. William unhorsed Richard and could have killed him, but killed his horse instead to show the Prince that if he truly wanted to, he could have put him to the sword. According to legend, William Marshall was said to be the only man to ever unhorse Richard the Lionheart. Once King Henry died, Richard the Lionheart ascended to the throne. William was welcomed to the royal court by his former enemy. As King Richard knew, William Marshall was a man whose feats, loyalty and accomplishments were too useful to disregard. At the age of 43, Marshall would marry the 17-year-old daughter of Richard de Clare who was the Earl of Pembroke and due to the marriage, William acquired large estates in England, Wales and Normandy. William had just gone from a landless knight serving his king to one of the richest men in the kingdom. William had five sons and five daughters with his wife and no doubt has a lot of descendants. In the year 1190, William was appointed to the Council of Regency which governed the country when Richard the Lionheart departed for the Holy Lands. He also acted as the King's General in his wars in France against King Philip II. Richard the Lionheart would die due to a crossbow bolt in his shoulder becoming infected while on his way back from the crusade. On his deathbed, he entrusted William with the royal treasure during the period of chaos where there was no king. Now at a high place in court, William would have a say in who he thought would be a good candidate to be the next king. William supported King John when he became the king in the year 1199. King John however would have a number of problems whilst he was king. He would go to war against King Philip II of France and would lose a lot of land in Normandy. William would pay homage to King Philip in order to keep his possessions and properties in Normandy and this would cause a falling out between William and King John as he felt insulted by this. King John also had hostilities with most of his barons which then resulted in the sealing of Magna Carta. King John however wasn't adhering to Magna Carta's legislation and his barons had had enough. This would result in the first barons war where the country would go into a civil war where the loyalists would fight the rebellious barons and their armies. After a lot of fighting, King John died of dysentery and once again a king asked William for a favour on their deathbed. King John asked William to make sure his nine-year-old son Henry would assume the throne. William Marshall, one of the most respected knights and men in all of England, was named by the king's council to serve as the protector of the nine-year-old King Henry and serve as the regent of the kingdom. William was basically the king in all but name, ruling over the kingdom until the young king came of age. In the battle of Lincoln, an invading French force backed by English barons made themselves known. William charged and led his army at the age of 70, leading them to victory against the forces of Prince Louis whose father had warred with King John. William, now aged 72, realised his life was fading. In 1219, he summoned his son William and his household knights to his estate in Caversham where he called a meeting of the barons. He entrusted the regency to the papal legate, not trusting the bishop or any other barons at the kingdom. He died on the 14th of May 1219 at Caversham and was buried in Temple Church in London where his tomb can still be seen. In his time, William Marshall had seen it all, the battlefield, the glory of the tournaments, the scheming barons in court and the death of many kings. He was truly an inspiring man, being the fourth son of a minor noble who climbed his way up honourably to rule the kingdom of England. Thanks for watching the video guys, if you enjoyed it make sure to hit that like and subscribe button, also share it and I'll see you next time for another video, bye.