William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke 
by Catherine Armstrong*

William Marshal

In a room of the Tower of London in August 1189, two people who were about to be married met for the first time. This twist of fate or act of destiny would have a far-reaching effect on English history. 

The young lady was Isabel de Clare, sole heiress of Richard Strongbow de Clare, Earl of Pembroke and Striguil, and Aoife, daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster. 

Aiofe

The man was William Marshal, the second son of John the Marshal and Sibyl, sister of Patrick, Earl of Salisbury. 

There are no accounts of this first meeting nor of their marriage ceremony, but this was the final step in the making of one of the greatest knights and magnates of medieval English history.

John fitz Gilbert (Marshal's father)

John fitz Gilbert was the father of William Marshal Earl of Pembroke. John was the son of Gilbert, the marshal of the royal household of King Henry I. The office of the marshal was part of the Curia, with a deputy in the Exchequer and one in the King's Bench, as well as one in the Court of the Marshals of the King's household. The office was subordinate to the office of constable of the royal household.. The office was responsible for everything connected to the horses of the royal household, the hawks and the hounds as well.

The Children of William Marshal and Isabel de Clare

The parents of Isabel de Clare (Marshal's wife)

Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Pembroke and Lord of Leinster, was the father of Isabel de Clare, wife of William Marshal. Richard was the son of Gilbert fitz Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, and Isabel de Beaumont, sister to Waleran Count of Meulan and Robert Earl of Leicester.

At the age of thirty-eight and still unmarried due to a lack of royal favor, Richard was ready for the arrival and proposal of Dermot MacMurchada Lord of Leinster in 1168/69. 

Dermot offered Strongbow lands in Ireland, his daughter Eve in marriage, and the lordship of Leinster on Dermot's death. Dermot offered Strongbow a gamble, a chance, on winning lands, a royal wife, wealth, and knightly fame.

Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare, Strongbow (Marshal's father-in-law)

Strongbow's father was Gilbert fitz Gilbert de Clare, lord of Orbec and Bienfaite, lord of Striguil (Chepstow), and earl of Pembroke. Gilbert was a younger son of Gilbert fitz Richard de Clare, earl of Tonbridge and Clare and lord of Ceredigion, the Marcher lordship of Cardigan. 

Strongbow's mother was Isabel (Elizabeth) de Beaumont, sister to Robert earl of Leicester and Waleran count of Meulan. Isabel had been the youngest mistress of King Henry I, and their liaison resulted in a natural daughter, Isabel (Elizabeth), born c.1129/30. When Isabel de Beaumont married Gilbert in 1130, she took this daughter with her. Strongbow was born before the end of 1130; thus he was raised with the natural half-sister of the Empress Matilda.

Legend of Tintern Abbey

According to the legend, a group of young men had come to see the Abbey and decided to employ several laborers to dig in the orchard that adjoins the Abbey to see if they could discover some antiquities. They apparently discovered the remains of two human skeletons and decided to celebrate their discovery by having an evening feast held within the ruins of the Abbey (Beattie 108).

A Serendipitous Discovery at Tintern Abbey

For Aoife [princess of Leinster and widow of "Strongbow"] to be buried in Tintern Abbey, she must have died in Wales. Aoife was an Irish princess; "Strongbow," is buried in the Church of the Holy Trinity [Christ Church] in Dublin (Barnard 92; Diceto i 407). Common sense and the customs of the times dictate that only by dying in Wales would Aoife have been buried there. 

The discovery of Aoife MacMurrough’s [MacMurchada] burial place raises more questions than it answers. When did she return to Wales from Ireland? What was she doing in Wales? When did she die? Is this why her daughter Isabel de Clare and Isabel’s two youngest sons are buried at Tintern?

Tournaments and William Marshal 

William Marshal's tournament career reached its apex when he was appointed as head of the mesnie household of the young king Henry. Tournaments of Marshal's time were vastly different from the tournaments held in the late thirteenth century, and the majority of them were held on the continent because Henry II did not allow them to be held in England. The tournaments held on the continent were the training grounds for young men entering into knighthood. These young men could be noble heirs or second or later sons of nobles, barons, and/or magnates. These tournaments were the arenas through which the young males entered into the elite military order of the middle ages.

Catherine Armstrong

Catherine Armstrong has Master's degree in Professional Writing from Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia . Her field is medieval English history. Her specific field is William Marshal, his fiefs and "familiares". Her concentration is on the lands and people bound to Marshal by blood and marriage, by feudal tenure, and by "affinity". 

Ms Armstrong's essays form a complementary 4-part series focusing on the life and times of William Marshal and his father-in-law Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare two of the most powerful and influential men of their time. Each essay is accompanied by an extensive and valuable bibliography.

She can be reached via e-mail at: [email protected]

Welsh Castles

"In a country with relatively few great churches and abbeys, and even fewer unfortified manor houses, the Castles of Wales form the most imposing group of monuments left from the Middle Ages. In terms of grandeur they are second only to the dramatic landscape." Adrian Pettifer ~ Welsh Castles

Castles Location Map
Wales (Traditional Counties) - This map is clickable.

Pembrokeshire Castle, South-West Wales

Caldicot Castle, Monmouthshire, South Wales

Carew Castle  

Built in the 13th century by Sir Nicholas de Carew, whose family had made money in their forays into Ireland. He probably built Carew's three towers, the chapel and the massive west front.

  Britannia.com 

• Boudicca's Rebellion, 61 AD
  A contemporary account by the Roman historian, Tacitus, about the nearly-successful British uprising led by Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni.
• The Confession of St. Patrick
  A statement of faith in his own words (believed to be authentic) of the famous British missionary to Ireland.
• De Excidio Britanniae, c.540
  Sixth century diatribe written by the monk, Gildas, giving some insight into darkage Britain and the situation that gave rise to the legend of Arthur.
• Riothamus to the Rescue, 467 AD
  Excerpt from Jordanes' sixth century "Gothic History" telling of a vain attempt on the part of the King of the Britons and 12,000 men to help the Roman Emperor, Anthemius
• The Battle of Llongborth, c.480
  An English translation of a sixth century Welsh poem, called "Elegy for Geraint," which mentions Arthur.
• The Coming of St. Augustine
  Account of the coming of Roman Christianity to the island of Britain in 597, by the 8th century historian, the Venerable Bede.
• Pope Gregory's Letter to Bishop Mellitus
  A letter of instructions to Bishop Mellitus, who was joining Augustine's mission in England, on how to handle the jold religious customs of the newly converted pagans.
• The Synod of Whitby
  Bede's account of the council in 664, at which the Roman church established its primacy over the Celtic church. At issue was the method by which Easter should be dated.
• Historia Brittonum
  Nennius' ninth century entertaining, but questionable, collection of the facts, myths and fables covering the early history of Britain. Special emphasis on Arthur.
• Peace of Wedmore
  Ninth century agreement between the English and Danes, establishing the Danelaw.
• Asser's Life of King Alfred
  The earliest known biography of Alfred the Great, written by a Welshman from St. David's, who served the king as Bishop of Sherbourne.
• Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
  Fascinating (and massive) 52-part account of history covering the years 1 through 1154 AD from the point of view of the Anglo-Saxons. This is the COMPLETE TEXT.
• Annales Cambriae, c. 970
  The tenth century Annals of Wales containing two interesting references to King Arthur, which have been taken by some to be proof of his historicity.
• The Battle of Hastings, 1066
  William of Malmesbury's description of William of Normandy's conquest of England
• Laws of William the Conqueror
  The civil laws instituted by the new King William I and his barons for control of their new land.
• William II, Rufus
  Peter of Blois' description of the Conqueror's son, from a twelfth century chronicle.
• Henry I
  Excerpt from a contemporary chronicle illuminating one of the great medieval kings.
• The Charter of Henry I
  The document on which Magna Carta was based.
• King Stephen
  Henry of Huntingdon documents the unfortunate reign of Stephen, the worst king England ever had.
• Constitutions of Clarendon, 1164
  Henry II's attempt to reestablish royal prerogatives after the disastrous reign of Stephen.
• Assize of Clarendon, 1166
  Concerns the establishment of judicial procedure in order to check the power of the baronage, in the reign on Henry II.

  Britannia.com 

Medieval Resources Directory

Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence
John, Baron Beauchamp of Warwick
Thomas Beauchamp, 3rd Earl of Warwick
Thomas Beauchamp, 4th Earl of Warwick
Sir Nicholas De La Beche
Sir Edmund De La Beche
Edward the Black Prince
Humphrey De Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford
William De Bohun, Earl of Northampton
Sir Bernard Brocas
Robert the Bruce, King of Scots
Sir Geoffrey Chaucer
Hugh Junior, Baron Courtenay
Hugh Le Fitz, Baron Courtenay
Sir Peter Courtenay
Sir Ivo FitzWarin
Sir William FitzWarin
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster
Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster
Robert, 1st Baron Holland
Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent
Edmund Langley, Duke of York
Sir Thomas Malory
St. Margaret, Queen of Scots
John, Baron Mohun of Dunster
Geoffrey of Monmouth
John Montacute, Earl of Salisbury
William Montacute, 2nd Earl of Salisbury
Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March
Margery Poynings
Miles, 1st Lord Stapleton
Sir Miles Stapleton
Sir William Trussell Senior
Sir William Trussell Junior
Sir Thomas Wale
Gerald of Wales
John Wycliffe

• Inquest of Sheriffs, 1170
  Henry II's correction of the abuses of power by the sheriffs who, under the weak rule of King Stephen, were servants of the local barons. rather than the crown.
• Life of Thomas Becket
  An account written by Gervase of Canterbury
• Death of Thomas Becket
  An account of Becket's final days written by Gervase of Canterbury
• Henry II and Becket
  A largely objective account of Henry II's struggles with his recalcitrant Archbishop of Canterbury by William of Newburgh
• "Martyrdom," The Death of Thomas Becket
  An emotional account of the attack on Becket's life in Canterbury Cathedral told by Edward Grim, a man who stood by him and nearly lost his own life in the process
• Life of St. Godric, 12th Century
  Reginald of Durham's life of a medieval merchant who became a saint, giving some insight into the economy of the middle ages.
• The Norman Conquest of Ireland, 12th Century
  Gerald of Wales' charitable account of the Norman Marcher Lords' activities in Ireland.
• The Exhumation of Arthur's Body, c.1190
  Gerald of Wales' two eye-witness accounts, separated by twenty years in time, describing the digging up of King Arthur's grave at Glastonbury Abbey.
• King John's Concession, 1213
  The document in which John makes Pope Innocent III the overlord of England.
• Magna Carta, 1215
  The great charter of liberty, signed by King John, which proved to be the foundation of personal rights and freedoms now enjoyed in the UK and the US.
• The Rebellion of Simon de Montfort
  A skeptical contemporary account of the rebellion against Henry III by Matthew of Westminster.
• The Charter of St. Patrick
  A phony 13th century document, attributed to St. Patrick but actually concocted by the monks of Glastonbury Abbey to prove their primacy over the neighboring See of Bath and Wells.
• Manumission of a Villein, 1278
  A document releasing one William of Wythington from his bonds of legal servitude.
• Summonses to Parliament, 1295
  Three separate summonses (one to churchmen, one to barons and one to men of the shires) from Edward I to the parliament of 1295.
• Conformatio Cartarum, 1297
  Document written in the reign of Edward I, confirming the principles of Magna Carta.
• Ordinance of Labourers, 1349
  Edward III's vain attempt to freeze the wages of labourers to their pre-Black Death levels.
• Statute of Labourers, 1351
  The equally vain attempt to enfore the Ordinance of Labourers.
• The Prophecy of Melkin
  Prophecy, attributed to a fifth century pagan Celtic bard, allegedly fortelling the location of Joseph of Arimathea's grave at Glastonbury.
• Battles of Crecy and Poitiers
  Accounts of two of the major battles of the Hundred Years War.
• Peasant's Revolt, 1381
  A contemporary account of the meeting between Richard II and Wat Tyler, the leader of the Peasant's Revolt.
• Joan of Arc's Letter to Henry VI, 1429
  The letter sent by Joan to King Henry VI while he was laying siege to the French city of Orlean, during the Hundred Years War.
• Archbishop Cranmer on Henry VIII's Divorce, 1533
  Thomas Cranmer's interesting letter to Ambassador Hawkyns on the subject of Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and his marriage to Anne Boleyn.