Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: L2ST-R18

Family/Spouse: de Chapteuil, Aspasie. Aspasie (daughter of de Chapteuil, Sulpicius II and de Chapteuil, Geila) was born in 814 in France; died in DECEASED in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Military: Comte de Mercoeur
• FSID: 9CCY-VBP
• Name: Ithier III DE MERCOEUR
• Birth: 810, Mercoeur, Haute-Loire, Auvergne, France
• Death: 880

Family/Spouse: de Mercouer, Arsinde. Arsinde was born in 835 in France; died in DECEASED in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: G8XP-89Y

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: G8XP-7XD

Family/Spouse: de Clermont, Robert I. Robert (son of de Clermont, Armand and de Velay, Bertilde) was born in 870 in Auvergne, France; died in 940 in Clermont, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Auvergne, France; Vicount
• FSID: G71X-VLP

Notes:

Robert II was nicknamed the Young during the foundation of the monastery of Chanteuges in 936, during his father's lifetime. He is mentioned as Viscount of Auvergne in the donation made by his brother, the bishop of Clermont, Stephen, to the chapter of Brioude in 962.

He was the son of Robert I, and the father of Robert III, Guy I of Auvergne and Guillaume I, who were viscounts or counts of Auvergne after him. He was also the brother of Stephen II, bishop of Clermont.

Wikipedia. (2020). Robert II de Clermont. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_II_de_Clermont [Accessed 4 Jun. 2021].

Translated into English

Family/Spouse: de Brioude, Ingelberge. Ingelberge (daughter of de Brioude, Dalmace I and de Brioude, Engelberga) was born in 910 in France; died in 962 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Auvergne, France; Count
• Nickname: Guillaume
• FSID: GSLQ-47Y

Notes:

HUMBERGE IS THE WIFE OF WILLIAM IV:

"GUILLAUME IV. Comte d'Auvergne. He is named in charters of his wife quoted below. MARRIED HUMBERGE, daughter of UNKNOWN. There is doubt about Humberge's parentage, but she MAY have been HUMBERGE, daughter of Etienne de Brioude and his second wife Adelais [Blanche] d’Anjou, a hypothesis which *appears* to provide a good solution to various chronological difficulties posed by references in different primary sources.

fmg.ac. (n.d.). AUVERGNE. [online] Available at: http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/AUVERGNE.htm#GuillaumeIVAuvergnedied1016 [Accessed 5 Jun. 2021].

"Si conosce il nome della moglie, Umberga, di cui non si conoscono gli ascendenti, come asserisce il Baluze, nella sua Histoire généalogique de la maison d'Auvergne."

"We know the name of his wife, Umberga, whose ancestors are not known, as Baluze asserts in his Histoire généalogique de la maison d'Auvergne."

ai (2013). Guglielmo IV d’Alvernia. [online] Wikipedia.org. Available at: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guglielmo_IV_d%27Alvernia [Accessed 5 Jun. 2021].

Contributeurs aux projets Wikimedia (2004). Guillaume IV d’Auvergne. [online] Wikipedia.org. Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_IV_d%27Auvergne [Accessed 5 Jun. 2021].

Family/Spouse: d'Auvergne, Humberge. Humberge (daughter of de Bourbon, Seigneur Aimond Ier) was born between 930 and 940 in Aquitaine, France; died in UNKNOWN in Aquitaine, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Life Event: Countess of Blois and Champagne
• FSID: LJYH-M8G

Ermengarde married de Blois, Odo II in 1003. Odo (son of de Blois, Odo I and de Bourgogne, Berthe) was born on 12 Mar 985 in Blois, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France; died on 15 Nov 1037 in Commercy, Meuse, Lorraine, France; was buried on 16 Nov 1037 in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Comte de Blois Meaux et Troyes
• FSID: L51Z-XMG

Notes:

"It is unclear whether the [second/third] wife of Thibaut III Comte de Blois could have been the daughter of Comte Raoul [III]."

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/nfravalver.htm#AdelaideValoisMThibautIIIBlois

THE PARENTAGE OF ADELA IS UNCERTAIN:

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/CENTRAL%20FRANCE.htm#ThibautIIIdied1089B
http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/CENTRAL%20FRANCE.htm#_ftnref156

!

Theobald married du Maine, Countess Gersende Berthe in 1045 in France. Gersende (daughter of du Maine, Herbert I and de Preuilly, Paula II) was born on 14 Oct 1024 in France; died on 10 May 1100 in Aquitaine, France; was buried after 10 May 1100 in Aquitaine, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Hereditary Mareschal de Normandie
• FSID: L55P-QVF
• Occupation: Hereditary Marshall of the Stable
• Residence: 1050; Sold lands at Vaucelles - to Duchess Matilda for Holy Trinity, Caen

Notes:

Miles the Marshal, and his wife Lesceline, in or after 1059, sold to the Countess Maud (the Conqueror's wife) for her foundation of the Abbey of the Holy Trinity at Caen, whatever they held in the vill of Vaucelles -- now a suburb of Caen -- and in the church and the mill there, for four score pounds. Miles and Leseline gave land at Caen, Vaucelles and Venoix in marriage with their daughter Beatrice to a certain Arfast. Miles sold to Lanfranc, abbot of St. Stephen's, Caen (1066-1070), the land occupied by the channel of the Odon, from the point at which it left the old channel, with both banks, but he died before Lanfranc left Caen for Canterbury in 1070. [Complete Peerage XI:Appendix E:122-3]
____

DE VENOIS.
From Venoix near Caen, Normandy. The barons of Venoix,Verbois or Venois held their fief as hereditary marshals of the stable (master of the horse) of the dukes of Normandy, hence they bore the name of le Marescal or Mareschal of Venois. Milo le Mareschal and Lasceline his wife, were living in 1050, when the duchess Matilda purchased lands at Vancelles from them for Holy Trinity at Caen.
They had issue:
. Ralph le Mareschal and other sons, who came to England at the conquest.
. Robert of Hastings
. Geoffrey the Marshall

Ralph was living in 1086 and had issue:
. Robert,
. Roger le Mareschal, who had lands in Essex,
. Gerald, owner of estates in Sussex, and
. Goisfred, a baron in Hampshire and Wiltshire in 1086 (Domesday). Goisfred was the father of Gilbert ancestor of the Mareschals.

Robert the eldest son, sometimes styled Fitz Ralph, de Hastings, and le Mareschal, was lord of Venoix and the king's sheriff or seneschal at Hastings, where, and at Rye, his descendants long held the revenue in farm from the crown. He had issue William de Hastings who c. 1100 married Juliana, granddaughter and heir of Waleran, a great baron in Essex, living in 1130. With Robert de Venoix his brother, he instituted a suit against his cousin, Gilbert Marescal and his son John, to recover the office of hereditary marshal, which Gilbert or Goisfrid his father had obtained and successfully held, although it could not have been theirs by right of birth. The suit failed, but William in compensation was created dapifer. Hence the celebrated and renowned family of Hastings, who married into the royalty of England and were so famous in history. From this line descended the Hastings, barons of Abergavenny, the marquesses of Hastings, the earls of Pembroke, and earls of Striguil in Ireland, as well as the earls of Huntingdon. This latter great branch of the family still exists in the male line which was ennobled in the person of sir William Hastings, created baron Hastings of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, by king Edward IV, in 1461, under which title he was summoned to parliament. He was one of the most powerful persons in the kingdom and erected at Ashby a magnificent castle, where afterwards Mary queen of Scots was kept in captivity. He possessed tremendous estates, the honours of Pevrel, Belvoir Hagenet, and Huntingdon, the lands of viscount Beaumont, Belvoir castle, with a great part of the possessions of lord Ros, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, which had belonged to the earls of Wiltshire, the castle and rape of Hastings. He was invested with many high offices; was ambassador to France, chamberlain to North Wales, constable of six castles and many more honours, too numerous to mention. Upon the death of king Edward IV, his greatness came to a sudden end, as he was lured to the tower of London by the new protector, Richard, duke of Gloucester, and beheaded forthwith in 1483.

--(Falaise Roll).
http://www.1066.co.nz/Mosaic%20DVD/library/people/venois.htm

Miles married de Venoix, Lesceline in 1035. Lesceline was born in 1022 in Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died in 1059 in Venoix, Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Blois, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France; Comte de Blois
• Appointments / Titles: Comte de Châteaudun, Meaux et seigneur de Sancerre, Saint-Florentin, Provins, Montereau, Vertus, Oulchy-le-Château, Château-Thierry, Châtillon-sur-Marne et Montfélix
• Appointments / Titles: Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France; Count
• FSID: LCP1-19Y

Notes:

Comte de Blois, Châteaudun, Chartres, Meaux
Champagne Count of Blois Brie and Chartres

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thibaud_III_de_Blois#Mariages

"This Gersende / Gundrade is said to be the mother of Etienne II de Blois, who marries Adèle de Normandie (Adèle de Blois), daughter of William the Conqueror, hence the succession of the Counts of Champagne, Blois and Sancerre, as well as the lords of Sully (and the kings of England during the reign of Stephen). However this thesis is controversial, because the reason for the repudiation of Gersende in 1048 seems to be the fact that she did not give a 'child to her husband. Étienne II de Blois, according to this hypothesis, would therefore rather come from the second marriage of Thibaud III. "

`

Étienne married de Normandie, Adèle in 1080 in Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France. Adèle (daughter of Beauclerc, King of England William and of Flanders, Matilda) was born in 1065 in Normandy, France; died on 8 Mar 1137 in Marcigny, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France; was buried after 8 Mar 1137 in Abbey of Holy Trinity, Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: M1GS-KQP
• Occupation: Hereditary Marshall of the Stable
• Appointments / Titles: 1070; Hereditary Mareschal de Normandie
• Appointments / Titles: 1086, Wiltshire, England; Lord and tenant-in-chief of Draicote
• Residence: 1086; Owner of estates in Hants and Wilts

Notes:

Geoffrey the Marshal, son and heir [of Miles], succeeded his father in or before 1070, and with his (unnamed) brother or brothers sold to St. Stephen's, Caen, a strip of cultivated land situated between the 2 branches of the Odon at Venoix and a tenant there. He gave abbot William (1070-79) the land in which the monks had made a channel of the Odon and the claim derived from it. In 1086 he held land in chief at East Worldham, Hants, as Geoffrey the Marshal, and as Geoffrey he held lands at Draycot, Wilts. His wife's name is unknown, but he is presumably father or grandfather of Robert de Venoix, who unsuccessfully claimed the office of Master Marshal against Gilbert the Marshal under Henry I. [Complete Peerage XI:Appendix E:123]

Son of Goisfrid De Bec and Lesceline (surname unknown). He had 2 wives: (No Name) and Aline Pipard - who was mother of his two sons. He was father of Gilbert (Fitz-Geoffrey) "The Marshal" Fitzrobert and Ilbert ou Gilbert "The Marshall". He was full-brothe

Family/Spouse: Pipard, Aline. Aline (daughter of Pipard, John) was born in 1060 in Normandy, France; died in 1105 in Pembrokeshire, Wales. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Nickname: Guillaume
• FSID: LZD1-94T
• Alternate Birth: 1087, Chartres, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1102 and 1107, Blois, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France; Count of Blois
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1102 and 1107, Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France; Count of Chartres
• Appointments / Titles: 1104, Sully, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France; Count of Sully

Notes:

William de Blois (William the Simple) was Count of Blois and Count of Chartres from 1102 to 1107, and Count of Sully. He was the eldest son of Stephen-Henry, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy, daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders.

He was the older brother of Theobald II, Count of Champagne, King Stephen of England and Henry, Bishop of Winchester.

William was the eldest legitimate male heir of William the Conqueror, after the death of Henry I, but he was not considered as a candidate for the English crown.

William was at first groomed to inherit the comptal throne, and was designated count shortly before his father's departure on his second crusade in 1102. Many historians believed William had a mental deficient, but this has never been substantiated. His mother found him obstreperous and unfit for wide ranging comptal duties. He did once assault and threaten to kill the Bishop of Chartres over a jurisdictional dispute. So, when her second son Theobald came of age, around 1107, Adela elevated him to the position of count of Blois-Chartres, and William retired to his wife's lands in Sully.

In 1104, William married Agnes of Sully, the heiress to the lordship of Sully-sur-Loire, a woman of admirable beauty attached to the court of William's mother. The marriage of William and Agnes was a happy one and several children were born.

Their children included:
Margaret (c. 1105 - 1145). She married Henry, Count of Eu, Lord of Hastings, about 1122.
Henry de Sully, Abbot of Fécamp (d. 1189)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/103820601/william-de_blois

WIlliam married de Sully, Agnes in 1104 in Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France. Agnes (daughter of de Sully, Gilles II and de Bourges, Eldeberge) was born in 1085 in Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France; died on 8 Mar 1137 in Saône-et-Loire, Franche-Comté, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: KN44-S54

Notes:

Margaret: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marshal_(Marshal_of_England)

"The name of Gilbert’s wife is not known."
http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLISH%20NOBILITY%20MEDIEVAL1.htm#JohnFitzGilbertMarshaldied1165

Family/Spouse: Giffard, Gilbert. Gilbert (son of Gifford, Robert and Conversana, Sybil) was born in 1065 in Tonbridge, Kent, England; died in 1130 in Winterborne Monkton, Dorset, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: LBHM-2M4

Notes:

MARGUERITE de Sully (-14 Dec 1145). "Henricus comes Augensis filius comitis Willermi" made donations to the abbey of St Michel, Tréport with the consent of "Margarita comitissa et fratres supradicti comitis Robertus, Willelmus major, Willelmus minor" by a charter dated 1101[784]. The necrology of the church of Eu records the death "15 Dec" of "Margareta Augensis comitissa, mater Johannis comitis"[785]. m as his third wife, HENRI I Comte d'Eu, son of GUILLAUME I Comte d'Eu & his [first/second] wife --- (-Fécamp 12 Jul 1140). [Medieval Lands.]

Marguerite married d'Eu, Henry I in 1122 in Eu, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France. Henry (son of of Hastings, William II and de Busli, Beatrice) was born in 1078 in Eu, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; died on 12 Jul 1140 in Foucarmont, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried on 12 Jul 1140 in Foucarmont Abbey, Foucarmont, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: 9CS2-QX2
• Appointments / Titles: 1129; King's Marshall
• Military: 14 Sep 1141, Winchester, Hampshire, England; Battle during "The Anarchy", a civil war of the time. It ended with John's side fleeing in a rout.

Notes:

John FitzGilbert the Marshal of the Horses (c. 1105 – 1165) was a minor nobleman of supposed Anglo-Norman origin, during the reign of King Stephen, and fought in the 12th century civil war on the side of Empress Matilda.

Life
Beginning in 1130[1] and probably earlier, he had been the royal marshal to King Henry I. When Henry died, John FitzGilbert swore for Stephen and was granted the castles of Marlborough and Ludgershall, Wiltshire during this time. Along with Hamstead Marshal, this gave him control of the valley of the River Kennet in Wiltshire. He also held lands in Somerset, Berkshire, and owned some buildings in Winchester.[2] When Empress Matilda and her supporters landed in Sussex in 1139 to press her claim for the throne, John seems to have only been a nominal supporter of Stephen.[3] His loyalty to the king seems to have been in sufficient doubt that his castle at Marlborough was briefly besieged. When Stephen was captured at the Battle of Lincoln in 1141, John switched allegiance to Matilda. In September 1141, Matilda fled the siege of Winchester and took refuge in the Marshal's castle at Ludgershall. While covering her retreat from Winchester, John Marshal was forced to take refuge at Wherwell Abbey. The attackers set fire to the building, and John lost an eye to dripping lead from the melting roof.[4]

In 1152, John had a celebrated confrontation with King Stephen, who had besieged him at Newbury Castle. After John had broken an agreement to surrender, Stephen threatened to kill his son, whom John had given as a hostage. John refused, saying he could make more sons, but Stephen apparently took pity on the young boy and did not kill him. The boy grew up to be William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, a legendary figure in medieval lore, and one of the most powerful men in England.

Later in his life, John briefly became entangled in the Becket Controversy. Having unsuccessfully tried to assert a claim over the archbishop's land in Pagham in 1164, John then appealed to the king. Although John's claims were dubious at best,[5] King Henry used the affair to his advantage against Becket, who had refused to appear in person at the appeal. The resulting Council of Northampton in October 1164 led to further charges being aimed at Becket, such as embezzlement during his time as chancellor,[6] and he would soon flee to the continent.

The office of Lord Marshal, which originally related to the keeping of the King's horses, and later, the head of his household troops, was won as a hereditary title by John, passed to his eldest son and was later claimed by William.

Family
John was the son of Gilbert, Royal Serjeant and Marshal to Henry I, and his wife Margaret. After his father died in 1129, John inherited the title of King's Marshal. John married Aline Pipard, whose father Walter Pipard had been a friend of John's father. John repudiated Aline, about 1141; she subsequently married Stephen de Gay. John married (2nd) Sibyl of Salisbury, the sister of Patrick of Salisbury, who had been a local rival of his, and a supporter of King Stephen, up to that point. John had two sons by Aline Pipard – Gilbert (died 1166) and Walter (died before 1165). Walter predeceased his father and Gilbert died shortly after inheriting his father's lands.

John's eldest son by Sibyl of Salisbury, also called John Marshal (1145–1194), inherited the title of Marshal, which he held until his death. The title was then granted by King Richard the Lionheart to his second son by Sibyl, William (1147–1219), who made the name and title famous. Though he had started out as a younger son without inheritance, by the time he inherited the title his reputation as a soldier and statesman was unmatched across Western Europe. John Marshal had four sons by his second wife. As well as John and William, there were Henry (1150–1206), who went on to become Bishop of Exeter, and Anselm, who served as a knight in the household of his kinsman, Rotrou IV, Count of Perche. There were also daughters: Maud (wife of William le Gras), Margaret and Sybilla. Maud's daughter, Margaret, married Ralph de Somery, son of John de Somery and Hawise de Paynell.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marshal_(Marshal_of_England)

---------------------------------------------------------------

“Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial & Medieval Families,” Douglas Richardson (2013):
“GILBERT, King's Marshal. He married ___. They had two sons, John and William Giffard. Sometime before 1130 he and his son, John, appeared in the king's court where they successfully maintained their office of master of the king's marshalsea against William de Hastings and Robert de Venoiz. He died in or shortly before 1130.
Hardy Rotuli Chartarum in Turri Londinensi Asservati 1(1) (1837): 46-47. East Anglian 3 (1869): 30-32. Round Commune of London (1899): 305-306. Painter William Marshal Knight-Errant, Baron & Regent of England (1933). C.P. 10 (1945): Appendix G, 91-99 (sub Rise of the Marshal). Keats-Rohan Domesday People (1999): 391 (author suggests Gilbert Marshal is possibly the son of Robert Marescal Norman, who occurs as a marshal in Domesday Wiltshire).
Children of Gilbert the Marshal, by
i. JOHN FITZ GILBERT (or JOHN THE MARSHAL) [see next].
ii. WILLIAM GIFFARD. He was presented to the church of Cheddar, Somerset sometime in the period, 1123-35. He was Chancellor to the Empress Maud c.1141-47. He is believed to be the William the Chancellor who witnessed three charters of King David I in Scotland. He appears to have witnessed charters between 1141 and 1153 as "Brother William Giffard." Rpt. on the MSS of the Wells Cathedral (Hist. MSS Comm. 12A) (1885): 68. Round Geoffrey de Mandeville (1892): 88-95, 123, 171, 180-183 (William the Chancellor styled "brother" [fratre] of John Fitz Gilbert), 195. Cal. MSS. Dean & Chapter of Wells 1 (Hist. MSS. Comm., vol. 12B(1) (1907): 144. C.P. 10 (1945): 526 footnote c (sub Pipard), Appendix G, 92, footnote h (sub Rise of the Marshal). Chibnall Anglo-Norman Studies 14 (1992): 31-32. Garnett & Hudson Land & Government in Medieval England & Normandy (1994): 291-292.”
------------------------
... William, who entered holy orders and had the living of the church of Cheddar in Somerset. He went on to become chancellor to the Empress Matilda.

http://livingthehistoryelizabethchadwick.blogspot.com/2009/10/biography-of-john-marshal.html

John married de Salisbury, Sibyl in 1144 in Wiltshire, England. Sibyl (daughter of de Salisbury, Sir Walter and Chaworth, Sibyl) was born on 27 Nov 1126 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England; died on 3 Jun 1176 in Pembroke Castle, Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales; was buried on 3 Jun 1176 in Bradenstoke, Wiltshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: G98D-ZKQ

Helisende married de St. Leger, Sir Reginald I in 1125 in Wartling, Sussex, England. Reginald (son of de St. Leger, Sir Geoffrey and FitzGilbert, Adeliza de Clare) was born in 1115 in Wartling, Sussex, England; died in 1176 in Sussex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Affiliation: Knight Templar
• Appointments / Titles: Marshall of England
• Nickname: The Protector
• FSID: LBGV-7WG
• Military: 1166; Knighted
• Appointments / Titles: 1189, Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales; 1st Earl of Pembroke
• Appointments / Titles: 1194; He succeeded his brother as Master Marshal of the king's household.
• Appointments / Titles: 27 May 1199, Pembrokeshire, Wales; 1st Earl
• Military: 1204; besieged Kilgerran
• Affiliation: 1215, Evesham, Worcestershire, England; one of the knights to secure the Magna Carta
• Military: 20 May 1217, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England; Custom Event • Military 20 May 1217 Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England Defeated traitorous English and French forces besieging the Castle of Lincol
• Death: 14 May 1219, Caversham Manor, Caversham, Oxfordshire, England

Notes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Marshal,_1st_Earl_of_Pembroke
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (Welsh: Iarll 1af Penfro) (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: Williame le Mareschal), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman.[1] He served five English kings – Henry II, his sons The "Young King" Henry, Richard I, and John, and John's son Henry III.

Knighted in 1166, he spent his younger years as a knight errant and a successful tournament competitor; Stephen Langton eulogized him as the "best knight that ever lived."[2] In 1189, he received the title of Earl of Pembroke through marriage during the second creation of the Pembroke Earldom. In 1216, he was appointed protector for the nine-year-old Henry III, and regent of the kingdom.

Before him, his father's family held a hereditary title of Marshal to the king, which by his father's time had become recognized as a chief or master Marshalcy, involving management over other Marshals and functionaries. William became known as 'the Marshal', although by his time much of the function was actually delegated to more specialized representatives (as happened with other functions in the King's household). Because he was an Earl, and also known as the Marshal, the term "Earl Marshal" was commonly used and this later became an established hereditary title in the English Peerage.[3]

Upon his return during the course of 1185 William rejoined the court of King Henry II, and now served the father as a loyal captain through the many difficulties of his final years. The returns of royal favour were almost immediate. The king gave William the large royal estate of Cartmel in Cumbria, and the keeping of Heloise, the heiress of the northern barony of Lancaster. It may be that the king expected him to take the opportunity to marry her and become a northern baron, but William seems to have had grander ambitions for his marriage. In 1188 faced with an attempt by Philip II to seize the disputed region of Berry, Henry II summoned the Marshal to his side. The letter by which he did this survives, and makes some sarcastic comments about William's complaints that he had not been properly rewarded to date for his service to the king. Henry therefore promised him the marriage and lands of Dionisia, lady of Châteauroux in Berry. In the resulting campaign, the king fell out with his heir Richard, count of Poitou, who consequently allied with Philip II against his father. In 1189, while covering the flight of Henry II from Le Mans to Chinon, William unhorsed the undutiful Richard in a skirmish. William could have killed the prince but killed his horse instead, to make that point clear. He is said to have been the only man ever to unhorse Richard. Nonetheless after Henry's death, Marshal was welcomed at court by his former adversary, now King Richard I, who was wise to include a man whose legendary loyalty and military accomplishments were too useful to ignore, especially in a king who was intending to go on Crusade.[1]

During the old king's last days he had promised the Marshal the hand and estates of Isabel de Clare (c.1172–1220), but had not completed the arrangements. King Richard however, confirmed the offer and so in August 1189, at the age of 43, the Marshal married the 17-year-old daughter of Richard de Clare (Strongbow). Her father had been Earl of Pembroke, and Marshal acquired large estates and claims in England, Wales, Normandy and Ireland. Some estates however were excluded from the deal. Marshal did not obtain Pembroke and the title of earl, which his father-in-law had enjoyed, until 1199, as it had been taken into the king's hand in 1154. However, the marriage transformed the landless knight from a minor family into one of the richest men in the kingdom, a sign of his power and prestige at court. They had five sons and five daughters, and have numerous descendants.[1] William made numerous improvements to his wife's lands, including extensive additions to Pembroke Castle and Chepstow Castle.[12]

William was included in the council of regency which the King appointed on his departure for the Third Crusade in 1190. He took the side of John, the king's brother, when the latter expelled the justiciar, William Longchamp, from the kingdom, but he soon discovered that the interests of John were different from those of Richard. Hence in 1193 he joined with the loyalists in making war upon him. In spring 1194, during the course of the hostilities in England and before King Richard's return, William Marshal's elder brother John Marshal (who was serving as seneschal) was killed while defending Marlborough for the king's brother John. Richard allowed Marshal to succeed his brother in the hereditary marshalship, and his paternal honour of Hamstead Marshall. The Marshal served the king in his wars in Normandy against Philip II. On Richard's death-bed the king designated Marshal as custodian of Rouen and of the royal treasure during the interregnum.[1]

On 11 November 1216 at Gloucester, upon the death of King John, William Marshal was named by the king's council (the chief barons who had remained loyal to King John in the First Barons' War) to serve as protector of the nine-year-old King Henry III, and regent of the kingdom. In spite of his advanced age (around 70) he prosecuted the war against Prince Louis and the rebel barons with remarkable energy. In the battle of Lincoln he charged and fought at the head of the young King's army, leading them to victory. He was preparing to besiege Louis in London when the war was terminated by the naval victory of Hubert de Burgh in the straits of Dover. [1]

Through his daughter Isabel, William is ancestor to both the Bruce and Stewart kings of Scots.

Through his granddaughter Maud de Braose, William is ancestor to the last Plantagenet kings, Edward IV through Richard III, and all English monarchs from Henry VIII and afterward.

William married FitzGilbert, Isabel de Clare on 8 Aug 1189 in London, Middlesex, England. Isabel was born between 8 Feb and 7 Mar 1172 in Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales; was christened in Tintern Abbey, Tintern, Monmouthshire, Wales; died on 11 Mar 1220 in Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales; was buried after 11 Mar 1220 in Tintern Abbey, Tintern, Monmouthshire, Wales. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]