Sir William Marshal 1st Earl of Pembroke

     Sir William Marshal 1st Earl of Pembroke was born in 1147; William Marshal was described as "the greatest knight that ever lived" by Stephen Langton. He served four kings - Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, John and Henry III - and rose from obscurity to become a regent in England for the last of the four, and so one of the most powerful men in Europe.
Before him, the hereditary title of "Marshal" designated head of household security for the king of England; by the time he died, people throughout Europe (not just England) referred to him simply as "the Marshal". He received the title of "1st Earl of Pembroke" through marriage during the second creation of the Pembroke Earldom. He is perhaps the most studied and therefore most famous of the Pembroke Earls in modern popular culture.
His life is well documented because less than a yera after his death, his eldest son, William II commissioned a record of life in "L'Historie de Guilliume le Marechal".¹
He married Isabel de Clare.¹ Sir William Marshal 1st Earl of Pembroke died on 14 May 1219 at Caversham, Berkshire, England; Marshal's health finally failed him early in 1219. In March 1219 he realised that he was dying, so he summoned his eldest son, also William, and his household knights, and left the Tower of London for his estate at Caversham in Berkshire, near Reading, where he called a meeting of the barons, Henry III, the papal legate Pandulf Masca, the royal justiciar (Hubert de Burgh), and Peter des Roches (Bishop of Winchester and the young King's guardian). William rejected the Bishop's claim to the regency and entrusted the regency to the care of the papal legate; he apparently did not trust the Bishop or any of the other magnates that he had gathered to this meeting. Fulfilling the vow he had made while on crusade, he was invested into the order of the Knights Templar on his deathbed. He died on 14 May 1219 at Caversham, and was buried in the Temple Church in London, where his tomb can still be seen.

After his death, his eldest son, also named William, commissioned a biography of his father to be written called L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechal. This book, written so soon after his death, has preserved (and probably enhanced) the legend of William Marshal for posterity. While his knightly achievements may be debatable, there is no doubt of his impact on the history and politics of England, from his stalwart defence of the realm to his support of the Magna Carta.¹ He was buried at Temple Church, London, England.¹