Magna Carta Blog, Part 1: William Marshal Edition

Since I dont have any particularly interesting stories about my time docenting for the Magna Carta exhibit, I will instead write the story of William Marshal, an important person in the history of the Magna Carta. William Marshal was born in 1147 and was the second son of John Marshal (In those days the position of marshal was hereditary). Since he was the second son of his father William would inherit nothing from him and most people likely did not think he would go very far in life. However, William Marshal just so happened to be the protagonist of a real life underdog story. Shortly after being knighted sometime in 1166 William found his calling in life, tournaments, which he was incredibly skilled at. In 1168 William's uncle and teacher was killed in an ambush by Guy de Lusignan and William himself was captured, however, Eleanor of Aquitane, the Queen of England, was impressed with the young knight and his skill in tournaments and ransomed him. After this William joined the court of king Henry II, where his martial skills and loyalty soon resulted in him being given a minor castle in Cumbria. In 1189, when Richard, the third child and heir of Henry II rebelled against his father in 1189, it was William Marshal who kept the king safe on his retreat to Chinon, where Henry would later die. Deespite the fact that William Marshall had remained loyal to Henry II during the rebellion, King Richard still welcomed him into his court when the rebellion ended. When Richard went off on a crusade less than a year later William Marshal and his elder brother John Marshal, who was the marshal at that time, were left in England as part of the regency that would rule while Richard was away. In 1193 King Richard's younger brother John rebelled against the absent ruler and William Marshal joined the loyalists and John Marshal joined the rebellion. Sometime in 1194, as the rebellion was coming to end, John Marshal was killed at the castle of Marlborough and the victorious king Richard granted the position of marshal to William. In 1199, after the death of king Richard, William was welcomed into the court of King John, though he later had a falling out with John in 1204, which culminated in John removing William from his court and ordering most of his lands burned in 1207. Despite this, William still fought for king John in the rebellion that would end with the creation of the first Magna Carta. After John annulled the first Magna Carta and later died of dysentery, it was William Marshal who made sure that John's son Henry would become the next king of England and also served as the young kings regent, marking the pinnacle of William Marshal's rise, as he was now the most powerful man in England. During his regency William made sure that the second Magna Carta was successfully created. In 1219, William Marshal finally died of natural causes at the age of 72, on his deathbed he was fully inducted into the Knights Templar and was buried at the Temple Church in London.