Here is the latest reply to our Back-in-Time Survey. Thank you, Steve Johnson, for your well-written and impassioned response.
The one person who I would wish to travel back in time to see would be William Marshal (d. 1219). His rise from a landless younger son to one of the greatest knights in Christendom, to the influential Earl of Pembroke and, eventually, to regent of England is one of the best stories in all of history.In your article Knight Life 3 you might as well have been talking about William Marshal when you talked of knights winning fortune and renown in the tournaments. He claimed at the end of his life to have taken the ransoms of 500 knights. His prowess as a warrior also brought him the patronship of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Henry II made him tutor to his oldest son Henry in the matters of chivalry and knighthood. He even at one time unhorsed Richard the lion-heart while fighting a rear-guard action for Henry II.
His prowess and his reputation for honor and forthrightness brought him into Richard's service and led to his being given the heiress of Striguil (one of the wealthiest heiresses in the kingdom) as his bride. He served as an administrator of the kingdom while Richard was on crusade and helped smooth the succession to John after Richard's death.
He was one of John's closest advisers and played a significant role, on the loyalist side, in the creation of Magna Carta. He became the Regent in the period of rebellion and french invasion after John's death. It was largely due to his energy and efforts (at 72 years old) that the French were repelled from England and that the government and Exchequer were stabilized.
I could go on further about William Marshal's accomplishments but I will summarize by saying that he is one of England's greatest heroes as well as one of the most noteworthy characters in history.
For more about William Marshal (considered by many to be the quintessential knight), check out a biography by Catherine Armstrong at the Castles of Wales site. You can find Knight Life #3 and other articles about the medieval knight at our Knight Life Table of Contents.
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