William Marshal, Knight-errant, Baron, and Regent of England

by Sidney Painter

For the first forty years of his life Marshal was a landless knight but by his marriage to the daughter of Earl Richard of Pembroke in 1189 he became a great feudal lord. His biography depicts the two extremes of feudal society. This edition was first published in 1933.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Medieval History, Medieval, British Literature, Plantagenet

305 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1933

About the author

Johns Hopkins University

Reviews

[Julie Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 3rd Marshal biography.

Found the book both informative and humorous, with understated humor:
[after describing the effort of John FitzGilbert to leave his first wife to marry the sister of his enemy] This arrangement was eminently satisfactory from John's point of view ... Such advantages were well worth the trouble of changing wives.
and
But John Marshal, having four sons and a fruitful wife, considered the youngest of his sons of far less value than a strong castle.
or
There could be no more intriguing picture than that of [king] John and William travelling about England together in the spring of 1208 while their representatives, with their complete if unofficial approval, waged war on each other in Ireland.

Places the action found in the Historie firmly in time with lengthy descriptions of what is happening in the world around him. (Which is great if you are new to the time period, but not so much if you already have a strong background.) 12 Chapters are devoted to each section of his life, starting with "Squire" through "Lord of Leinster" and ending with "Regent of England" with the final chapter being superbly written "The Death of a Baron"

I did not find this as good as Crouch's biography - I am looking more for themes and how Marshal impacted society as compared exactly what he was doing. I also felt Crouch did a better job of pointing out where the Historie was (to be blunt) lying. I would probably have enjoyed this more if I read it first.

[elche_dimmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is meant mostly for those who are familiar with English Medieval history particularly the history of English Medieval Royalty. I am a history buff, but I did find that reading this book took me a lot longer to finish. There are many passages in the book that require you to already understand the history and backgrounds of many historical characters. Basically, this is not a book for the general public. One book on this subject that may be better for general readers would be "The Greatest Knight" by Thomas Asbridge. This author pulls a good chunk of his information from Painter's book which is the reason I started reading Painter first.
While this book was a bit of a challenging read, I did enjoy it.

[Norman Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a number of years ago (11 is the number), and continue to remember how impressed I was by the author's ability to tell a compelling story based on what must be pretty scanty sources.

The life of the Marshall, from happy, laughing toddler to Marshall of England, and Regent, is perfectly amazing. It would make a great mini-series, in my opinion, if it were done well.

However, I doubt it would be done as well as this book.

This is a work of serious history, and at times it was tough chewing, but it worth the effort.

[no · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed, antiquated biography of William Marshall, the Forrest Gump of late 12th/early 13th century Anglo-Norman chivalry. The prose has a dorky panegyric quality that for a modern sensibility reads unprofessionally, but that's not uncommon for older medievalist writing, and I confess I find it endearing. A little forbidding for how many names get dropped without introduction or explication.

Takeaway:
"The whole affair must have been eminently satisfactory to William. The battle itself had been of a kind to gladden his knightly heart. In a day filled with jousts and gallant deeds of prowess few good men had lost their lives. Louis' cause was irreparably injured. God had favored his chosen warriors."

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the 3rd book I've read about the phenomenal and legendary man William Marshal - and I'm very happy I read this one last. This is essentially an academic review of William's life, and it is *thorough*! There are a lot of moving pieces to this story - many different people, locations, medieval terms. It took me a while to get started and into the pace of the book. And that was *with* knowing the basic story of William's life from the more fictionalized novels I had already read. If I didn't already know the people and places, I would have been entirely lost.

But I highly recommend this as the authoritative English-language biography of William Marshal, which is a difficult task because the man was outstanding in every sense of the word. There are incredibly few men (or women) who have walked this earth and done so much with such honesty, perseverance, strength of character, ... and ... LUCK! The man was certainly blessed.

Painter does a fabulous job of weaving the story together, particularly for the last half of the book. The only downside is that any new scholarship since 1933 is obviously missing. But well worth your time and effort to read this one anyway.

[Nathan Balyeat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well organized history of William Marshal, and probably the best currently available to the common reader in English. Painter is not overly optimistic in his assessment of William's life, nor is he overly cynical (like David Crouch is). There is substantial detail as well as a thorough evaluation of the French translation of the "History of William Marshal" poem, originally written in an obscure dialect of Norman French. Until recently, it was the only English history of any depth available to historians.

This is one I'm going to reread as a companion to the new English translation of the "History".

[Byrdman50010 Minor · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Marshal is one of those figures that if he didn't exist would have had to be invented. A landless knight who uses his extraordinary fighting skills and his uncommon common sense to climb the social ladder to become regent of England. Painter's book is a not a story book read but an examination of the historical information on this amazing man.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much vital to my dissertation research. Very detailed. I liked.