MARSHAL
family,
earls of Pembroke
, etc.
WILLIAM
MARSHAL
(I) (
1146?
-
1219
),
regent of England
,
was the first
earl of Pembroke and Striguil
of the
Marshal
line. He was the son of
John
Fitz Gilbert
(
John the Marshal
) by his
second wife,
Sybil
, sister of
Patrick de Salisbury
,
1st earl of Wiltshire
. In
1189
king
Richard
gave him in marriage,
Isabel
,
countess of Striguil and Pembroke
, daughter of
Richard de Clare
(see
Clare
family
), who brought him position and lands in
England
,
Ireland
, and
Normandy
as well as in
Pembroke
and
Gwent
. Henceforward, he, and his sons after him,
played an important role in the political and military history of Wales and the Marches
. During the campaign of
Rhys ap Gruffydd
in
1192
against the
Normans
of
South Wales
he was
one of the leaders of the Norman expedition
which raised the siege of
Swansea castle
and saved
Gower
from the
Welsh
. He also helped to finance the expedition. His great authority in the
Marches
was enhanced when
king
John
made him
custodian
of
Cardigan castle
in
1202
. In
1204
he captured
Kilgerran castle
in the
lordship of Emlyn
, to which he laid claim, from
Maelgwn ap Rhys
, whose rule was thus confined to
Ceredigion
. During the rift between them in
1207-11
the
king
deprived
William
Marshal
of the
castle of Cardigan
, giving it to
William de London
in
1207
. But in
1211
William
was
summoned to the king's aid
in an expedition against the
Welsh
and his
English
and
Welsh
castles were returned to him. Next year he took part on the
king
's side in the war against
Llywelyn ap Iorwerth
. Back in royal favour, he was restored to the
castle of Haverford
on
19 Oct. 1213
and, next year, to the royal castles of
Cardigan
,
Carmarthen
, and
Gower
. He was the
king's chief representative in South Wales
during these years of strife and
commander-in-chief
of the loyal
Marcher barons
in the struggle against
Llywelyn ap Iorwerth
and the other
Welsh princes
who were in league with the rebellious barons of
John
's realm. His defence of his own lands and strongholds in
Dyfed
was not very successful when
Maelgwn ap Rhys
and his nephew,
Rhys Ieuanc
, invaded them in
1215
. When hostilities ended with the
Peace of Worcester
(
March 1218
)
William
Marshal
, in the interest of the pacification of the country, willingly allowed
Llywelyn ap Iorwerth
to have the custody of the royal castles of
Cardigan
and
Carmarthen
, but he retained
Caerleon
which he had wrested from
Morgan ap Hywel
(q.v.)
in
1217
. He was a
benefactor of the abbeys
of
Tintern
,
Pembroke
, and
Pill
, and granted a charter to the town of
Haverfordwest
. He d.
15 May 1219
.
He was succeeded by
WILLIAM
MARSHAL
(
II
)
, the first of his five sons who in turn became
earls of Pembroke
. In
1220
his domain in
Dyfed
was attacked by
Llywelyn ap Iorwerth
who had complained of the inroads made by the
earl
's tenants on the
Welsh
in spite of the truce. On appeal to the
king
a settlement was concluded. In
1223
he took vengeance on
Llywelyn
when, with an army from
Ireland
, he recaptured
Cardigan
and
Carmarthen
and regained
Emlyn
, and the
Welsh prince
was forced to come to terms. He was appointed
constable of the castles
of
Cardigan
and
Carmarthen
which he held till
1226
. In this campaign he received some
assistance from
Cynan ap Hywel ap Rhys
who was rewarded with the lands of
Emlyn
and
Ystlwyf
.
William
Marshal
retained possession of
Caerleon
until his death although the question of his right therein was in dispute between himself, the
king
, and
Morgan ap Hywel
. He was engaged in the campaign of the
Marcher lords
against
Llywelyn
in
1228
. He d.
April 1231
.
On his death the
earldom
came into the hands of his brother
RICHARD
MARSHAL
(d.
1234
), who led the baronage in opposition to
Henry
III
and his foreign advisers. The old struggle between the
Marshals
and the
prince of Gwynedd
gave place to an alliance against the forces of the
Crown
in the war in the
Marches
,
1233-4
. In the first phase of the war the
king
took
Usk
from
Marshal
but a temporary truce was established on
6 Sept. 1233
. When
Richard
refused to restore
Caerleon
to
Morgan ap Hywel
the
king
retained
Usk
. On
15 Oct.
war was renewed and
Llywelyn
joined the
earl
.
Usk
was retaken and combined operations in the
Usk valley
led to the fall of several castles, including
Abergavenny
. The
king
was attacked at
Grosmont
c. 17 Nov.
, and forced to retire to
Hereford
; his forces were also defeated near
Monmouth
. In
Jan. 1234
Richard
Marshal
and
Llywelyn
devastated the border. After these victories
Richard
crossed to
Ireland
and in March the
king
decided to call a truce. On
15 April
Richard
d. in
Ireland
.
His brother and successor,
GILBERT
MARSHAL
(d.
June 1241
), who was received by
Henry
III
, was granted the castles and towns of
Carmarthen
and
Cardigan
on
9 Dec. 1234
. In
1235
he was given the custody of
Glamorgan
during the minority of the heir, and also the honour of
Carmarthen
. He kept
Morgan ap Hywel
out of his ancestral seat at
Caerleon
and in
1236
for a time seized his castle of
Machen
. He was a
benefactor of the abbey
of
Tintern
and the
leper's hospital of S. Mary Magdalene
of
Little Haverford
.
It was his successor,
WALTER
MARSHAL
(d.
24 Nov. 1245
), who was sent by his brother,
earl Gilbert
, to fortify
Cardigan
in
1240
; he also took for his brother lands appurtenant to the honour of
Carmarthen
— the commotes of
Ystlwyf
and
Emlyn above Cuch
which the
earl
then granted to
Maredudd ap Rhys Grug
. After succeeding to the earldom (
1234
) he seems to have played no important part in
Welsh
affairs.
ANSELM
MARSHAL
,
the last of the sons of
William
Marshal
the regent
, d. in
Dec. 1245
, before he was invested with the earldom. Like his brothers, he had no issue.
Bibliography:
-
Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography
;
-
The Complete Peerage
, 1910–40
, x, 358-76;
-
A History of Wales
;
-
S. Painter
,
William Marshal, knight-errant, Baron and
Regent of England
, Baltimore, 1933
(Baltimore,
1932
);
-
Calendar of Ancient Correspondence
concerning Wales
, 1935
(ed.
J. G. Edwards
), 2-5, 12-13, 29-30, 34, 36, 48, 51;
-
Littere Wallie
, 1940
(ed.
J. G. Edwards
), 38-9;
-
R. F. Walker
, ‘Richard Marshal and the Rising of 1233-4’ (M.A. thesis, University of Wales,
1950
);
-
K. Norgate
,
The Minority of Henry III
, London,
1912
,
1912
;
-
F. M. Powicke
,
King Henry III and the Lord Edward the
community of the realm in the thirteenth century
,
Oxford, 1947
,
1947
.
Author:
Dr Bertie George Charles, Ph.D., (1908-2000), Aberystwyth
