William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke (1219-31), Founder of St. Mary Roncevall.

The House of Roncesvalles appears to have owed most of its property in England and in Ireland to the liberality of William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, the eldest son of the great William Marshall—Rector regis et regni—the Protector of the King and his kingdom after the death of John. The elder Marshall stands out in conspicuous fashion as the most steadfast of all the advisers of the king during the dark period coinciding with the reigns of Richard I and John. His early years were passed in France, acquiring skill in the martial exercises commonly practised by the young nobles of the day, and his courage and proficiency in arms were such that he had early acquired the reputation of being one of the most redoubtable knights in Christendom. If no other evidence remained of his prowess, the historic passage of arms against Richard Cœur de Lion while still Count of Poitiers will be sufficient proof.[[5]] On this occasion he overthrew Richard and held him at his mercy, preventing the mad attack on his father, and probably saved the Prince from the fate of being a parricide. In addition to his skill in the use of arms, he gradually built up for himself a reputation for prudence, sagacity and loyalty, so that while still a young man he was entrusted with the guardianship of the young Henry, son of Henry II, and in the succeeding reigns occupied the most prominent positions under the English Crown, trusted by the barons and even by John. The testimony of the French King Philip Augustus, when informed of the death of William Marshall, as to his reputation for loyalty and honour remains on record: “Et, en vérité le Maréchal fut l’homme le plus loyal que j’aie jamais connu.”[[6]]

[5]. “Al conte Richard ki veneit.
E quant li quens le vit venir
Si s’escria par grant haïr:
‘Par les gambes Dieu! Maréchal
Ne m’ociez; ce sereit mal.
Ge sui toz desarmes issi.’
Et li Maréchal respondi:
‘Nenil! diables vos ocie!
Cor jo ne vos ocirai mie.’”

—“L’Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal,” 8836-8844; publié pour la Société de l’Histoire de France par Paul Meyer.

[6]. “Dist li reis ‘mes li Maréchal Fu, al mien dit, li plus leials, Veir, que jeo unques coneusse En nul liu ou je unques fusse.”

—“L’Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal,” 19149-19152.

During the many years of William Marshall’s residence abroad he travelled widely throughout France and no doubt in Northern Spain. It is well known that he went on pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre in fulfilment of a promise given to the young Henry on his deathbed. Marshall must have been very familiar with the reputation of the Monastery at Roncesvalles. There can be little doubt that he had passed it on his journeyings; the military-religious character of its Rule would have appealed to him, and he may even have rested in the House of the Convent. His piety is evidenced by the fact that he became closely associated with the Order of the Knights Templars, was one of their great benefactors in England, and at his death received sepulture in their church, then newly built in London.

The elder Marshall died in the year 1219, and was succeeded by his eldest son, also called William, who then became possessed of one of the most extensive heritages in England, for the English and Welsh lands of the Clares, Earls of Pembroke, and in addition their great Irish inheritance in Leinster, had come into the possession of the Marshall family.

What we know of the son shows him to have been a man of much the same type as his father—probably not so rugged, but with the same steadfast ideals of loyal conduct. It is evident that his character was as strongly tinctured with religious feeling as was that of his father. He also was an Associate of the Order of the Knights Templars, and was one of their principal supporters after their removal to the “New Temple,” where the “Temple” Church still stands. His admiration for his father is clearly shown by the priceless biography of the elder William which we still possess. This poem is known as “L’Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal” and is evidently the work of a professional writer of the period, but it was composed under the direction of the son of the great Marshall with the assistance of Jean d’Erleé,[[7]] his father’s old companion and faithful squire.

[7]. Erlée; Earley (Erleia, Erlegh, &c.), near Reading.