36 Magnates and Churchmen

The History of England

David Crowther

Europe, Queen, England, Medieval, Politics, Royal, History, Parliament, English, King, Modern, Early Modern, Monarchy

4.8 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2011

⏱️ 29 minutes

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Summary

After joining Henry II's household, William's rise was steady - but with the arrival of Richard the Lion Heart it really took off. By the time of his death he was one of the most powerful men of the realm. We also look at the church - the village priest, monasteries, and what went on under a monk's habit.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to the History of England, Episode 36, 12th Century Life, Magnates and
0:20.0	Churchman. Today begin to finish off the life of William the Marshal and see how a household
0:25.7	knight is converted into Magnate. Then we'll look at the second estate, the church.
0:32.9	We left William then looking very well set with the Young King, but the court of the Young King,
0:38.1	just like that of the Real King, was a place of poison, politics and intrigue. And William's success
0:44.4	had begun to make him a target for his courtly competitors. In 1181, Henry II held his Christmas
0:51.9	court at Car in Normandy. It was a glittering occasion, designed to rival the court of the French
0:57.5	King in Paris. Henry the Young King's wife Margaret presided over the court, and everything seemed
1:03.4	set for a good time. Then Henry the Young King arrived. He was not a happy bunny, and William the
1:10.5	Marshal, his constant companion, was nowhere to be seen, and Henry refused to speak to his wife.
1:16.8	And soon the rumour began to spread that William had dared to have an affair with Margaret.
1:22.8	As soon as he heard this rumour, the Marshal charged up to the court, denied everything
1:27.1	vehemently called for his accusers to stand out from the crowd, and begged to be allowed to prove
1:32.0	his innocence in a three-day tournament against any of his accusers, saying that his victory
1:37.6	would be God's vindication of him. I have no doubt that his accusers were quite happy
1:44.3	right where they were safely in the crowd, and probably felt such a tournament would be more likely
1:48.8	to be a vindication of William's strong right arm than of his innocence. It might have been a
1:53.6	bit more convincing if William had challenged everyone to a wild flower-pressing competition.
1:59.0	And the long and short is that no one came forward, William left in great distress,
2:03.6	and went on pilgrimage. The rumour could have been made up to drive a wedge between William and
2:09.1	the young king. Or it could indeed simply be true, either way it worked. William spent an
2:15.1	uncomfortable couple of years after the young king's favour. Meanwhile, he was not in Henry the
	...

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