January 1208 A.D. – Guildford

King Richard had well earned the nickname of Lionheart. Apart from the year he had spent as a hostage of Leopold of Austria, his decade long reign had been filled with combat.

He had spent the last five years of his life fighting in Normandy. Regaining the territory lost when his brother John had been acting as his regent. He had many war time successes, but in March 1199, his luck finally ran out. In the act of besieging a small castle in the Limousin, he was hit in the shoulder by a crossbow bolt. He lasted for eleven days but died on April 6th. He was only forty-one.

William Marshal had some concerns after Richard’s untimely death that his stay with the royal court would finally be coming to a close. But it seemed lady luck was in no mood to desert him. It appeared that King John, Richard’s successor had no desire to make an enemy of such a renowned fighter and politician. Indeed, soon after his coronation, William received the great honour of becoming the Earl of Pembroke.

For the next few years, nothing could go wrong for the new Earl. Royal grants and privileges flowed his way in a never-ending stream. King John had been ignominiously removed from his ancestral lands in Normandy, but William had kept his estates there, by agreeing to pay homage to the King of France for them. Still, John viewed him as a loyal and faithful advisor. But then events took a turn for the worse.

It all started in 1205. The King had the idea that he would assemble a fighting force in England. His plan was to attack Poitiers as a first step to recovering his lands in France. William was to be a key figure in the expedition. But for once his political instincts failed him and he refused.

Worse was to follow. William had, due to his marriage, become a great landowner in Ireland. In 1207, he determined that the time had come to visit these lands to ensure his affairs were being well managed. But John, perhaps remembering William’s refusal to join his Normandy campaign, would not give him permission. In a second reckless moment, William made a hasty decision. He was going anyway. The King was furious and sent word to the Marshal for him to get back to the court.

William could by now see that he had gone too far with John. He would have to follow the King’s instructions to return to England. But not without delivering a stirring farewell address to his men who were to guard his interests in Ireland during his absence. He had gathered his men at Kilkenny. He stood in front of them, with his Irish wife, Isabel, on his arm.

“Lords! See the Countess Isabel I present to you tonight. She will remain amongst you, pregnant with my child. Until God permits my safe return, protect her most faithfully, for she is your Lady.”

The most important of the Marshal’s men, listened intently to his heartfelt words. John of Early glanced round meaningfully at the others. He received solemn nods in reply. Then they all pledged to the great man and each other that they would be true to their task.

They needed tremendous bravery to keep their promise. For no sooner had their master returned to face John, than they themselves received a communication from their King. He instructed them to also return to England. But mindful of their promise they determined to stay.

Meanwhile, back in England, the Marshal was thoroughly and completely fed up. He was sick and tired of moping around in the King’s footsteps. John was constantly on the move and William had to stay with him as part of the itinerant court.

His political antennae were twitching strongly. He was expecting trouble at any minute. He’d had a few close calls in his time. Fallen out of favour occasionally. But this time it seemed he had taken a step too far. It didn’t help that King John was not the most pleasant of monarchs. His capacity for mendacity was legendary.

The King had almost resolved to act against the Marshal. All depended on whether his men in Ireland could get the better of John of Early. Through the first three months of 1208, the atmosphere at court was tense and strained. Despite being in close proximity, the Marshal and King John barely spoke. Then in March, whilst the court was at Bristol, word came from across the Irish Sea.

The King’s man in Ireland was his justiciar, Meilyr fitz Henry. And the news of him was not good for the King. Having been defeated by Early’s forces, who were assisted by a highly trained Templar unit, Meilyr himself had been forced to submit to the Earl’s wife, Count Isabel. And his son had to be given in ransom.

King John did not seem unduly upset. Both men knew that the Earl’s position would have been disastrous if the situation in Ireland had been resolved differently. But John was used to such reverses and merely marked it down to experience. William however, was far from used to being placed in such a perilous position.

The whole business had left a nasty, sour taste in William Marshal’s mouth. He’d served the royal family loyally for many decades. But he judged this King to be unworthy of his magnificent ancestral line. John had made an enemy of the Marshal. The King had made many enemies in his time. But this was to prove one too many.