The greatest knight : the remarkable life of William Marshal, the power behind five English thrones / Thomas Asbridge.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Asbridge, Thomas S., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pembroke, William Marshal, Earl of, 1144?-1219.

Pembroke, William Marshal.

Regents.

Knights and knighthood.

Great Britain--History--Angevin period, 1154-1216.

Great Britain.

History.

Knights and knighthood--Great Britain--Biography.

Regents--Great Britain--Biography.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xx, 444 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color), maps ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2014]

Summary:

The story of the largely forgotten William Marshal Pembroke of the English medieval period, who, "as a five-year-old boy ... was sentenced to execution and led to the gallows, yet this landless younger son survived his brush with death, and went on to train as a medieval knight. Against all odds, [he] rose through the ranks--serving at the right hand of five English monarchs--to become a celebrated tournament champion, a baron and politician and, ultimately, regent of the realm"--Amazon.com.

Contents:

Part I Childhood & Youth: Becoming a Knight

1 A Time of Wolves 3

2 The Path to Knighthood 31

Part II Adulthood: A Knight in Service

3 A Warrior's Life 61

4 The Man Who Would Be King 85

5 Tournament Champions 115

6 The Question of Loyalty 140

Part III Middle Age: A Lord of the Realm

7 A King's Warrior 175

8 Defender of the Realm 205

9 Serving the Lionheart 230

Part IV Old Age: England's Great Magnate

10 An Enemy of Nature 259

11 A Lord in the West 280

12 The Faltering Crown 305

13 A Royal Reckoning 336

14 The Guardian of the Realm 343.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780062262059

006226205X

OCLC:

869526611