L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechal
Encyclopedia
L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechal is the verse biography of William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke
(d. 1219), written shortly after his death at the request of his son. The biography is composed of 19,214 lines, in rhyming octosyllabic
couplets, and was written in the Anglo-Norman language
. It is the major extant text documenting Marshal's life. It was written based on the surviving account of his squire John D'Erlay. It can be used to provide insight into the kings Richard the Lion-Hearted and his successor John Lackland
, both of whom William served. The single surviving manuscript
of the work, dating perhaps from the second quarter of the thirteenth century, was once in the collection of Sir Thomas Phillipps, and is now housed at the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York
, under the catalog number M888.
The manuscript was published by Paul Meyer in three volumes from 1891 to 1901. Georges Duby
employed it to construct a biographical esaay on William Marshal; this secular account he praised as "infinitely precious: the memory of chivalry
in an almost pure state, about which, without this evidence, we should know virtually nothing".
Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title created ten times, all in the Peerage of England. It was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, which is the site of Earldom's original seat Pembroke Castle...
(d. 1219), written shortly after his death at the request of his son. The biography is composed of 19,214 lines, in rhyming octosyllabic
Syllabic verse
Syllabic verse is a poetic form having a fixed number of syllables per line regardless of the number of stresses that are present. It is common in languages that are syllable-timed, such as Japanese or modern French or Finnish — as opposed to stress-timed languages such as English, in which...
couplets, and was written in the Anglo-Norman language
Anglo-Norman language
Anglo-Norman is the name traditionally given to the kind of Old Norman used in England and to some extent elsewhere in the British Isles during the Anglo-Norman period....
. It is the major extant text documenting Marshal's life. It was written based on the surviving account of his squire John D'Erlay. It can be used to provide insight into the kings Richard the Lion-Hearted and his successor John Lackland
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
, both of whom William served. The single surviving manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
of the work, dating perhaps from the second quarter of the thirteenth century, was once in the collection of Sir Thomas Phillipps, and is now housed at the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, under the catalog number M888.
The manuscript was published by Paul Meyer in three volumes from 1891 to 1901. Georges Duby
Georges Duby
Georges Duby was a French historian specializing in the social and economic history of the Middle Ages...
employed it to construct a biographical esaay on William Marshal; this secular account he praised as "infinitely precious: the memory of chivalry
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
in an almost pure state, about which, without this evidence, we should know virtually nothing".