Intro A big hello everybody and welcome back to the
channel today i'm here in London and specifically i've come to temple because my plan is to visit
Temple Church and learn a little bit about one of our country's greatest
nights William Marshall and i'm joined here with a very special
guest I have Cara from open-minded wanderer now i've been following Cara for a while now
and we share so many interests we both love the Neolithic and the Bronze age and i'm
certainly an avid fan of her channel and she's right next to me now he's Cara everybody, Hi
and we're both going to be exploring Temple Church together. Indeed and and we're looking forward
to it aren't we, i'm very excited i have to say. Okay here we go you ready, yes, yeah okay
let's go certainly a lovely area of London there she is Temple Church Okay everybody Cara and I are just coming up to
Temple Church now just there in front of us Cara like myself has a big interest in history
especially pre-history today however we are not going that far back in time but instead we're
going to delve into a little medieval history but why have we chosen London when there are
lots of incredible medieval locations scattered throughout England. But London
is home to the medieval district of Temple which is why london has been chosen as our
go-to destination for today's video. Temple during the middle ages was the headquarters of the
knights templar in England and represented a major centre of temple thought and influence the
area still retains some of its medieval features including cobbled narrowed streets
and the famous templar round church as a consequence the historic backdrop
of temple makes for a fantastic filming location, the ancient buildings those ghostly
cobbled streets have been used in movies such as The Wolfman, the da Vinci code Shakespeare in Love,
Elizabeth and Sherlock Holmes. But we are not here for the Hollywood movies we are here for the
famous templar round tower and a very famous knight often regarded as the most famous knight
to have ever lived William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke. Now his effigy can be found
inside the church and he is also buried there buried as a simple knights templar
although William Marshall was far from being a simple knight he was born around
1146 and the second son of John Marshall a trusted knight of Norman ancestry and Sybil who was sister
of Patrick Earl of Salisbury. Being a younger son William did not inherit his father's titles or
money and so becoming a knight was to be expected William Marshal William was duly sent off to Normandy to
be trained by the hereditary chamberlain of the region William of Tankerville and was
eventually knighted in the year 1167. Three years later William Marshall was appointed head of the
military household of Prince Henry the young son of King Henry II of England. Unfortunately Prince
Henry died in 1183, now William was actually the man who knighted this young prince and as a result
William became his lord in chivalry. William was a powerful man who fared well in the tournaments
and his time with prince Henry allowed him to increase his influence with those of the courts.
He who would also prosper in the years that followed so upset was Marshall at the death of Prince
Henry he obtained permission from the king to take Henry's cross to Jerusalem there he spent
two years fighting for the King of Jerusalem who at the time was Guy of Lusignan. It was
almost certain that William became acquainted with the knights templar during his
time in Jerusalem, In the year 1187 William was granted his first land. A fief
directly from the king. Upon accepting this gift William Marshall declared his loyalty to
Henry II and his rightful successors. This promise was never forgotten and is one of
the reasons that William Marshall himself is still remembered to this day. When Henry the
second son Richard the first came to the throne, William Marshall continued to prosper he was a
counsellor advisor brother at arms and confident to the new vigorous king so much did Richard
trust his brother templar that he bestowed upon him the hand of Isabel de Clare. She was the
only surviving child of Richard strongbow de Clare, Earl of Pembroke. With this marriage
William became one of the most powerful barons in England with lands in
England, Wales, Ireland and France. He ruled his lands well but unlike many of
the barons of the time he never forgot his oath of loyalty to his direct feudal lord
Richard the first nor did William merely sit on his vast estates but rather ran them efficiently.
With the death of Richard the Lionheart in 1199 England was thrown into ferment regarding the
succession. William considered Richard's brother John to have the best claim to the throne and
duly bowed his knee to a man who was to use this loyal knight falsely. King John proved to have
absolutely no ability to either ally himself with or control the by now powerful barons of
England many of whom rebelled during John's unfortunate reign. John took action against many
by either imprisoning them, confiscating their land, removing their titles and even murdering some.
William Marshall stood strong and remained loyal The First Barons War to King John even though the king did all he could
to provoke him, taking his castles and even seizing his two sons as hostages. It was a time of unrest,
a period of history known as the first baron's war. There is little doubt that if William Marshall
had sided the rebelling barons King John would have lost his crown for sure and undoubtedly
his life, but the Earl of Pembroke never wavered and gained tremendous respect from friends and
enemies alike. William Marshall was present at runnymede on the 15th of june 1215 when
magna carta was signed by the barons. King John died in 1216 and his heir
and son aged only nine at the time became Henry III. William Marshall was unanimously
chosen as regent of the young monarch a position which he filled without prejudice or expectation.
By may 1217, Marshall was the chief architect Conclusion of victory in the war against King Philip II
of France this magnificent man led an attack which relived the siege of Lincoln castle, despite
being 70 years of age he was able to negotiate a peace treaty with the French and
restored England to peace once more. William Marshall was a true knight honorable
trusting and a ferocious fighting machine by the end of his life his accumulated titles and
accolades that could fill a page on their own and yet it is said, he remained ever humble espousing by
his life the best values enshrined in the order of the Knight's Templar, William Marshall, Earl of
Pembroke, and Lord Regent of England died on may 14th in the year 1219 at the age of 73 years and was
buried as a simple Knight of the temple. The round church was built to be London's Jerusalem and
it was here that the Magna Carta was negotiated. For me however the greatest aspect of this
incredible beautiful building is that man who is buried there. His effigy has survived
centuries and his story will live forever. William Marshall the Earl of Pembroke,
the Greatest Knight to have ever lived. Okay everybody a big big thank you from Cara from
open-minded wanderer and myself Stephen and Yhana we've all met here at Trafalgar Square Yhana
has been making her own videos she went to Hamley's toy shop in Regent Street and me and Cara
have just finished at Temple Church. we have indeed. and have had an amazing time, okay
everybody a big big thank you for joining us, and we will see you
soon, so bye for now, bye everybody bye