THE GREATEST KNIGHT
By Thomas Asbridge
ECCO
383 pages
During the 11th and 12th centuries, the heart of the Middle Ages, history witnessed the rise and fall of some of the most notorious British monarchs. Empires were won and lost within a single generation; fathers and sons fought each other, and the Holy Roman Empire battled the Muslim Kingdom to hold the Holy Lands of Jerusalem. Amidst this tumultuous era, a truly remarkable man emerged who would become one of the most powerful behind-the-scenes figures in that world’s politics. His name was William Marshal, and he would go on to become the most famous knight of all time.
He was born in 1147 in Normandy and would die in 1219 at the age of 72. In his lifetime, he would serve King Henry the First, Young Henry, Richard the Lionheart, his brother King John, and John’s heir, young Henry III. All of this during the rise of the warrior class of knights and the age of Chivalry. And as if his battle prowess wasn’t enough to earn him fame and fortune, Marshal was also one of the original supporters of the Magna Carta.
Thomas Asbridge’s biography is a wonderful, complete biography. It paints the picture of a truly unique and complex man who fate destined to play a part in the shaping of the British Empire. It is a book that deserves to be on the shelf of any true history enthusiast.
