The Angevin Empire | William Marshal 1/2

The Angevin Empire | William Marshal 1/2

From Reel History by Shows What You Know

May 9, 2025 · 1h 17m

About this episode

This episode explores the early life of William Marshal, detailing his rise from a child hostage to a renowned knight within the Angevin Empire.

Before he was called “the greatest knight,” William Marshal was nearly used as a human catapult projectile. In the first of our two-part special, we follow the astonishing early life of William Marshal – a man who rose from near-execution as a child hostage during the Anarchy to become a knight of international renown and a trusted retainer to the heirs of the Angevin Empire. We begin in the chaos of civil war before heading to Normandy for a classic knight’s education, where William learns the brutal economics of chivalry, the importance of a good warhorse, and how to survive when all you’ve got is charm and a secondhand cloak. As we tell his story, we’re also exploring the life of a medieval knight, separating Hollywood fantasy from historical fact. How were knights actually trained? What was a tournament really like in the 12th century? And how do you go from being a penniless, horseless squire to the most feared fighter in Christendom? Along the way, we unravel the complex and ruthless politics of the Angevin realm – a dynastic snake pit that stretched from Scotland to the Pyrenees and was held together by sheer force of will, questionable parenting, and the occasional…

Topics covered

  • William Marshal
  • Angevin Empire
  • medieval knights
  • chivalry
  • politics

Keywords

  • civil war
  • tournament
  • 12th century
  • political betrayal

Mentioned in this episode

Places: The Angevin Empire, Normandy, Christendom, Scotland, Jerusalem

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