The Greatest Knight | William Marshal 2/2

The Greatest Knight | William Marshal 2/2

From Reel History by Shows What You Know

June 17, 2025 · 1h 22m

About this episode

This episode explores the life and political maneuvers of William Marshal as he navigates the treacherous landscape of medieval England across three reigns.

William Marshal returns from crusade older, wiser, and with silk burial cloths from Jerusalem tucked under his arm. But death is still a long way off. In part two of our special, we trace Marshal’s rise to power across three reigns — Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, and finally King John — watching him navigate some of the most dangerous politics in medieval Europe. This was a time when kings were made and unmade on battlefields, oaths could shake empires, and being loyal could get you exiled just as fast as being treacherous. Marshal fights Richard in single combat (kind of), survives King John’s paranoia, and ends up regent of England, charged with saving the kingdom for a 9-year-old boy while half the nobility sides with a French invader. And at the age of 70, he still leads a cavalry charge that changes the course of English history. From political power plays to crusader pacts, courtroom drama to siege warfare — this is a medieval epic that needs to be on screen yesterday. William Marshal’s story is Wolf Hall meets A Knight’s Tale, what’s not to love? SPOILER: he really does end up buried as a Templar, wrapped in the shroud he brought home decades earlier. What a finale…

Topics covered

  • William Marshal
  • medieval politics
  • crusades
  • English history

Keywords

  • Henry II
  • Richard the Lionheart
  • King John
  • single combat
  • cavalry charge
  • Templar burial

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Wolf Hall, A Knight’s Tale, William Marshal Part 1

Places: Jerusalem, Europe, England

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