ABSTRACT Nobility, Knighthood, and Chivalry in Medieval Britain: William
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ABSTRACT Nobility, Knighthood, and Chivalry in Medieval Britain: William Marshal and Simon de Montfort, 1150-1265 T. C. Kniphfer Director: Jeffrey S. Hamilton, Ph.D. Chivalry is a word which holds complex meanings. During the Middle Ages, the idea of chivalry was at the heart of the conception of what it meant to be both a knight and a noble. In this thesis, I argue that through comparing the careers of William Marshal, earl of Pembroke (c.1147-1219) and Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester (c.1208-1265), one may see how chivalry evolved in Britain during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Originally chivalry was purely military in its outlook, but by the mid-thirteenth century other elements such as courtly behavior and administrative service had contributed to an alteration of its original conception. By examining the political changes that occurred in the lives of William Marshal and Simon de Montfort, I demonstrate how the political role of the nobility changed. This provides another way of looking at the constitutional history of medieval England during this period. APPROVED BY HONORS THESIS DIRECTOR: Dr. Jeffrey S. Hamilton, Department of History APPROVED BY THE HONORS PROGRAM: Dr. Elizabeth Corey, Director DATE: NOBILITY, KNIGHTHOOD, AND CHIVALRY IN MEDIEVAL BRITAIN WILLIAM MARSHAL AND SIMON DE MONTFORT, 1150-1265 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Baylor University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Honors Program By T. C. Kniphfer Waco, Texas May 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement iii Dedication iv List of Abbreviations v Introduction 1 Chapter One: Chivalry 5 Chapter Two: William Marshal 45 Chapter Three: Simon de Montfort 100 Chapter Four: The Comparison 165 Conclusion 198 Bibliography 202 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is always a pleasure to note the debts that go into a project such as this. Firstly, my family has born the intrusion of long dead medieval figures in their lives for many years now. They have always expressed support for my interests and I thank them for that from the bottom of my heart. My time at Baylor University has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people. I offer particular thanks to the many friends I have made on my collegiate journey. I have also been fortunate to meet many professors who have aided me on during both my time at Baylor. I should particularly mention Beth Allison Barr and Cristian Bratu. It was under their auspices that my study of both the Middle Ages and the French language was nurtured respectively. Both also served as my readers for this thesis and its final form owes much to their questions and observations. For any errors that remain, I alone am responsible. To name the others who have helped form both me as a student and scholar would run the risk of omission. I trust that many know who they are and I thank them all dearly. The dedication I believe speaks for itself. iii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated twice over Firstly, to my mother, Patricia, without whom this thesis would not exist and my career at Baylor would not have been possible. For all she has given me in my life, I will be forever in her debt Je t’aimerai toujours ma mère Secondly, this thesis is dedicated to Jeffrey S. Hamilton, my mentor. It has been my greatest privilege while at Baylor being able to learn from him and I have become a far better historian than I would have otherwise. For that I shall forever be grateful. If I become half the scholar he is, I will count myself very successful indeed. I shall finish my dedication to him in a manner with which he will be familiar. PRO J. S. H. MAGISTER DOCTISSIMUS AMICUS OPTIMUS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Asbridge T. Asbridge, The Greatest Knight: The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, the Power Behind Five English Thrones (Ecco: New York, 2014) Bémont C. Bémont, Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester 1208-1265, trans. E.F. Jacobs (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2nd edition, 1930) CPR Calendar of Patent Rolls Henry III, 6 vols. (1894-1916) Crouch D. Crouch, William Marshal (Routledge: London and New York, 3rd edition, 2016) Guisborough The Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough, ed. H. Rothwell (Camden 3rd ser., lxxxix, 1957) HWM The History of William Marshal, trans. N. Bryant (Boydell Press: Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2016) Kaeuper R. W. Kaeuper, Medieval Chivalry (Cambridge University Press: New York and Cambridge, 2016) Keen M. Keen, Chivalry (Yale University Press: London and New Haven, 1984) Maddicott J. R. Maddicott, Simon de Montfort (Cambridge University Press: New York and Cambridge, 1994) Paris Matthaei Parisiensis, Monarchi Sancti Albani, Chronica Majora, ed. H. R. Luard (7 vols., Rolls ser., 1872-83) Rishanger The Chronicle of William de Rishanger of the Barons’ Wars, ed. J. O. Halliwell (Camden Soc., 1840) Saul N. Saul, For Honour and Fame: Chivalry in England, 1066-1500 (Bodley Head: London and New York, 2011) v INTRODUCTION Chivalry is one of the most discussed, yet least understood concepts associated with the Middle Ages. Often it is spoken about as though it was one universal code of behavior, written down for the benefit of knights everywhere, and drummed into them in a supposed classroom setting. The truth is more complex. There was no universal code of chivalry; such a code was never written down; and a knight’s education focused more on physical skills than cultural ones. Chivalry, unlike feudalism, was a word that actually was used during the Middle Ages and so its meaning to contemporaries was crucial. That meaning, however, was both variable and imprecise. The question this thesis seeks to address is whether and how chivalry changed over the course of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in Britain. This is combined with an exploration of the role of the nobleman in Britain at the same time, and how that too may have changed over the period as well. Instead of looking at chivalry or the nobility as a whole, this thesis looks at the lives of two prominent nobles from these centuries: William Marshal, earl of Pembroke (c. 1147-1219) and Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester (c. 1208-65). These two men were selected for a number of reasons. They are connected by family ties. They were both as much French as they were English, and existed in the context of an Anglo-French world. Both were gallant soldiers as well as skillful politicians who found themselves wielding power at the center of major events. Finally, they were prominent barons who lived in the same societal and cultural milieu at the opposite ends of a period spanning a century. 1 This thesis will first begin by discussing the history of the idea of chivalry. Elements of chivalry emerged in the Early Middle Ages, but it was not until around the end of the First Crusade (c. 1100) that chivalry began to exist in a form which historians would recognize today. The chapter will end by presenting the author’s own view of what chivalry meant as well as a discussion of the significance of two other terms used throughout this thesis: knighthood and nobility. The second chapter will introduce readers to William Marshal by providing a biography of the man. It will then attempt to analyze Marshal as a chivalric figure, including his roles as husband, father, and servant of the king. The third chapter will explore the life of Simon de Montfort and conduct a similar analysis of him as a chivalric figure. The fourth chapter will compare the two noblemen to see what was similar as well as different in their approach to chivalry. This will be done by elaborating on their military, political, and baronial careers. It will also examine the interests of both men in the activities common to the nobility at the time, including their approach to religion. The fourth chapter will then conclude by examining the two men’s contrasting approaches to the chivalric ideas of courtliness and honor. Finally, the thesis will conclude with an examination of the two men to see how well they embodied the respective spirit of their ages and the question of what their careers reveal about a change in the both the nature of chivalry and the nature of the nobility at a political and social level. The evidence included in this thesis is primarily secondary. In particular, I have relied heavily on the works of David Crouch and John Maddicott, the principal biographers of William Marshal and Simon de Montfort respectively. In terms of primary sources, anyone studying William Marshal is grateful to the earl’s family. They 2 commissioned an epic verse account of his life, written in French, shortly after he died. Known as the History of William Marshal, it contains many details on Marshal’s career as a tournament knight, battle captain, and magnate. It demonstrates too how he related to other members of his society, in particular the five kings—Henry the Young King, Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, King John, and Henry III—that he served. Above all, the History of William Marshal is an account of the history of Britain and France from the mid-twelfth to the early thirteenth century written from the perspective of a layman. Another principal source for William Marshal is the Acts and Letters of the Marshal Family: Marshals of England and Earls of Pembroke, 1145-1248. Edited by David Crouch, this volume lists all the charters that were made for various members of the Marshal family over a one hundred year period. No biography was commissioned by Simon de Montfort’s family after his death, but he was a subject of many of the great chronicles written during the thirteenth century, especially the Chronica Majora written by Matthew Paris.