IMC 2016: Sessions

Session 1027: 13th-Century England, I: The Marshal Legacy

Wednesday 6 July 2016, 09.00-10.30

Sponsor:	Thirteenth Century England
Organiser:	Harriet Kersey, School of Humanities, Canterbury Christ Church University
Moderator/Chair:	Colin Veach, Department of History, University of Hull
Paper 1027-a	The Brief Widowhood of Isabel Marshal: May 1219 - May 1220 (Language: English) David Crouch, Department of History, University of Hull Index terms: Charters and Diplomatics, Gender Studies, Politics and Diplomacy, Social History
Paper 1027-b	Female Inheritance and Its Impact: The Seven Daughters of Sybil and William de Ferrers (Language: English) Harriet Kersey, School of Humanities, Canterbury Christ Church University Index terms: Charters and Diplomatics, Gender Studies, Politics and Diplomacy, Social History
Paper 1027-c	The Marshal, the March, and the Honour of Totnes: Marcher Lords and the South West of England (Language: English) Melissa Julian-Jones, School of History, Archaeology & Religion, Cardiff University Index terms: Charters and Diplomatics, Gender Studies, Politics and Diplomacy, Social History
Abstract	William Marshal was one of the greatest knights and magnates of his day. From a modest background, William's capabilities as a soldier and captain saw him steadily rise in importance at the royal court. He acted as an advisor to each of the Angevin kings and, in time, William became the earl of Pembroke and regent of England during the minority of King Henry III. As a result of his highly successful career at the Angevin court, William accumulated a great mass of estates in England, Ireland, and Wales. His death in 1219 and the deaths all five of his legitimate sons by 1245 were to have a huge impact on English politics and landholding society. This session looks at the legacy of William Marshal first of all through a consideration of the problems faced by his widow, Isabel, immediately after his death before moving on to examine what the division of the Marshal's great mass of estates and knights' fees can tell us of female inheritance and agency in this period, and the consequences of this division for the Marshals in south-west England as a regional case study.