In the year 1199, a forty-three-year-old knight who had spent his life fighting in tournaments and wars was granted the title of Earl of Pembroke, transforming him from a mere nobleman into the most powerful man in Wales. This was William Marshal, a figure so revered that chroniclers later called him the greatest knight in Christendom, yet his rise to power was anything but guaranteed. Born to a minor noble family, Marshal had to fight his way to the top, serving four English kings and eventually becoming Regent of the kingdom for the young Henry III. His story is one of sheer grit and political maneuvering, as he managed to survive the treacherous waters of medieval English politics where failure meant execution. He was present at the signing of Magna Carta in 1215, and upon the death of King John, he took charge of a fractured kingdom, defeating rebels and their French allies to secure peace. Marshal died on the 14th of May 1219 at his manor of Caversham, leaving behind a legacy that would see his family hold the earldom for decades before it reverted to the Crown.
The Countess Who Wrote History
When Mary Sidney, the Countess of Pembroke, died in 1621, she left behind a literary empire that rivaled the power of the men who held the title. As the wife of Henry Herbert, the 2nd Earl, she became the patron of the age, hosting poets like Edmund Spenser and supporting the works of her brother, Sir Philip Sidney. It was at her estate, Wilton House, that Philip began writing the Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia, a work intended solely for her pleasure before it was eventually published. Her influence extended to the very heart of the literary canon, as she is one of the few scholars who have been conjectured to be the true author of the plays attributed to William Shakespeare. Her life was marked by profound grief and immense creativity; after her brother's death, she became his literary executor, correcting unauthorized editions of his poems and plays. She also translated works from French and wrote her own tragedies, establishing Wilton House as a cultural hub that attracted the greatest minds of the Jacobean era. Her patronage ensured that the arts flourished under the Herbert family, creating a legacy that would outlast the political struggles of the time.The Earl Who Invented The Folio
On the 10th of April 1630, William Herbert, the 3rd Earl of Pembroke, died in London, leaving behind a legacy that would forever change the history of English literature. He and his brother Philip were the dedicatees of the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays, a collection that preserved the Bard's works for future generations. The dedication to the Herbert brothers, described as the incomparable pair of brethren, suggests a deep personal connection between the playwright and the earls. William Herbert, who served as Lord Chamberlain and Chancellor of the University of Oxford, was also a man of weak character and dissolute life, according to some historians, yet his patronage of the arts was undeniable. He was a close friend of the poet John Donne and was generous to playwrights like Ben Jonson and Massinger. The identification of William Herbert with the mysterious Mr. W. H. in the dedication of Shakespeare's sonnets remains a subject of intense debate among scholars. His brother Philip, who succeeded him, was a great collector of pictures and had a passion for field sports, but it was William who ensured that the literary treasures of the age were not lost to time.