Sir William Marshal 1st Earl of Pembroke (1147 – 14 May 1219) also called William the Marshal (Norman French: Guillaume le maréchal) was an English (or Anglo-Norman) soldier and statesman. Stephen Langton eulogized him as the best knight that ever lived. He served four kings – Henry II Richard the Lionheart John and Henry III – and rose from obscurity to become a regent of England for the last of the four and so one of the most powerful men in Europe.
