Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke

The Earl of Pembroke
Born	1191
Died	16 April 1234 (aged 43) Kilkenny Castle, Ireland
Allegiance	England
Battles/wars	Battle of the Curragh

Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1191 – 16 April 1234) was the son of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and brother of William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, whom he succeeded to the Earldom of Pembroke and Lord Marshal of England upon his brother's death on 6 April 1231.

He held lands in Longueville, in Wales and also in Ireland.

Richard Marshal came to the fore as the leader of the baronial party, and the chief antagonist of the foreign friends of King Henry III of England, a notable Poitevin, Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester and Peter de Rivaux.^[1] Fearing their treachery, he refused to visit King Henry III at Gloucester in August 1233, and he was declared a traitor. In March 1234, a truce was reached between the king and Marshal, the condition of which was the removal of Peter de Rivaux from court.^[2] In the meanwhile, however, conflict had broken out in Ireland between Marshal's brothers and some of the king's supporters.

Hostilities followed, and Richard made an alliance with the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great. Pembroke crossed from Wales to Ireland, where Peter des Roches had allegedly instigated his enemies to attack. In April 1234 he was overpowered and wounded at the Battle of the Curragh by forces led by Maurice FitzGerald, Justiciar of Ireland and died of his wounds on 16 April 1234 while being held prisoner.^[3] Marshal's popularity also meant that his death was mourned in England, while the Poitevins – who were rumoured to have instigated the Irish war – fell further into disregard.^[4]

He had married Gervaise de Dinan, daughter of Alan de Dinan, Baron de Dinan, and did not produce any offspring. He was buried at Kilkenny and was succeeded by his brother Gilbert.

Citiations

References

• Frame, Robin (2007). Oxford Companion to Irish History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-923483-7. 
• Power, D. J. (2004). "Marshal, Richard, sixth earl of Pembroke (d. 1234)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/18124. 
• Powicke, F. M. (1962) [1953]. The Thirteenth Century: 1216-1307 (2nd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.