Season 1 | 17. The Knight’s Tale
This is History: A Dynasty to Die For
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The Black Spot in William Marshall's Life
William Marshall's biography runs to around 19,000 odd lines. The poem is one of the best sources we have for any character from the 12th century. It presents him just how he wanted to be remembered: loyal, steadfast and always up for a fight. Yet there's a black spot in the middle of it - exactly when he decides to leave the Plantagenet world of England and France. He goes to Jerusalem to take the young king's cloak to Christ's tomb. But his biographer is weirdly coy about this time. Does Marshall get up to no good out there? Did he do the medieval equivalent of going to Vegas and coming back married to a table dancer and with
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