In 10 papers from a 2008 conference in Kilkenny Castle, historians focus on the involvement of Marshal and his wife Isabel de Clare, daughter of Strongbow, in Ireland from 1189 to 1219. Marshal is widely perceived as a courtier, teourneyer, and flower of chivalry; but these studies show him also as an empire builder; a magnate; an administrative and economic strategist; and a builder of towns, castles, and churches. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation ©2017 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
This richly illustrated collection of essays examines for the first time the important Irish career of one of the most famous personalities of medieval Europe, William Marshal (c.1146-1219). The Marshal, with his wife Isabel de Clare, transformed the lordship of Leinster by the sword but also through the establishment of castles, churches, towns and strategic infrastructure, as well as the institution of a new administrative framework that stabilized the Anglo-Norman colony. The essays in this book, by leading historians and archaeologists, present the Marshal in a new light - one that differs substantially from his better known persona as the 'greatest knight that ever lived' and a 'flower of chivalry'. *** "Packed with maps, drawings and color photographs, this new volumes dazzles with fascinating examinations of a tumultuous irish era. Readers will be struck by the stark physical, political and social realities of life in Ireland during the Middle Ages, an era of short lives, shifting alliances, and few public social services." --The Celtic Connection, May 2017 [ Subject: Medieval Ireland, History, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, Kildare, Archaeology, Irish Studies]
