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Introduction

Professional historians have explored and published about the theme of

chivalry for multiple decades. While there have not been disagreements about

the evolution of chivalry as such, contemporary historians have constantly built

on the previous knowledge of past publications.1 By analysing the lives of

William Marshal (c.1147-1219) and Richard Beauchamp (1382-1439), this

research will assess compare and contrast the chivalric beliefs of both the

twelfth and fifteenth centuries and analyse the evolution of chivalry. This

research does not want to explain how chivalry has evolved. Barber and Keen

have already described this.2 Therefore, this research is a case study in

exploring the lives of two grand figures of the Middle Ages who helped shape

chivalry and who are remembered as great chivalric knights.

William Marshal was born c.1147 and was the son of John Marshal, a self

made minor baron. Around the age of 11 he was sent to the household of

William de Tancarville in Normandy to be educated. He was knighted before

the battle of Drincourt in 1167. From 1168-1183 he served Henry the Young

King and fought for him during his dispute with his father, Henry II. After this,

1
By disagreements I do not mean lack of debates, however, there are no school of thoughts as

such on the subject. Contemporary historians have criticised each other, however, as time has

progressed instead of creating new ideas of how chivalry has evolved, historians have tended to

simply expand on the research of their predecessors.

2
Maurice Keen, Chivalry (London: Yale University Press, 1984); Richard Barber, The Knight

and Chivalry (Harlow: Longmans, 1970).

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he gained royal favour. He served Richard I, and it was during this time that he

married Isabel de Clare and became the earl of Pembroke (1189). He went on

to serve King John and became the Marshal of England during Henry III’s

minority.3

Richard Beauchamp, on the other hand, was born into nobility. His father,

Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, had been part of the Lords

Appellant who rebelled against Richard II. When Henry IV became king in

1399, the Beauchamp affinity once again gained royal favour. Richard served

Henry IV during the Welsh Rebellions (1403-1404) and distinguished himself

to be made part of the Order of the Garter. In 1408 he went on a pilgrimage and

returned to England two years later. Upon his return he became very close to

Henry V and spent most of the decade fighting the French in the Hundred

Years’ War. Upon Henry V’s death he became the educator to Henry VI until

1436 when he was relieved of his duty.4

As the question of my dissertation involves two direct figures, William

Marshal and Richard Beauchamp, I shall be using both of their sources

3
David Crouch, ‘Marshal, William (I), fourth earl of Pembroke (c. 1146-1219)’, Oxford

Dictionary of National Biography, ed. Matthew, H. C. G., Harrison, Brian (Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 2004). Online ed. Goldman, Lawrence. Accessed on 3 May 2014; David

Crouch, William Marshal: Knighthood, War and Chivalry 1147-1219, 2nd edn. (London:

Pearson, 2002).

4
Christine Carpenter, ‘Beauchamp, Richard, thirteenth earl of Warwick (1382-1439)’, Oxford

Dictionary of National Biography, ed. Matthew, H. C. G., Harrison, Brian (Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 2004). Online ed. Goldman, Lawrence. Accessed on 3 May 2014; David

Brindley, Richard Beauchamp: Medieval England’s Greatest Knight (Stroud: Tempus, 2001).

2
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published after their death. William Marshal’s source, originally titled

L’Historie de Guillaume le Marchale but translated into English by A.J.

Holden, David Crouch and S. Gregory in 2002, was published by Paul Meyer

in three volumes between 1891-1901. It is a verse biography of his life,

consisting of 19,214 lines rhyming couplets. The author of the source is

unknown, however, in the History he names himself John, which has given

historians the assumption that it could be William Marshal’s squire, John of

Earley.5 There are two main problems to deal with when using this source. The

first is that the author might be using his memory to dictate events.6 The second

is that the author might have had to dictate events in a certain way for it to

rhyme. Therefore, as Holden has suggested, when assessing the History we

must tread lightly and question the validity of what the author has written.

The second source I shall be using is the pageant of Richard Beauchamp.

Published in 1914 by Viscount Dillion and W.H. St John Hope with an updated

version published in 2002 by Alexandra Sinclair, the source depicts

photographs of the 53 line drawings included in the pageant. Each drawing is

accompanied by a description of the picture depicted, often emphasising

Richard’s chivalric exploits. It narrates from his birth and coronation as a

knight of the Order of the Garter in Bath, to becoming Henry VI’s educator and

finally his death.

5
Ed. A.J. Holden, S. Gregory, D. Crouch, History of William Marshal (London: Anglo-

Norman Text Society, 2006), Vol. III, p. 4.

6
Ibid, pp. 4-6.

3
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The problems both sources pose for this research is that they are not being

used for their original use. William’s son, William Marshal II (1190-1231),

issued the eulogy roughly two years after his father’s death in 1219. It was

finished after February 1226, sometime in May as the Earl of Salisbury is

pronounced dead in the source.7 Originally, it was issued to celebrate Marshal’s

life and therefore emphasises his chivalric deeds. In the pageants case, as E.M.

Thompson has argued, the pageant was issued by Beauchamp’s daughter,

Anne, sometime between 1483 and her death in 1492 as she was trying to

reclaim some of her father’s old land.8 Therefore, this again poses the problem

of how truthful both sources are and how far they are to be trusted as fact rather

than fiction.

Many historians throughout the decades have researched chivalry and there

are many publications on the subject. In 1914 Johan Huizinga published The

Waning of the Middle Ages which was the first text to attempt to answer the

question of ‘What is Chivalry?’ and initiated the interest in the theme.9

Huizinga’s thesis argued that as society during the Middle Ages was so dull,

chivalry, in Huizinga’s case he meant the ideals of the romances, was for the

knightly class to escape reality. Through nostalgia and story telling, they could

7
History of William Marshal, Vol. II, p. 315, 337, lines 16255-57, 16677-80.

8
E. M. Thompson, ‘The Pageants of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, Commonly called

the Warwick MS.’, Barlington Magazine 1 (March, 1903), pp. 151-163; Alexandra Sinclair,

ed., The Beauchamp Pageant (Donington: Richard II and Yorkist History Trust, 2003), p. 1.

9
Johan Huizinga, The Waning of the Middle Ages: A study of the forms of life, thought, and art

in France and the Netherlands in the fourteenth and fifteenth century, 3rd edn.

(Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1990), pp. 65-75.

4
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entertain and distract themselves.10 However, he was rightly criticised for being

too sceptical and negative of the age. The next work that added onto

Huizinga’s publication was Richard Barber’s 1970 publication The Knight and

Chivalry. Barber’s work was the first to attempt to completely analyse the

evolution of chivalry and discuss its history. I.e. how the term developed from

literally meaning a mounted warrior who is able to arm himself (chevalrie) to a

secular code as well as becoming a knightly class which is influenced by

Catholicism.11 This then led to Maurice Keen publishing his critically

acclaimed work simply titled Chivalry (1984). For modern scholars, Keen’s

publication has been seen as one of the primary secondary reference texts. Its

impact on the theme of chivalry has yet to be topped. In his work, Keen comes

to the conclusion that there are three main sources at use for those who want to

study chivalry; the treatise left by early scholars,12 the courtly romances13 and

the works of the church. Furthermore, Keen was the first to dissect the term

chevalrie, miles and milites.14 From this, the idea of how chivalry evolved has

not been challenged. Instead, historians have tended to specialise on specific

10
Ibid, pp. 67-73.

11
Barber, The Knight and Chivalry, pp. 3-25.

12
Especially the works of Ramon Lull.

13
Geoffrey of Monmouth and Chrétien de Troyes drove forward the legends of King Arthur,

arguably the most famous and widely read of the courtly romances.

14
Keen, Chivalry, pp. 2-6. While Barber was the first to discuss the history of the knight, Keen

truly added to his research and properly discussed the knights rise through society from

chevalrie, a man who could arm himself when needed with a horse, and miles, literally

meaning soldier, to the warrior class and further towards the protector of religion.

5
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topics of chivalry with the most recent being Nigel Saul’s For Honour and

Fame Chivalry in England 1066-1500 (2012).

The historiography written about both figures are very different. William

Marshal has a long history of publications. Sidney Painter’s book based on his

doctoral thesis William Marshal, Knight, Errant, Baron and Regent of England

(1933) was the first published work to use Paul Mayer’s translation of

Marshal’s History into modern French.15 Painter’s work was one of the first to

directly use Marshal’s History to construct his life and is a superb basic

narrative. Painter comes to the conclusion that Marshal had no flaws, and was

the best at negotiating, running government politically and was the bravest

knight in battle.16 Unfortunately, Painter’s book comes across without any

criticism of the original source. However, apart from this flaw all research on

Marshal is indebted to Painter. Following on from Painter is Georges Duby.

His 1984 publication, William Marshal, the Flower of Chivalry, establish a

new image of Marshal. While Duby agreed that he was militarily astute,

politically, Duby saw Marshal as sub-standard.17 However, similarly to Barber,

Duby has been seen to rely too heavily on Marshal’s History and does not

question its validity. Recently, David Crouch has written extensively on

Marshal. His publication in 1990, William Marshal: Court, Career and

15
Paul Mayer, L'Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal (Paris: Société de l'histoire de France,

1891-1901).

16
Sidney Painter, William Marshal, Knight, Errant, Baron and Regent of England (Baltimore:

Johns Hopkins, 1933).

17
Georges Duby, trans. by Richard Howard, William Marshal the Flower of Chivalry (Faber

Limited, 1986), pp.112-116.

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Chivalry in the Angevin Empire 1147-1219 suggests that Duby went too far

when criticising Marshal’s political abilities. Crouch convincingly argues that

while he was not the best, he was good enough to put himself in favourable

position and to take advantage of situations.18

On the other hand, the historiography for Richard Beauchamp is scarce. The

first historian to comment on him directly was E.M. Thompson. However, he

only questioned why the pageant was written.19 There is yet to be a true

scholarly publication on Beauchamp. Charles Ross published a paper on

Beachamp’s estates,20 while K.B. McFarlane used the Beauchamp’s as a case

study alongside the Stafford’s to record the higher nobilities use of money.21

However, the only direct publication is David Brindley’s short book Richard

Beauchamp: Medieval England’s Greatest Knight (2001) provides a good

introduction to his pageant and life; however, it lacks proper research and

simply dictates his life. Alexandra Sinclair’s book on the pageant brought

forward the knowledge of the source itself. Her comments on the dress,

heraldry and Beauchamp’s actions in the pageant are the only recent scholarly

research.

18
David Crouch, William Marshal Court, Career and Chivalry in the Angevin Empire 1147-

1219 (London: Longman, 1990), pp. 168-171.

19
Thompson, pp. 151-64.

20
Ross, Charles, The Estates and Finance of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick (Oxford:

Dugdale Society, 1956).

21
K.B. McFarlane, The Nobility of Later Medieval England The Ford Lectures for 1953 and

Related Studies (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973), pp. 187-213.

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This piece of research shall therefore be split into four chapters. The first

chapter, War, shall assess how war is portrayed in both effigies and will

discuss whether there is such a thing a ‘chivalrous warfare’. Chapter two shall

assess both Marshal and Beauchamp’s dubbing. Chapter three will be focused

on the development of the tournament and how it is portrayed in the sources

and finally, chapter four shall discuss how the death of both figure’s is depicted

and shall assess on how their burials contribute to their depiction as chivalric

knights.

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Chapter One

War

During William Marshal’s time war was one way, along with tournaments,

for knights to prove themselves as true warriors who deserved recognition.22

This is how Marshal did it. In 1167 when he decided to move on from William

de Tancarville’s household, he knew that he needed to find employment to

live.23 Owning no land, he needed to make money somehow, and did so

through warfare. This importance of war can also be related to Beauchamp’s

era. In his pageant, we see at least eight instances where Richard is depicted

charging into the enemy with his lance out in front of him.24 He was known as

a great general and someone who Henry V trusted. However, there is a huge

difference in warfare between the centuries. While the tactics of each

generation did not necessarily change, how warfare was portrayed did.25 In

Beauchamp’s pageant, we see a glamorised version of warfare, while in

22
David Crouch, William Marshal Knighthood, War and Chivalry, 1147-1219, 2nd edn.,

(London: Pearson, 2002), pp. 199-206.

23
Ed. A.J. Holden, S. Gregory and D. Crouch, History of William Marshal (London: Anglo-

Norman Text Society, 2002), Vol. 1, Lines 1381-1392.

24
Viscount Dillion and W.H. St. John Hope, Pageant of the Birth, Life, and Death of Richard

Beauchamp Earl of Warwick K.G. 1389-1439 (London: Longmans 1914). In this chapter I

have used six examples from Beauchamp’s pageant. Plate XLIX is Appendix A, Plate VI is

Appendix B, Plate XXXIV is Appendix C, Plate VII is Appendix D, Plate XIV is Appendix E

and XXIX is Appendix F.

25
Maurice Keen, ed., Medieval Warfare A History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), p.

6.
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Marshal’s History war is described as being much closer to the realities knights

endured. Therefore, this chapter will start by assessing how important war was

to the knight in both Marshal Beauchamp’s time. This will then lead into the

main topic of whether there was such a thing as ‘chivalrous warfare’. This is

done by comparing the realities of war to the effigies of Marshal and

Beauchamp and also looking at why the sources were created. By assessing

whether warfare developed through the Middle Ages and analysing whether

there was such a type of warfare which could be called chivalrous, this essay

shall assess the evolution of chivalry in terms of war.

In the mid 11th century the role of the knight was still in its infancy. They

were still seen as the warrior elite; however, most knights did not own much

land and had to fight for a living.26 They were educated at a young age as is

shown with William Marshal. At around the age of thirteen or fourteen, he was

taken into William de Tancarville’s household in Normandy where he entered

the military household, either known as the mesnie or the Latin equivalent

familia.27 The mesnie were a set of young apprentice knights who lived and

trained together. Those who had successfully completed their training at a

knight’s households then fought for a living. They were not mercenaries as

they served their liege as well as their religion. They were still paid for their

service but usually with land. However, by the fifteenth century the mesnie had

become non-existent. Instead, knights were seen as more than just warriors;

war was now only one aspect of their state of being. They were more educated

and were more cultured than in Marshal’s time. While Vegitus’ De Re Militari,
26
Crouch, p. 201.

27
History of William Marshal, Vol. 1., Lines 763-768.
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written between 383 and 450 AD while the first circulated translation was

finished by Jean de Meung in 1284,28 was still the standard text used to educate

the user on war, William Worcester’s Boke of Noblesse (c.1450) and Christine

de Pisan’s Livre des Fais d’Armes et de Chevalerie (c.1401) all influenced how

war was executed.29 Through the feudal system the knightly figure had become

a class in their own right.30

Therefore, through this system of retaining land for military service, did the

act of war lose its monetary value to noble figures such as Richard

Beauchamp? From Charles Ross’ accounts of Richard Beauchamp we can see

that he was one of the wealthiest magnates of his time.31 At the height of his

power during the minority of Henry VI, Beauchamp controlled much of the

midlands. His marriage to Isabella le Despenser (1400-1439) in 1423 came

with the manors of Tewkesbury, Hanley and Worcestershire as well as the

lordship of Glamorgan in South Wales. However, even with this accumulation

of land and power, Beauchamp was still a very prominent figure in the

Hundred Years Wars. Christine Carpenter has commented that Warwick did

accept a tamer role as Henry VI’s educator in 1428 which led him to visit the
28
Christine Knowles, ‘A 14th Century of Jean de Meung: Jean de Vignay’s translation of the

“De Re Militaris of Vegitus”’, Studies in Philosophy, Vol. 53, No. 3 (July, 1956), p. 452.

29
Diane Bornstein, ‘Military Manuals in Fifteenth-Century England’, Mediaeval Studies, Vol.

37, pp. 469-77 cited in Kelly DeVries, The International Library of Essays on Military History

Medieval Warfare 1300-1450 (Surrey: Ashgate, 2010), pp. 125-137.

30
Keen, Medieval Warfare in History, pg. 9; Trans. Michael Jones, Phillippe Contamine, War

in the Middle Ages (Oxford: Blackwell, 1985), pp. 90-101.

31
Charles Ross, The Estates and finances of Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick (Oxford:

Dugdale Society, 1954), pp. 1-19.

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cotenant less,32 however, the pageant does not depict his tutoring of Henry.

Instead it focuses on Richard’s successful military career. The pageant shows

Beauchamp becoming the ‘lieutenaunt of Fraunce and Normandy’, in 1437

following John, duke of Bedford’s death in 1435.33 Therefore, he was still very

active and interested in the wars. He had grown up alongside Henry V, and

they both shared the same ambitious attitude. Similarly to Marshal, war was

still a key component to increase one’s power and wealth.

Therefore, knights were always needed as kings would wage war to expand

their kingdoms and empires. There were grand wars such as the Investiture

Wars (107-1122) or the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453), which required

mass amounts of knights and resources to sustain. Richard Beauchamp lived

during one of these wars where there was the opportunity to take foreign land.

William Marshal on the other hand was not so fortunate. At the other end of the

scale there were constant disagreements between lords about land which would

lead to confrontation which the Marshal was involved in. During his time

mentoring Henry the Young King, he was involved in multiple disputes with

Henry II. It was not until he came back from his pilgrimage in the name of the

Young King that he regained favour with Henry II and received lands in

Pembrokeshire.34 While the feudal system is still debated amongst historians,

there was some sort of system where a greater lord would retain knights of a

32
Carpenter, Christine, ‘Beauchamp, Richard, thirteenth earl of Warwick (1382-1439)’,

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, ed. Matthew, H. C. G., Harrison, Brian (Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 2004). Online ed. Goldman, Lawrence. Accessed 27 Jan 2014.

33
Pageant of Richard Beauchamp, pg. 97, Plate XLIX. See Appendix A.

34
History of William Marshal, Vol. 1, Lines 8303-8308.
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lower status as his own, and incorporate them into his household. Due to the

relatively slow development of warfare in the Middle Ages, chivalry instead

developed which led to a more educated, and in terms of education and

contribution to society, a more well rounded figure.

This essay shall now discuss the idea of ‘chivalrous warfare’ and whether it

even existed.

While the romances of the Middle Ages such as Geoffrey of Monmouth’s

Historia Regum Britanniae and Chrétien de Troyes’ Lancelot, the Knight of the

Cart would have you believe that warfare during the Middle Ages was

dominated by pitched battles, the reality of it was much blander. From the

History of William Marshal it is clear that there is no such thing as chivalrous

warfare. While the History tries to personify Marshal as the ideal chivalrous

knight leading the army into battle,35 the reality is that most of Marshal’s life

was spent raiding and pillaging enemies lands in order to either weaken the

local surroundings or to gain some sort of booty. John Gillingham has shown

that Marshal only charges into a pitched battle twice in the History. Once at

Drincourt in 1167 and the second at Lincoln in 1217.36 The Marshal’s own

advice on how to conduct war is very similar to his actions. When talking to

Henry II about Philip’s attack, the Marshal suggests to ‘divide his troops and

35
History of William Marshal, Vol. 2, Lines 16692-16696. This describes the Marshal’s last

battle at Lincoln in 1217 where he was overcome with excitement and road into battle without

his helmet. Lines 16628-16660.

36
John Gillingham, ‘War and Chivalry in the History of William Marshal’, Anglo-Norman

Warfare, ed. Matthew Strickland (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1992), p. 260.

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launch a chevalrée’ to sack his land.37 Moreover, there is one instance in the

History where William risks his life in a chivalrous act only to be criticised by

Richard I. Richard tells Marshal that ‘it is not right, indeed it is wrong/for a

man of such eminence/and such great valour/to have to this:/leave that to the

young knights/who still have to win their reputation.’38

However, this view is not shared within Beauchamp’s pageant. In plates VI

(the battle of Campstone Hill, 1404), VII (Shrewsbury, 1403) and XLVIII

(Calais, 1436), we see the figure of Beauchamp leading the charge against

either Welsh or French forces. However, clearly the events depicted were

subject to exaggeration by the artist. At the battle of Calais, the relief force led

by Humphrey, duke of Gloucester, of which Beauchamp was a part, actually

did not do as much as the pageant suggests. Philip, duke of Burgundy was

originally sieging Calais and when Gloucester arrived with c.7500 soldiers

Philip upped and left the siege immediately. In truth, Gloucester and

Beauchamp would have never witnessed any fighting.39 Moreover, similarly to

Marshal’s generation, pitched battles were very rare during the Hundred Years’

War. While battles such as Crécy (1346) and Agincourt (1415) were great

victories of the wars, sieges were far more common and cost effective. In his

De Re Militari Vegitus suggests to only wage war when the odds are in your

favour. This view did not change throughout the Middle Ages. John

Gillingham again has shown that even a military active king such as Richard I
37
History of William Marshal, Vol. 1., Lines 7436-7781. Especially the lines 7738-7769.

38
Ibid, Vol. 2, Line 11249-11253.

39
Susanne Saygin, Humphrey Duke of Gloucester (1390-1447) and the Italian Humanists

(Boston: Brill, 2002), p.72.

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did not take huge risks when it came to war.40 Moreover, the De re Militari

inspired medieval writings such as John of Salisbury’s Policraticus which was

one of the first Middle Aged texts to define the role of what a king is to his

subjects. This text in particular became an obligatory read in the education for

future kings.

The historiography of chivalrous warfare has created some controversy.

Georges Duby has argued that William Marshal is a perfect example of how

war was a stage set for young men to claim their prize of honour and fame. He

has pointed out that in war the History tells us that Marshal wore many colours

on the battlefield. Duby writes that he was a magnificent soldier and

unstoppable on the battlefield.41 Even David Crouch who holds different views

to Duby agrees with him here.42 This is very similar to Nigel Saul’s depiction

of Anthony Woodville during the later fifteenth century. In his book For

Honour and Fame, Saul argues that the knight that existed in the twelfth

century, such as Marshal, had not died out. Saul suggests that Woodville is an

example of a figure who still ventured around the country to enter tournaments

even when he did not have to do so.43 In this respect Woodville is a very

40
John Gillingham, ‘Richard I and the Science of War in the Middle Ages’, in Matthew

Strickland, ed., Anglo-Norman Warfare (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1992), pp. 194-208.

41
Trans. Richard Howard, Georges Duby, William Marshal: The flower of Chivalry (New

York: Pantheon Books, 1985).

42
Crouch, pg. 202.

43
Nigel Saul, For Honour and Fame Chivalry in England 1066-1500 (London: Pimlico,

2012), pp. 325-347.

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similar figure to Beauchamp. In his pageant, Richard is shown to joust in many

different countries and, as mentioned before, lead his men during warfare.44

However, first of all when assessing Duby, one must understand that he

picks and chooses how he sees the History. He ignores the chevauchée which

the Marshal used to devastate enemies lands. He does not even comment that

William was a recipient of a chevauchée when the Welsh raided his lands near

Netherwent in 1218.45 Therefore, it is clear that during the twelfth century

warfare was not at all chivalrous and Duby’s interpretation is mistaken. As

David Crouch writes, it was very real and terrifying.46 The word ‘chivalry’

appears in the History a couple of times (spelt in the French variation as

chevalrie) however; it is not really associated with war. It describes the act of

knighting and being ‘courtly’ (corteis). However, even then the word does not

have much use. Moreover, in the History the author constantly reminds the

reader that out smarting your opponent on the battlefield is a type of chivalrous

warfare.47 On the other side, Beauchamp’s pageant depicts war as being

chivalrous to give Richard a more appealing figure. It does not show the

realities of war as that is not how his daughter Anne, who commissioned the

pageant, would have wanted him to be remembered. When discussing Saul’s

case study of Anthony Woodville, it can be argued that he has picked out a

44
Dillion and Hope, Beauchamp Pageant, Plate XXXIV.

45
History of William Marshal, Vol. 2, lines 17,748-17,864.

46
Crouch, p. 199.

47
History of William Marshal, Lines 524, 12,235-40, 14,746. These lines refer to three

different examples. The first is Stephen at Newbury (1152), the second in Phillip Augustus

withdrawing from Arques (1202) and the third if Philip again at Bourvines.
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figure who never lived through many wars. Anthony Woodville was born in

1440 and died in 1483, therefore he never commanded men across in France

and was only involved in a few battles early on in Edward IV’s reign.

Compared to Beauchamp, Woodville was a novice commander. Therefore,

even using Beauchamp’s pageant as an example of chivalrous warfare can be

criticised due to why it was made. Clearly, both effigies depict warfare for their

own uses. They were both designed to remember the chivalric deeds of

William Marshal and Richard Beauchamp. Therefore it is no surprise that they

move away from the reality of warfare, which was mainly siege warfare, as the

risk of death was limited.

Therefore, by questioning whether there was such a thing as chivalrous

warfare, the History of William Marshal and Richard Beauchamp’s Pageant

can be used to analyse the development of warfare and it’s effect on the

evolution of chivalry. While both sources depict their knights charging into

battle, in reality this was not true. Sieges were more risk free and were

therefore the primary strategy to wage war. Through their education, they

would have known that the best way to win battles would be to cut off the

enemy’s supplies and not risk losing a substantial amount of men. Both effigies

were created to celebrate these figures and therefore warfare was styled in the

romance fashion of great knights performing heroic deeds. They were for

readers to witness and fantasise about these great knights who lived during the

age and therefore war is depicted far from its reality.

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Chapter Two

The Dubbing of a Knight

When comparing the dubbing of William Marshal and Richard Beauchamp

we get two different portrayals of the act. In The History of William Marshal,

William’s dubbing is not given much discussion at all. Out of the 19,214 lines

written only twelve focus on his dubbing.48 However, in Beauchamp’s pageant

the dubbing is given more importance. In the plate, Henry IV is dubbing

Beauchamp with several nobles positioned around him. Richard’s father is

most likely present as he is depicted as wearing a jewelled baudric across his

body to make him stand out.49 Compare this to Marshal’s knighting, where the

History describes that he was dubbed before his first battle at Drincourt, we

end up with a different view of the importance of dubbing. The author of the

History describes only the chamberlain of importance during Marshal’s

coronation. None of his family are there and it is not a joyous occasion unlike

Richard Beauchamp’s. However, later in Beauchamp’s pageant we are

presented with a depiction of Richard becoming a Knight of the Garter, which,

similarly to Marshal’s knighting, was done on the battlefield.50 Therefore, we

are faced with a series of questions that this chapter will assess. Was there

48
Ed. A.J. Holden, S. Gregory and D. Crouch, History of William Marshal (London: Anglo-

Norman Text Society, 2002), Vol. 1, p. 43, lines 815-826.

49
Viscount Dillion and W.H. St. John Hope, ed., Pageant of the Birth, Life, and Death of

Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick K.G. 1389-1439 (London: Longmans Green and Co.,

1914), p. 5, plate III. See appendix G.

50
Ibid, p. 16, plate VIII. See appendix H.
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something of importance that Beauchamp had that Marshal did not and was it

down to their standing in society? Were dubbings on the battlefield common?

And finally by comparing the two figures, do we get a fair representation of the

evolution of the dubbing? First this essay shall assess the mass dubbing and

discuss its popularity during the Middle Ages. The second part of the essay

shall deduce why Marshal’s dubbing was not celebrated to the extent

Beauchamp’s was and whether the evolution of chivalric ideals had an

influence in this.

However, before discussing the main themes of the essay, by comparing

both effigies portrayal of each dubbing to the L’Ordene de Chevalrie will give

us an idea either of how regular or irregular they were.51 By the time William

Marshal was knighted the ceremony had already been Christianised.52

According to the L’Ordene de Chevalrie the candidate was first bathed to wash

away his sins. He was then clothed in a white robe to symbolise his

determination to fight for God’s law. In the church he was given the sword to

51
Maurice Keen, Chivalry (London: Yale University Press, 1984), pp. 6-7. No one knows who

wrote the Ordene de Chevalrie, or when it was precisely written. However, it is agreed that it

was some point before 1250. It is written in Northern French and received widespread

popularity as it was referred to even in the fifteenth century. The poem is seen as a sort of user

manual to the dubbing of knights. Keen discusses it further in his introduction.

52
There is much debate to when the knighting actually took place. The original editor of The

History of William Marshal, Paul Meyer, believed that the authors had misplaced the order of

events and in fact Marshal’s dubbing actually took place in either 1164 or 1167. However, the

battle in which Meyer argues Marshal’s was dubbed took place in 1173. This had led to Francis

Gies and David Crouch to both agree that Marshal’s knighting took place when he was twenty

in 1167.
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fight the enemy and to protect and serve God. Finally, he was given the colée, a

blow to the hand, shoulder or head, so that the newly established knight will

always remember he who gave him such a grave honour.53 Therefore, it is

quite surprising that William’s knighting seems to be have been cut short.

Frances Gies has suggested that this was common on the eve of battle to save

time.54 However, this still does no explain why the author of the History has

not discussed the dubbing in any great detail Later, at the battle of Drincourt,

William seems to be over confident in his position and rides near the front of

the contingent of knights with the Chamberlain. We are told that the

Chamberlain ordered Marshal not to ‘be so hot-headed’ and to ‘let these

knights pass’.55 The Marshal’s reaction was one of disappointed, as he believed

he was a knight.56 Therefore, even after being dubbed William was still seen as

a young knight. However, the importance of his dubbing meant a lot to

Marshal and should therefore not be ignored. On the other hand, Richard

Beauchamp’s dubbing seems to be given the importance which we would

expect. Plate III tells us that Richard ‘did greet honour and worship’ to the

order through his ‘noble actes’.57 Moreover, from the pageant Beauchamp is

depicted in a long gown with a jewelled belt, which is very similar to the attire

described in the Ordene. The men surrounding Beauchamp are all

spectacularly dressed. The figure to Beauchamp’s left dressed in a fur-lined

53
William Morris, trans., L’Ordene de Chevalrie (Middlesex: Klemherst Press, 1893), pp. 46-

50, lines 110-248.

54
Frances Gies, The Knight in History (London: Robert Hale, 1986), p. 103.

55
History of William Marshal, Vol. 1, p. 45, lines- 872-874.

56
Ibid, p. 47, lines 876-883.

57
Pageant of Richard Beauchamp, p. 5, Plate III.
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gown, jewelled baldric and holding an ostrich feathered hat is most likely the

new knight’s governor. The esquire next to Henry who is holding the sword,

which will give the colée. Therefore, the first question this essay must answer

is whether William Marshal participated in a mass dubbing and how common

were they?

Richard Barber has argued that mass dubbings were common during the

middle ages. As the church was becoming more of an influence in the knight’s

life, Barber makes the connection that the church was taking part in the making

of the knight.58 He further argues that the interest in knighthood grew in the

twelfth century through the ideals of the crusades and fighting for the holy

land. However, later on in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Barber

suggests that mass dubbings just before battle became popular. This was done

for two reasons. The first being that having a less glamorous mass dubbing

limited costs. Secondly, it would mean that fewer soldiers were killed during

battle and would more likely to be ransomed.59

However, why then do both the lives of Marshal and Beauchamp dictate the

complete opposite? By looking at the mass dubbing it becomes clear that

Barber only looked at the Hundred Years’ War as an example of mass

dubbings where knights were most likely needed. In reality, land and family

ties played a much bigger role in who got dubbed and the type of ceremonies

they received. Therefore, Barber was incorrect when suggesting mass dubbings

were popular in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In fact, it was the
58
Richard Barber, The Knight and Chivalry, 2nd end. (Ipswich: Boydell Press, 1974), p. 30.

59
Ibid, pp. 39-41.
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opposite to what he argues. Mass dubbings were more popular in the twelfth

century.60 While Barber is correct in suggesting that mass dubbings limited the

costs in general, it also united the future knights together before combat,

distilling in them trust as well as laying the foundations in them of their lord’s

future war band. Due to how little the author of the History gives to Marshal’s

ascendancy into knighthood, it is quite likely that he participated in a mass

dubbing. Usually after a dubbing there would be a grand feast and celebration,

however, in Marshal’s case there is none. The author simply moves on to

describe the battle of Drincourt and Marshal’s first experience. However,

establishing that Marshal participated in a mass dubbing does not answer the

question as to why the knighting was given less interest compared to

Beauchamp. Therefore, to answer this question we need to explore the land ties

involved in the dubbing.

By the twelfth century to be dubbed a knight usually meant that some sort

of land came with the honour. However, this was not the case for William

Marshal. David Crouch has pointed out that William’s older brother John

received their father’s estates.61 Therefore, William was to gain no land.

Maurice Keen has commented that by Marshal’s era, those knighted were now

a vassal of a lord and they often rewarded their knights with titles and honours,

and more importantly fiefs.62 Therefore, it would not be wrong to assume that if

the figure being dubbed expected to gain a substantial amount of land then the

ceremony would have been more extravagant. This was exactly what Richard
60
Keen, p. 69.

61
David Crouch, pp. 18-19.

62
Maurice Keen, Chivalry (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1984), pp. 69-70.
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Beauchamp was set to inherit. While it was not as grand as say the duchies of

Lancaster or York, the Beauchamp inheritance still extended into eighteen

English counties.63 Therefore, Keen’s depiction of young, wealthy inheritors

being dubbed at grand events stands true when the figure is stood to inherit

land.

However, it was not just land that affected the dubbing, social standing and

family ties were also extremely important. As Keen has shown, before both of

the knights this research is discussing existed, the Germanic tribes participated

in the delivery or arms to those who excelled at war. This is the earliest

evidence we have for any type of dubbing.64 However, through the social

development of the mounted warrior as well as the introduction of the feudal

system, land ties became important in the knighting ceremony. Therefore, by

the fifteenth century, it would not be wrong to suggest that family ties became

very important in who becomes dubbed. For example, using K.B. McFarlane’s

work on the Beauchamp line, we can see that each Earl of Warwick steadily

added to their wealth and by Richard’s time they were one of the oldest

affinities and most trusted affinities in England.65 Richard was the fourth

member of his family to be elected to the Order of the Garter and was elected

Captain of Calais in 1414.66 His father served Henry IV and his grandfather

63
Charles Ross, The Estates and Finances of Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick (Oxford:

Dougdale Society, 1956), p. 5.

64
Keen, p. 67.

65
K.B. McFarlane, The Nobility of Later Medieval England (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973),

pp. 187-201.
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was one of the founding members of the Order of the Garter.67 Therefore

Richard Beauchamp was expected to be knighted. On the other hand, William

Marshal’s father, John Marshal, was very similar to William in the sense that

he was a self made man. The History describes him as man who did not have

‘fabulous wealth’68 and therefore he had to pick up lands where he could. As a

result his lands were scattered across various southern counties. By 1130 David

Crouch has estimated that his land holdings totalled at thirty-five and a quarter

hides.69 Therefore, Beauchamp’s family already owned a substantial amount of

land compared to William Marshal. This clearly contributed their different

portrayals of their dubbings in it’s monetary value.

However, in relation to Beauchamp’s dubbing, there is still one more plate

in the pageant which needs to be discussed. In 1403 after the battle of

Shrewsbury, it was decided that Richard Beauchamp had earned enough

renown to be inducted into the Order of the Garter. Depicted in plate VIII, the

66
Christine Carpenter, ‘Beauchamp, Richard, thirteenth earl of Warwick (1382-1439), Oxford

Dictionary of National Biography, ed. Matthew, H. C. G., Harrison, Brian (Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 2004), Online ed. Goldman, Lawrence. Accessed 30 March 2014.

67
Anthony Tuck, ‘Beauchamp, Thomas, eleventh earl of Warwick (1313/14-1369), Oxford

Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), Online edn,

Accessed 30 March 2014; Anthony Tuck, ‘Beauchamp, Thomas, twelfth earl of Warwick

(1317/9-1401), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press,

2004), online edn. Accessed 30 March 2014.

68
History of William Marshal, Vol. I, p. 3, lines 32-35.

69
Crouch, p. 14. John Marshal held lands in Marlborough, where he received custody of the

royal town and castle, north Wiltshire and became the most powerful man within northeast

Wiltshire.
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ceremony takes place on the field of battle where Beauchamp had clearly

distinguished himself.70 The creation of the Order of the Garter led to a new

higher tier or knighthood which the nobles of England in the fourteenth and

fifteenth century wanted to reach. Now, instead of one dubbing they

technically had two as by being inducted into the Order brought with it many

credentials. Edward III created the order to try and make the Arthurian legend a

reality. Only the best knights of the country would be inducted. They would

have to distinguish themselves in everything chivalric, which mainly meant on

the battlefield.71 Therefore, by creating this order Edward was clearly trying to

replicate former glories for the country, something which Marshal actually

lived through and helped shape. By inducting Beauchamp on the battlefield it

clearly suggests that Henry IV, who is depicted looking on at another figure

giving Beauchamp this great honour, is continuing in Edward’s attempt to

make the Arthurian legends reality.

Therefore, by comparing both of Marshal and Beauchamp’s effigies there is

a clear contrast in the depiction of their dubbings. Due to Marshal’s lack of

wealth and his family only possessing a minor baronage to their name, his

knighting was most likely done during a mass dubbing and therefore there were

no celebration. On the other hand, in the figure of Richard Beauchamp we have

the complete opposite. Henry IV himself knighted Richard, and due to the

70
George Edward Cockayne, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great

Britain and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct or Dormant (London: St. Catherine Press,

1910), Vol. 2, p. 378.

71
Nigel Saul, For Honour and Fame Chivalry in England 1066-1500 (London: Pimlico,

2012), pp. 93-115.

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Beauchamp affinity being a family which extends back to 1066, Richard was

set to inherit a substantial amount of land and therefore his dubbing was more

glamorous. Furthermore, in the fifteenth century the courtly ideals of living up

to the expectations of knighthood and chivalry set by knights such as William

Marshal as well the old Arthurian tales cannot be ignored. Marshal was dubbed

just before his first battle which gives us an indication of how closely warfare

was associated with knighthood at the time and having to earn that privilege to

be knighted. Beauchamp’s induction into the Order of the Garter is very similar

to Marshal’s dubbing. It gives us a sense of nostalgia as he was inducted on the

battlefield where the knight was seen to have fulfilled his duty. Moreover,

further adding to the nostalgia is how Beauchamp’s dubbing resembled how

the L’Ordene de Chevalrie described how knights were to be dubbed. From

comparing the dubbing, we can therefore see the portrayal of a big part in two

separate knights lives in two different ages. The differences also tell us how an

important aspect of chivalry evolved during the Middle Ages.

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Chapter Three

From Ransom to Romance-The Tournament

Between the 163 years from William Marshal’s death to Richard

Beauchamp’s birth, the tournament went through a miraculous transformation.

During the Marshal’s lifetime, the tournament was a very fierce competition

where knights were pitted against each other and would try to capture one

another for ransom. Split into two teams, the tournament was staged as a mini-

battle. From these mini-battles, knights became famous for their fighting

qualities which is how William Marshal became famous throughout England

and France. However, through the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the

tournament became tamer and more for a celebratory purpose. From Richard

Beauchamp’s pageant we can see that figures such as the king and queen

would be in attendance to view the show while two knights either fought in one

on one combat using swords or participated in the main event which was the

joust.72 This was very different to Marshal’s time. It was less barbaric and the

knight’s did not compete for ransom. Moreover, the tournament became less of

a means of income for knights. Instead, it focused on being an occasion for

celebration. However, this is not to say that knights did not use the tournament

to enhance their reputation. Along with battles, tournaments were the main

functions in which knights proved their chivalry. Perhaps even more so due to

72
Viscount Dillion and W.H. St. John Hope, Pageant of the Birth, Life, and Death of Richard

Beauchamp Earl of Warwick K.G. 1389-1439 (London: Longmans 1914), p. 9, Plate V. See

appendix I.
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the limited number of actual pitched battles.73 Furthermore, throughout the

Middle Ages the tournament remained extremely popular and there were still

certain knights who became known as great tourneyers.74 This chapter shall

assess why the tournament remained was so popular among the nobleman and

whether the type of king who inhabited the thrown effected the waging of

tournament. Moreover, by comparing William Marshal and Richard

Beauchamp’s eulogies, this chapter shall explain the evolution of the

tournament and in tern it’s chivalric elements.

However, the first question that needs answering is whether there was such

a thing as a professional tourneyer. Between the years 1167-1183 William

Marshal was a habitué of the tournament. The History’s author gives much

time to describing tournaments and dictates a decade of his life (the 1170s) to

them. The main account of the tournaments take up over 5500 lines as the

description of William’s first tournament starts on line 1381. His participation

in tournaments is not particularly mentioned after Henry the Young King’s

death on line 6881.75 According to David Crouch, sixteen tournaments are

73
While it is agreed that pitched battles were in fact a rarity, for an actual case study see John

Gillingham, ‘Richard I and the Science of Warfare’, Anglo-Normand Warfare: Studies in late

Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman Military Organisation and Warfare, ed. Matthew Strickland

(London: Boydell Press, 1992), pp. 194-208.

74
The pageant goes to great length to remind the reader of Beauchamp’s great tourneying

skills. Another figure who was known as a great tourneyer in the later fifteenth century was

Anthony, Earl Rivers, Woodville (1440-1483). See Nigel Saul, For Honour and Fame

Chivalry in England 1066-1500 (London: Pimlico, 2012), pp. 325-347.

75
History of William Marshal, Vol. 1, pp.71-351, lines 1381-6881. However, a celebratory

tournament is mentioned from lines c.7000-7300.

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described.76 This is not to say that William Marshal did not enter more

tournaments, however, the author of the History chooses to focus on the

tournament during this part of his life. Furthermore, the History was written to

portray Marshal’s chivalrous deeds as well as to entertain the reader.

Therefore, every tournament mentioned is described as being largesse and in

great detail.77 Due to the success Marshal had in these tournaments during his

time with Young King Henry, it is fair to say that he became a professional

tourneyer. In the 1170s he even teamed up with a Flemish knight Roger de

Jouy. For two years where they decided to milk the tournament circuit for as

much as it was worth. The author writes that they were both very successful, as

they ‘never once came to a tournament/without making greater gains’.78 During

this time Marshal entered a tournament roughly every two weeks.79 For

Marshal this was his main source of income. He would have received an

income from being in the service of the Young King Henry, he was even

chosen by Henry II to take charge of his military education, however, to

upkeep his living and pay his squires he needed to enter tournaments.80

Moreover, the History is a major historical source for the description of early

tournaments. By this time there were some sort of rules. Ransoms were

76
David Crouch, William Marshal Knighthood, War and Chivalry, 1147-1219, 2nd edn.

(London: Pearson, 2002), p. 174.

77
E.g. the Lagny-sur-Marne tournament held in the late 1170 is described in great detail. The

author gives c. 370 lines to the participants of the tournament were estimated to be more than

3000. History, Vol. 1, pp. 229-245, lines 4464-4780.

78
Ibid, p. 175, lines 3410-3411.

79
Ibid, p. 175, lines 3409-3432.

80
Frances Gies, The Knight in History (London: Robert Hale 1984), pp. 108-109.
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sometimes pre-arranged and there were certain boundaries, usually between

two towns. However, there were still limited moral rules in how knights were

ransomed. The author tells us how Marshal found a knight with a broken leg,

only to drag him into where his knights were relaxing in order for them to gain

booty.81 Therefore, in comparison to Beauchamp’s time, the so called

‘professional tourneyer’ was non-existent.

When analysing Beauchamp’s pageant, every tournament he has entered is

depicted in a magnificent fashion. Unlike the over the top violent description of

Marshal’s tournaments, fifteenth century tournaments were much more of a

celebratory affair. Due to their nature where it was one knight vs. another, there

was no ransoming and therefore the rewards were much smaller. This is one

possible reason why the professional tourneyer became extinct. If the prize

money was not there, why bother? Moreover, the nobles of the later Middle

Ages did not necessarily need to rely on the tournament as a way to live. The

landless Marshal had to use the tournament as a means of income. However,

Beauchamp on the other hand had many other assets.82 Therefore, if a noble

had land it would not be wrong to suggest that their participation in

tournaments reduced. When the Marshal came back from his pilgrimage

(1186), he received a fief of his own in Lancashire from Henry II for his

services to the king. From here, Marshal seems to have left his knight-errantry

days behind him as he now had a stable income and was also betrothed to lady

81
History of William Marshal, pp. 367-369, lines 7203-7232.

82
Charles Ross, The Estates and finances of Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick (Oxford:

Dugdale Society, 1954), pp. 1-19.

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Isabel de Clare, whose father was the Earl of Pembroke. Through this marriage

Marshal became on of the most powerful nobles in England, and therefore he

did not need to rely on the tournament as his main income. 83

However, there is a problem with this conclusion as Beauchamp’s pageant

clearly shows Richard participating in multiple tournaments. While

Beauchamp might have been a great tourneyer, we need to remember why the

pageant was created. Carpenter has commented how Beauchamp was a great

administrator and warrior for Henry V and VI.84 Therefore, the reality is that

while he might have entered some tournaments, the amount of focus the

pageant gives his tourneying skills are not to be exaggerated too much. First he

was an administrator and servant to the king. Tournaments to him were most

likely a second thought. Therefore, it would not be too far to suggest that once

a knight either inherited or was awarded land, participation in tournaments

became a second thought. Therefore, this conclusion leads into the next

segment of the chapter, which is to answer, why tournaments were so popular

to begin with.

The first and foremost reason why they were popular is the money that

came with them. However, this was not the only reason. In the Marshal’s time

they were a perfect tool to practise for warfare. Richard I would hold

83
Sidney Painter, William Marshal: Knight-errant, Baron, and Regent of England (Baltimore:

Johns Hopkins Press, 1933), pp. 61-67.

84
Carpenter, Christine, ‘Beauchamp, Richard, thirteenth earl of Warwick (1382-1439)’,

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, ed. Matthew, H. C. G., Harrison, Brian (Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 2004). Online ed. Goldman, Lawrence. Accessed 4 April 2014.
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tournaments for his cavalry to practise formations, as he believed the French

had the upper hand in this area.85 There was criticism from Henri de Laon

about late thirteenth century tournaments as he believed they had become too

focused on celebration and the ferocity which helped prepare knights for

warfare was gone.86 Therefore, during Beauchamp’s time the tournament

became popular for other reasons. While a great tourneyer such as Richard

would benefit militarily, as he would be able to practise charging with a lance,

the tournament was more of a social occasion for the higher aristocracy.

Through regulations such as Edward I’s statute, which called for the blunting

of weapons, the tournament became a social occasion.87 Therefore, even

turning up in ones armour with an entourage was a way in which to display

ones power and social identity. In his pageant, we see that Beauchamp is

constantly surrounded by a secure group of followers who would serve him and

help him prepare for such events.88 Therefore, while the tournament evolved

and remained popular, the reasons for its popularity changed.

However, to deduce the reasons why the tournament changed requires

slightly more analysis. The first influence that needs to be discussed is the

Arthurian legend and the courtly romances. There is only one tournament

described in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the King’s of Britain,

however, its influence is found in Marshal’s History. Geoffrey describes how

85
Maurice Keen, Chivalry (London: Yale University Press), p. 88.

86
Ibid, pp. 88-89.

87
Michael Prestwich, Plantagenet England 1225-1360 (Oxford: Oxford University Press,

205), p. 409.

88
Richard Beauchamp Pageant, p. 17, plate IX. See appendix J.
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after a great feast at his castle in Caerleon, at Whitsuntide, Arthur’s knights

participated in a mock battle while the fair women watched from the city walls

and ‘aroused them to passionate excitement by their flirtatious behaviour’.89

The theme is fully developed in Chrétian de Troyes’ narrative where Queen

Guinevere and the ladies of the court decided to give themselves in marriage to

the winners of the great tournament in de Troyes’ Lancelot.90 In the History of

William Marshal, the romance influence can be seen where Marshal and his

companions meet the Countess of Joigni. Before the opening of the

tournament, Marshal sings a song which they dance too. Afterwards when the

first knight arrives, Marshal unhorses him and the author makes note that he

did it in the presence of the Countess and her mistresses.91 Similarly, the

courtly romance influence can be seen throughout Beauchamp’s pageant. On

the fifth plate, Beauchamp is jousting as Queen Joan’s champion at her

coronation.92 On plate XXXIV, we again see Beauchamp jousting for the

empress, who has reached out to receive his badge.93 However, while Keen has

argued that the courtly romances were the biggest influence on the evolution of

the tournament,94 this chapter shall argue that the king had a bigger influence

89
Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britaniae, in Ed., E. Faral, La Légende Arthurienne

(Paris, 1929), Vol. III, p. 246. Cited in Keen, Chivalry, p. 90.

90
Burton Raffel, trans., Chrétian de Troyes, Lancelot the Knight of the Cart (New Haven: Yale

University Press, 1997), p. 169, lines 5368-5379.

91
History of William Marshal, line 3426.

92
Richard Beauchamp Pageant, p. 9, Plate V.

93
Ibid, p. 68, plate XXXIV. See appendix C.

94
Keen, pp. 90-91.
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on the tournament as he decided whether they were held and how they

proceeded.

While the church could not influence the tournament,95 the main reason why

the tournament changed and evolved had to do with the chivalry of the king.

The king had a huge amount of influence of the waging of tournaments.

Warrior like kings such as Richard I and Edward III hosted many tournaments.

Edward believed tournaments to be the pinnacle of a knight’s chivalric ability

as defeating a fellow knight in one on one combat showed ones true skill.96

However, under certain kings the tournament was not seen so approvingly.

Henry II banned them in England as he believed that they encouraged

disorder.97 Edward III’s grandson Richard II viewed tournaments as not a

means of training or celebration, but as a tool to bring focus back to his

majesty. While Edward III had participated in tournaments, Richard only

looked on. The only known tournaments during his reign were at Westminster

in 1385, at Smithfield in 1386, two tournaments at unknown locations in May

and October 1390 and 1397 and finally at Windsor in 1399.98 On the other

hand, while the correlation between warrior kings and the use of tournaments is

clear, there were still regulations installed. As mentioned previously, Edward

I’s 1292 Statute led to the blunting of weapons while Richard I only opened up

95
Richard Barber and Juliet Barker, Tournaments Jousts, Chivalry and Pageants in the Middle

Ages (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1989), pp. 16-17.

96
Juliet Vale, Edward III and Chivalry Chivalric Society and its Context 1270-1350

(Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1982), pp. 5-12.

97
Saul, p. 35.

98
Ibid, p. 112.
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certain areas where tournaments could be held. Under Richard the earls of

Warenne, Gloucester and Salisbury were to create a type of court to control the

bloodshed.99 However, this does not mean that the tournaments were not seen

as the pinnacle of chivalry. When Edward I came to the throne, he was labelled

as ‘like a little Richard’ who would bring honour back to England.100 The king

had a huge influence on where the tournament was held and the reason for it

being held and in turn affected the evolution of the tournament and it’s

chivalric influence.

Therefore, comparing the eulogies of William Marshal and Richard

Beauchamp we can clearly notice how the tournament evolved. From the

Marshal’s History we see how the lesser nobility (those knights without land)

would use the tournament as a means of income as well as creating a name for

themselves.101 This shift in power established a new knightly class as part of

the aristocracy. Through the tournament the landless knights caught the eye of

their lords and were recruited to serve princes and kings. This then led to fiefs

being distributed, which happened to William Marshal. Moreover, we have

seen how once knights acquired land their interest in the tournament reduced,

as they did not need to rely on it as a means of income. The tournament

evolved from being used for training purposes and ransom to becoming a

celebratory event. The tournament remained popular throughout the Middle

Ages and is a clear indicator of how chivalry evolved into a more courtly

manner.
99
Keen, p. 86.

100
Saul, p. 75.

101
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Chapter Four

From Death to Burial

The death scene depicted in Richard Beauchamp’s pageant is very similar to

how it is described in William Marshal’s History. However, similarly to the

dubbing, the importance of each death contrasts with each other. While

Beauchamp’s death only takes up one plate of the pageant, the description of

Marshal’s death begins from line 17885, where he writes his will, and

continues describing his funeral until line 19164. The author of Marshal’s

History, John, then utters his final words in remembrance of the Marshal up to

line 19215.102 However, while many plates in Beauchamp’s pageant do not

represent death, this does not mean that his death is not depicted with a huge

amount of detail. Beauchamp is portrayed to have taken the sacraments and is

surrounded by a prelate and his clerks. Unlike Marshal, no nobles or family

members stand out and those weeping are not named. The earl is naked in bed,

as was the custom, and the clerk next to the prelate is holding a chest with three

oils vessels inside.103 This chapter shall explore the different contrasts in each

source and will assess why the sources depict death so differently while both

sources are there to celebrate the life of these great chivalric figures. Moreover,

by looking at Marshal and Beauchamp’s tombs as well as the burials of each

102
Ed. A.J. Holden, S. Gregory and D. Crouch, History of William Marshal (London: Anglo-

Norman Text Society, 2002), Vol. 2, pp. 397-463, lines 17885-19215.

103
Viscount Dillion and W.H. St. John Hope, Pageant of the Birth, Life, and Death of Richard

Beauchamp Earl of Warwick K.G. 1389-1439 (London: Longmans 1914), p. 104, plate LII. See

appendix K.
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source, this chapter shall discuss what they can tell us about how both figures

were celebrated for their chivalric deeds.

While there is a contrast in terms of the importance of their deaths, how the

Marshal is described during death is very similar to how Beauchamp looks in

his pageant. When the Marshal’s life is coming to an end, the author vividly

writes how his condition slowly worsened. In one instance, the Marshal faints

and asks his most loyal follower, John of Earley (1172-1230), why he did not

sprinkle water on him to wake him up. Upon doing so, the author writes how

Marshal’s face ‘grew paler,/and became livid because death was pressing him’.

Moreover, the History describes his condition as deteriorating ‘to such an

extent that he was unable to eat/ or drink…and his natural functions stopped’

and he could only eat a diet of mushrooms.104 This idea of depicting death as

accurately as possible is seen throughout the Middle Ages. For example, in the

pageant Beauchamp is unrecognisable from the fresh-faced Richard

Beauchamp we have seen in previous plates. Instead, he resembles a skeleton

to suggest that he is ready for death.105 The reason for this is to do with the

importance of religion in their everyday life. The people of the Middle Ages

feared death, and especially not ascending to heaven and entering either

purgatory or hell. Death was seen as the soul finally being released into heaven

where the body could do no more harm to it.106 As no one knew what hell

looked like, stories and images such as Simon Marmion’s (c.1425-1489), who
104
History of William Marshal, Vol. 2, p. 425, lines 18444-18456.

105
Pageant of Richard Beauchamp, p. 104, plate LII.

106
Christopher Daniell, Death and Burial in Medieval England 1066-1550 (London:

Routledge, 2003), pp. 1-30.

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was either a French or Burgundian painter, The Visions of the Knight Tondal

depicted what they believed the horrors of hell were.107

Therefore, the first theme that needs to be explored using both eulogies is

whether there is such a thing as a chivalrous death, and whether the sources

portray Marshal and Beauchamp’s deaths in a chivalrous manner.

The evidence to suggest that William Marshal’s death was chivalrous is

fairly straightforward. The author of the History, John, writes that on his

deathbed Marshal apologised for his sins yet believed that God would accept

him into heaven, saying that ‘I’ve taken five hundred knights/and kept their

arms, horses…I believe that I can do no more/ as regards God but surrender

myself up to him’.108 Moreover, he further writes while Marshal was ‘suffering

greatly from his grievous illness’109 he still was able to live for over a month in

bed, gripping to life and making sure that all the factors that needed to dealt

with, such as the protection of Henry III and the carrying out of his will.110 On

the other hand, can we call the depiction of Beauchamp’s death chivalrous? We

know that he died in Roun in 1439 while on campaign. However, unlike some

great nobleman, for example King Richard III, he did not have a chivalrous

107
Simon Marmion, Lucifer, Prince of Darkness in, The Visions of Tondal, J. Paul Getty

Museum, Ms. 30, fol. 30v. Cited in Thomas Kren, ed., Margaret of York, Simon Marmion, and

the Visions of Tondal (Malibu, California: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 1992), p. 120.

108
History of William Marshal, Vol. 2, p. 427, lines 18483-18491.

109
Ibid, Vol. 2, p. 403, line 18020.

110
Ibid, Vol. 2, p. 451, lines 18956-18960.
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death on the battlefield.111 However, this would mean that to be chivalrous a

knight would be judged on his life and not his death. Therefore, the question

that needs to be answered is whether going through the proper practise of

death, i.e. receiving the sacraments, is enough to call ones death chivalrous?

The answer to this question lies within the lives of Marshal and Beauchamp.

From the description of both figures death’s, they both received a lot of

attention. Therefore, throughout their lives they both built up a reputation for

serving god in a chivalric way. One way they did this was to go on a

pilgrimage.

Religion was a huge part of the chivalric ethos. The knights were soldiers

of God and many, including both Marshal and Beauchamp, ventured on

pilgrimages to Jerusalem.112 Beauchamp’s pageant introduces his pilgrimage

fairly early on in his life. On plate IX, we see a basic version of how

Beauchamp is dressed, the only thing he has of any value is the staff he is

holding. On plate XVIII we see Beauchamp meeting the sultan’s lieutenant Sir

Baltirdam and on the following plate (XIX) we see Beauchamp dining with Sir

Baltirdam.113 Similarly, after Henry the Young King’s death, Marshal ventured

111
Andrew R. Scoble, trans., The Memoirs of Philip de Commines, Vol. 1, (London: Henry G.

Bohn, 1855), pp. 397-398; Denys Hay, trans., Polydore Vergil, Anglica Historia (Oxford:

Clarendon Press, 1952) pp. 223-236.

112
Maurice Keen, Chivalry (London: Yale University Press, 1984), pp. 14, 44; Pageant of

Richard Beauchamp, p. 17, plate IX; History of William Marshal, Vol. 1, pp. 371-373, lines

7289-7318. See appendix J.

113
Pageant of Richard Beauchamp, p. 17, 36, 37, plate IX, XVIII, XIX. See appendix J, L and

M.
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to the Holy Land and stayed there for two years.114 While the History is silent

on what he did during his time on pilgrimage and therefore it contrasts with

Beauchamp’s pageant, David Crouch has convincingly argued that since he

promised the dying Young King that he would participate in a pilgrimage, he

did it for spiritual reasons and it is the biographers vanity on Marshal’s perhaps

vague success in the East that leads to the History’s silence.115 Therefore, to

deduce whether a knight’s death is chivalric, one has to assess their past actions

and how they lived their life. Clues given by the eulogies, such as a religious

figure bringing in a cross during the confession, were very common amongst

the social elite and suggest a chivalric death. However, to truly assess whether

the figure has a lived a chivalric lifestyle actions such as pilgrimages must be

taken.

While both sources give us an account of how death was seen in the Middle

Ages, we can also see how nobles would handle the administrative side that

followed death. Before the figure died, their will needed to be finalised and

carried out. In Marshal’s History we get a detailed account of his will and how

his land was split. Furthermore, Marshal gives his one daughter Joan, who has

yet to be married, a dowerage that is suitable to find a husband.116 Using

Thomas Hearne’s Historia vitae et regni Ricardi II, we are able to access

Beauchamp’s will, in which we see much of the same. He left his lands to his

heir who at the time was a minor, Henry Beauchamp (1425-1446), and since
114
History of William Marshal, Vol. 1, p. 369, line 7240.

115
David Crouch, William Marshal Knighthood, War and Chivalry, 1147-1219 (London:

Pearson, 2002), pp. 55-56.

116
History of William Marshal, Vol. 2, p. 411, lines 18159-18168.
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the only unmarried daughter he had left, Anne Beauchamp, was already

betrothed to Richard ‘the Kingmaker’ Neville, a dowerage had already been

arranged.117 Moreover, we are told where the figures were to be buried. In

Beauchamp’s will he issued the construction of a chantry chapel to be built in

the collegiate church of St. Mary, Warwick where he wished to be buried.118

Similarly in Marshal’s eulogy, we’re told that he verbally requested to be

buried in Temple Church in London which would have then been transcribed to

his will.119

By looking at how both Marshal and Beauchamp’s burials are portrayed we

can see further how their lives were celebrated. Both Marshal and Beauchamp

were buried ad sanctos, or ‘among the saints’ as they were both important

figures during the time.120 As previously iterated, Richard Beauchamp had a

chantry chapel built at the church of St. Mary, Warwick, while Marshal was

laid to rest at Temple Church in London. On plate LIII of Beauchamp’s

pageant his burial is depicted. We see that the Bishop of Lichfield is directing

the service while sparkling holy water over his coffin. In the centre of the
117
George B. Stow, Jr., ed., Historia Vitae et Regni Ricardi II (Philadelphia: University of

Pennsylvania Press, 1977), pp. 240-245.

118
Ibid, pg. 241. ‘I will that when it liketh to God that my Soule depart out of this world, my

Body be entered within the Church Collegiate of our Lady in Warwick where I will that in such

Place as I have devised (which is known well) there be made a Chapell of our Lady, well faire

and goodly built, within the middle of which chappell I will, that my tombe be made’. Cited in

Alexandra Buckle, ‘‘Entumbid Rich Princely’: The Re-Interment of Richard Beauchamp, Earl

of Warwick, and a Lost Rite’, The Yorkist Age: Proceedings of the 2011 Harlaxton

Symposium, ed., Hannes Kleineke and Christian Steer (Donnington, 2013), p. 400.
119
History of William Marshal, Vol. 2, p. 415, 455, lines 18241-18242, 19043-19046.
120
Michael Evans, Death and Burial (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), p. 25.
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inscriptions on the coffin are Beauchamp’s coat of arms encircled by the Garter

to remind those of his achievements and importance. In the background are

various mourners crying at his death. While there are no names given, the plate

states that ‘many lords and ladyes and other worshipful people there beyng’.121

Very similarly to Beauchamp’s depiction, we are told that Marshal’s burial was

directed ‘to perfection’ by the archbishop.122 While the coffin is only described

as being of ‘high estate’, this was to be expected for a figure such as William

Marshal.123 Not surprisingly many noblemen turned up for Marshal’s burial.

These included the earl of Waranne, Robert de Vere, the Earl of Oxford,

Gilbert de Clare, the earl of Gloucester.124 The author states that ‘there were so

many high ranking barons assembled’ that he could not name them all.125 The

burial descriptions from both eulogies suggest how well respected both

Marshal and Beauchamp were. Their actions during their life were fully

celebrated at their burials and many ‘worshipful’ mourners were in attendance.

Moreover, by looking at the tombs in which both knights’ coffins were

buried, we are given further evidence of how respected they were for their

chivalric deeds. Both sources celebrate the figures as being true Christian

knights. Beauchamp’s pageant calls him one stating ‘and as a Cristyn knight

departed from this worlde’ while Marshal had his body draped in cloth from

121
Pageant of Richard Beauchamp, p. 105, plate LIII. See appendix N.

122
History of William Marshal, Vol. 2, p. 455, line 19054.

123
Ibid, Vol. 2, pp. 451-453, lines 18984-18985.

124
Ibid, Vol. 2, p. 452, lines 19005- 19012.

125
Ibid, Vol. 2, p. 453, line 19013.
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the Holy Land as a symbol to Christ.126 Therefore, their tombs symbolise their

importance. While the cavendar tomb was popular during the later Middle

Ages, Richard Beauchamp’s tomb is very similar to Marshal’s, only it is bigger

and more impressive. Both tombs have their depictions lying on top. Richard’s

head is lying on a swan, which was part of the Beauchamp crest. The box

underneath the body is built in the cavendar style; however, there is no skeleton

to symbolise the body of Beauchamp.127 Instead, priests are preying while

smaller angels beside the larger priests are there to protect Richard in the after

life.128 A ‘hearse’, a cage like construction, has been built over the tomb which

seems to have supported a fabric cover which would have been removed when

mass was said for his soul.129 William Marshal’s tomb on the other hand is

much more basic. Marshal is depicted in his military uniform where he is lying

on the ground. His hands hold his sword on one side and his shield on the

other, unlike Beauchamp’s hands which are in the prayer position.130

Beauchamp’s tomb is generally grander than Marshal’s. This is most likely due

to Beauchamp being wealthier than Marshal in his lifetime. However, this does

not increase or decrease the chivalric importance of either tomb.

Therefore, the deathbed scenes of both Richard Beauchamp and William

Marshal portray them as true chivalric knights. They’re chivalric actions during

126
Ibid, Vol. 2, p. 413, lines 18212-18226.

127
See Appendix O.

128
See Appendix P.

129
Daniell, pp. 6-8.

130
See Appendix Q for Beauchamp’s depiction and R for Marshal’s tomb.
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their lifetime are celebrated and they both received a Christian burial. The

number of barons and ‘worshipful’ men in attendance suggest how important

the two figures were during their lifetime. Their wills show us how they

handled the administrative side of death, such as dividing up their estates, as

quickly as possible so there were no issues left once they were buried.

Moreover, the death scenes sum up the religious influence on chivalry. Both

Marshal and Beauchamp are depicted confessing their sins with a bishop who

is present with a cross, anointing their chests.131 By assessing their tombs we

are further given evidence of their chivalric importance. Both are portrayed at

peace and in uniform. While Marshal is armed, Beauchamp is praying; both

parts of the chivalric culture. Therefore, the tombs are evidence that the knights

are still depicted as being chivalric after death. Moreover, while neither

Marshal nor Beauchamp died in battle, this does not mean that they did not

have a chivalric death. They participated in the religious side of chivalry and

by the depiction of their burials, they were considered honourable, noble

knights. The difference in the glamour of their tombs clearly suggests how

memory and trying to recreate the great knights has influenced Beauchamp in

his burial, while Marshal who lived chivalry, was content with a more basic

tomb.

131
Pageant of Richard Beauchamp, p. 104, plate LII; History of William Marshal, Vol.2, pp.

399-401, lines 17944-17984.

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Conclusion

By comparing William Marshal, who lived during a time where chivalry

was quickly developing into a culture where the knight was becoming a class

in society, to Richard Beauchamp who, in contrast, lived during a time where

the knight’s were trying to recreate the age of chivalry, it is clear that the

courtly romantic chivalry which Beauchamp experienced developed from the

more physical, war orientated chivalry which William Marshal used as a

‘career’. As the Middle Ages progressed, the nobility became better educated

and therefore their role changed in society. From this, chivalry evolved

alongside the knight’s social status into an ideal. As the knight became socially

more important, rules began to emerge from chivalry on how to act in a courtly

manner.

The realities of war were not chivalric. There were limited pitched battles as

chevalreé’s and sieges were more common. By Beauchamp’s era knights were

even more educated in warfare. Publius Flavius Vegetius’ De re Militari was

widely circulated and read by the nobles. In it he wrote strategies that knights

during William Marshal’s era knew of. An example is that if a pitched battle is

necessary, which Vegitus is highly against, make sure you always out number

your opponent to make the risk of losing reduced. Moreover, great pitched

battles such as Lincoln and Shrewsbury are portrayed as the pinnacle of

chivalric heroism when it was most likely more of a tame affair. Furthermore,

the evolution of the tournament can be used perfectly to comment on the

evolution of chivalry. From being essentially an arena where a mini-battle

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would take place, it developed into a sport for celebration. While it was still

dangerous, rules were put into place to make it much safer than it once was.132

Champions would be chosen to represent the noble women watching and

would joust in their name. While there were still great tourneyers like

Beauchamp, the military aspect had been lost.

Through the portrayal of the dubbing ceremony in each effigy we can

assume how important land was in the size and celebration of a knight.

Beauchamp, who was to inherit land, received a much bigger dubbing

ceremony than William Marshal. Furthermore, the dubbing ceremonies can

also tell us how closely war was associated with the knight in Marshal’s era. In

contrast, through the pageant’s portrayal of Beauchamp’s induction into the

Order of the Garter we get a sense of nostalgia and a courtly remembrance

missing from Marshal’s era. Moreover, the death scenes of each effigy remind

us how both knights were seen as being true Christian knights. We see both

Marshal and Beauchamp confessing their sins to either a bishop or an

archbishop before their soul ascends to heaven.133 Moreover, by looking their

132
An example of rules entering the tournament life style was first introduced by Richard I

who actually allowed tournaments to be held in England unlike his father, Henry II, who

banned them. Surprisingly Edward I then introduced a heavier set of rules in 1292.

133
Ed. Holden, A.J., trans. Gregory, S., historical notes Crouch, David, The History of William

Marshal (Anglo-Norman Text Society, 2002), Vol. II, p. 447, lines 18880-18887; Dillion,

Viscount and Hope, W.H. St. John, ed., Pageant of the Birth, Life, and Death of Richard

Beauchamp Earl of Warwick K.G. 1389-1439 (Longmans Green and Co., 1914), p. 104, plate

LII.
657647
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tombs we can see how Marshal’s tomb is much plainer than Beauchamp’s who

had a whole chantry constructed in his remembrance.

Perhaps the main difference between the chivalry during the Marshal’s era

compared to Beauchamp’s is reality vs. remembrance. Marshal lived during a

time where knights fought for a living and lived the warrior aspect of chivalry.

On the other hand, Richard Beauchamp lived during a time of ‘pseudo-

chivalry’. Edward III’s creation of the Order of the Garter in 1349/50, where

the members were mostly picked on the basis of their in the Wars with France,

is but only one example of how in Beauchamp’s time, the knights of the day

were always trying to live up to the legend set by the Arthurian Romances and

the warriors of William Marshal’s time. From choosing four case studies from

both effigies, War, the Dubbing, the Tournament and their Death and Burial

this research has shown how through comparing two knights from two

different eras of the Middle Ages, the nature and evolution of chivalry can be

assessed.
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de France, 1891-1901).

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Appendix
All sources are cited from Dillion, Viscount and Hope, W.H. St. John, ed.,
Pageant of the Birth, Life, and Death of Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick
K.G. 1389-1439 (London: Longmans Green and Co., 1914) unless where
stated.

Appendix A-Plate XLIX, p. 97.

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Appendix B-Plate VI, p. 12.

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Appendix C-Plate XXXIV, p. 68.

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Appendix D-Plate VII, p. 13.

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Appendix E- Plate XIV, p. 28.

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Appendix F- Plate XXIX, p. 57.

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Appendix G- Plate III, p. 5.

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Appendix H- Plate VIII, p. 16.

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Appendix I- Plate V, p. 9.
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Appendix J- Plate IX, p. 17.

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Appendix K- Plate LII, p. 104.

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Appendix L- Plate XVIII, p. 36.

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Appendix M- Plate XIX, p. 37.

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Appendix N- Plate LIII, p. 105.

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Appendix O- Cited from Richard III Society, Gloucester Branch, Richard III
Gloucester, June 2008, < http://www.richardiiigloucester.co.uk/visits.html>,
accessed on 24 April 2014.
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Appendix P-Cited from- Richard III Society, Gloucester Branch, Richard III
Gloucester, June 2008, < http://www.richardiiigloucester.co.uk/visits.html>,
accessed on 24 April 2014.
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Appendix Q- Cited from Richard III Society, Gloucester Branch, Richard III
Gloucester, June 2008, < http://www.richardiiigloucester.co.uk/visits.html>,
accessed on 24 April 2014.
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Appendix R- Cited from Susanne Hafner, Knights of the Round Table, 20 July
2011,
<http://knightsofheroundtablefordham.wordpress.com/2011/07/20/william-
marshal/>, 24 April 2014.