Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke

Who was Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke?

Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke 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. 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. 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.