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John fitz Gilbert was the father of William Marshal EarlofPembroke.Johnwas the son of Gilbert, the marshal of the royalhouseholdof KingHenryI. The office of the marshal was part of the Curia,with adeputyin theExchequer and one in the King's Bench, as well as onein theCourtof theMarshalsea of the King's household. The office wassubordinatetotheoffice of constable of the royal household.. Theofficewasresponsiblefor everything connected to the horses oftheroyalhousehold, the hawksand the hounds as well. He had the generaldutyofkeeping order in theroyal court/household, arranging forthebilletingof members of thecourt, keeping tallies and other vouchersoftheexpenditures of thehousehold, keeping rolls of all whoperformedtheirmilitary servicethere, and being responsible for theimprisonmentofdebtors. The'Constitutio Domus Regis' gives the duties ofthemastermarshal for KingHenry I.
Both John and his father are found in the kingus courtbefore1130wherethey maintained [probably by trial by battle] their officeofmasterofthe kingus marshalsea against William de Hastings andRobertdeVenoiz.On the pipe roll of 1130 John is found payingtwenty-twopoundsforseisin to his fatherus lands and ministerium and fortymarksfortheoffice of marshal of the court. In this same yearJohnmarriedthedaughter and heiress of Walter Pipard, a minorWiltshirelandholder.Johnwas a loyal and trusted royal official andattested to atleasttwelveroyal acts of Henry I between 1129-1135, most ofthem inEnglandbut somein Normandy.
When Stephen (depicted right) took the English throne on thedeathofHenryI in 1135, John continued to serve in the office ofmarshalandaccompaniedStephen to Normandy in 1137. In 1138 John tookpossessionofthe castles ofMarlborough and Ludgershall in Wiltshire ascastellanandproceeded tostrengthen both. During the early years of thewarbetweenKing Stephen andthe Empress Mathilda, John was more orlesscontent towait and watch,increasing the number of knights bound tohimandfortifying his castles.He used his position in Wiltshire toattackandravage the lands of thoseopposing King Stephen, though accordingtosomeof the chronicles of thetimes, John was not too particularaboutwhom heattacked.
Below: Lincoln Castle
In February 1141, King Stephen was captured at the battleofLincolnbyRobert of Gloucester, natural brother to theEmpress.Thiseventapparently convinced John that he should be on theEmpressusside inthecivil war, and he actively supported her from thistimeforward. Johnwaswith the Empress at Reading in May, Oxford in July,andat the siegeofWinchester in August 1141. When Henry of Blois, bishopofWinchesterandbrother to King Stephen, brought troops to relievethesiegeofWinchester, it was decided that the Empress would fleetoJohnuscastleof Ludgershall with John while Robert of Gloucestercontinuedthebattle.At the village of Wherwell, John sent the Empress onto hiscastlewithBrian fitz Count, and he stayed with some men to defendherretreatatthe River Test. At the end of this struggle at the river,onlyJohnandone of his knights were left standing. They retreated tothechurchofWherwell Abbey, and the enemy set fire to it. TheenemydepartedfromWherwell thinking that John had perished, but hesurvived andmade ittohis castle of Marlborough, losing one eye frommelting iron inthefire.
The rising and falling fortunes of neither side in thiscivilwargreatlyeffected fitz Gilbertus prosperity; he used his positionandhiscastlesin Wiltshire to continue to attack the landsofStephenussupporters. Oneof his frequent victims was PatrickconstableofSalisbury, who was KingStephenus man. After several yearsofthiswarfare, both men had hadenough of the deprivations resultingfromtheirattacks on each other.They worked out a compromise in 1141;JohnfitzGilbert would put asidehis first wife and marry PatrickussisterSibile[Sibyl], and Patrickcame over to the Empressus side.Thiscompromise gavePatrick peace andrelief as well as the later titleandlands of theearldom of Salisbury.John nullified his most dangerousenemyanddefinitely increased his ownsocial position by marrying into oneofthegreat feudal families ofEngland. It hurt neither man that theycouldbothnow raid the lands ofStephenus supporters in Wiltshire,BerkshireandHampshire.
John was in high favor with the Empress, and sheappointedhisbrotherWilliam as her chancellor. John himself witnessed atleastfourchartersof the Empress, and there are two writs addressed toJohninWiltshire byher. He also witnessed five charters of DukeHenryinNormandy. October25, 1154, King Stephen died and on December19,1154,Henry was crownedKing Henry II of England. Henry II gave toJohnthemanors ofMarlborough, Wexcombe, and Cherhill in Wiltshire;theyyieldedeight-twopounds annually in revenues. He retained the officeofmarshalof theroyal household. Along with these lands and the landsofhisfather, Johnheld seven other knightsu fees: land of thebishopofWinchester, of thebishop of Exeter, of the bishop of Winchester,oftheabbot of Abingdon,of Richard de Candos[Chandos], of ManasserdeArsic,and of Geoffrey deMandeville. He held Tidworth in Wiltshirebyserjeantyof his office asmarshal and possibly Hampstead in Berkshire.The'CartaeBaronnum' showshim holding Wigan in Oxfordshire, andInkberrowinWorcestershire mayhave been originally John fitz Gilbertus.Johnwasstill a minor baron incomparison to the great magnates, buthehadincreased the inheritanceleft to him by his father by a great deal.
John fitz Gilbert was a clever and ruthless baron who hadmorethanhisshare of daring, energy, and ambition. He was known forhisability asasoldier/knight and for his cunning and love ofmilitarystratagems.The'Gesta Stephani' describes him as 'a limb of helland theroot ofallevil.' It accuses John of building adulterinecastles[probablyNewburyin Berkshire], taking the lands of both laity andclergy,and offorcingpayments from the church. He put aside his firstwifewithout aqualm inorder to better himself and his position. In'LuHistoriedeGuillaume leMarechal', the chanson de geste written as ahistory ofthelife ofJohnus son William, there is a story told of thesiege ofJohnuscastleof Newbury by King Stephen in 1152. King Stephen heldJohnussonWilliamas hostage for his fatherus good behavior during agrantedtruce.Johnignored the truce; he used the time to re-fortify andsupplyhiscastle.When King Stephen called John to the castleus wallsandremindedJohnthat his sonus life was forfeit for Johnus own actions,Johnsaidthat,'he had the anvils and the hammer to forge still bettersons.'Thiswas aruthless warrior and only the gentle nature ofKingStephenprotected thelife of the five-year old William.
John fitz Gilbert died 1164/1165 while his son William wasinNormandybeingtrained as a squire by his cousin WilliamdeTancarvilleChamberlain ofNormandy. Of the two sons by Johnusfirstmarriage, theoldest, Gilbert,died within a year of Johnus owndeath, andtheyoungest, Walter, diedbefore John. By the lady Sibile[Sibyl], Johnhadfour sons and twodaughters; John as the eldest soninheritedhisfatherus lands and theoffice of marshal. John fitz Gilbertussecondson,William Marshal, wouldinherit nothing tangible from hisfather, buthewould be heir to hisfatherus standing in respect to theconfidenceandfavor of King Henry II.John fitz Gilbert, unlike others inthewarsbetween King Stephen and theEmpress, changed his allegianceonlyonce.When he joined the Empressu sidein the war, he not only servedherandher son loyally and faithfully, buthe placed his own lifeinjeopardyprotecting and defending her. This was adebt that HenryIIrememberedand paid. Johnus son William would do the samefor KingHenryuswifeEleanor near the castle of de lusignan in Poitou atthe end of1167.Twoof the de lusignan brothers attacked and killedWilliamusunarmeduncle,Patrick earl of Salisbury, while Patrick, QueenEleanor,andWilliam wereriding near the castle of de lusignan. Williamwaswoundedand takenprisoner while defending the Queenus retreat intothecastle andtryingto avenge his uncleus murder. William mighthaveinherited some ofthephysical strength and knowledge of militarystrategyfrom his father,butas a second son, he would become in his ownright andby hisownabilities, skills, and sense of honour the bestofchivalricknighthood,a 'familiaris Regis,' the Earl of Pembroke andregentofEngland
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Thomas
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