The Rise of William Marshal

William Marshal started life as a hostage nearly launched into a castle by trebuchet

and ended it saving England from French invasion at age 70. This is how an obscure

boy became the greatest knight in English history. His father told King Stephen to

go ahead and kill young William during a siege, saying he could make better sons.

The king spared him. That boy would grow up to change everything. William trained

in Normandy and became a tournament celebrity, the medieval version of a sports star.

He won fortune and fame in brutal mock battles that often turned deadly. Queen Eleanor noticed

his talent and introduced him to her son Henry the Young King. When Henry died at 28,