Guillaume le Maréchal oder der beste aller Ritter

He called himself Guillaume le Maréchal, not William Marshal. Nevertheless, he was English of Norman descent. In his time, he was regarded as "the best of all knights," and as a knight, he made a storybook career: from the impoverished younger son of a poor knight to the powerful regent of England and one of the richest barons of the feudal era, with estates in England, France, and Ireland. In 1219, the count died a splendid death: he offered the world the spectacle of a true princely death, a perfectly staged farewell to the world. "Until now, Guillaume was known only to specialized historians. Now he has a good chance of becoming a favorite with the public." (profil) The special thing about this "exemplary narrative history" is that Duby can rely on a poetic work: the extensive Old French verse poem.