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William Marshal

Undoubtedly, Georges Duby is one of the century’s renowned medieval historians. He has created many fine works including the book William Marshal: The Flower of Chivalry. The book is based on a poem which was composed by, an author only known by his first name, Jean. The poem’s patron was the earl’s oldest son, who thought that “it was important that William Marshal’s valor be celebrated” (page 28). The book narrates the life of the great knight, beginning with his death and continuing with retrospection of how he earned his glory and the status of the most celebrated knight in medieval Europe. Duby uncovers many themes in his work, including the values of chivalry and Christianity. But the once that are still relevant nowadays are: the shabby treatment of women and children and the transactional concept of marriage.
The most notable differences between the society today and eight hundred years ago, is the way the women and children were treated and the way the marriage was interpreted. The women then were regarded as if they were lower species, like a commodity, with lot fewer rights than men. Their opinion was rarely taken in mind and in most cases they did not have the right of choice. The children’s life was also unenviable. If you are not the firstborn son, your life is going to be a lot more difficult. The daughters did not have any rights of choice regarding their life and the younger sons had to cope by themselves with the harsh life from early age. The parents weren’t concerned much about the wellbeing of their children. Along with these examples of inequality the reader might be shocked by the diminished values of marriage. Nowadays, the marriage is considered to be a sacred union based on love (in most cases) but in the book the author depicts it as nothing more than a way of getting rich or making peace with your enemy.
A child’s life during the dark ages was unenviable. If you were not the firstborn son your life was...

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