BATTLE OF LINCOLN

19 October 1216, King John died, leaving behind his son and successor, Henry III, who was only nine years old. The warrior-knight William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, was appointed Regent of the Kingdom. At the time, Marshal was around 70 years old. He was an aristocrat of rank and substance, a man famed for his chivalry, who had honed his political and military talent in service to Henry II and Richard the Lionheart. However, he had begun his career more modestly, as a penniless younger son of a minor nobleman, winning fame and fortune on the tournament circuit. Marshal was six foot tall, a man of considerable