Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke (1194 – 27 June 1241) was the third son of
William Marshal, 1st Earl of PembrokeSir William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke , also called William the Marshal , was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He was described as the "greatest knight that ever lived" by Stephen Langton...
and Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke, the daughter of
Richard de ClareRichard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke , Lord of Leinster, Justiciar of Ireland . Like his father, he was also commonly known as Strongbow...
.
Gilbert acceded to the title of
Earl of PembrokeEarl of Pembroke is a title created ten times, all in the Peerage of England. It was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, which is the site of Earldom's original seat Pembroke Castle...
and
Lord MarshalEarl Marshal is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England...
on 11 June 1234, on the death of his elder brother
RichardRichard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke was the brother of William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, whom he succeeded to the Earldom of Pembroke and Lord Marshal of England upon his brother's death on 6 April 1231....
who had died childless.
He was married on 1 August 1235 in
Berwick-upon-TweedBerwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
to Marjorie of Scotland (1200 – 17 November 1244), daughter of
King William of ScotlandWilliam the Lion , sometimes styled William I, also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough", reigned as King of the Scots from 1165 to 1214...
. Their marriage was childless. By an unknown mistress he had one illegitimate daughter, Isabel, who was married to Rhys ap Maeldon Fychan.
He was accidentally killed on 27 June 1241 while in a
tournamentA tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...
at
WareWare is a town of around 18,000 people in Hertfordshire, England close to the county town of Hertford. It is also a civil parish in East Hertfordshire district. The Prime Meridian passes to the east of Ware.-Location:...
, which King
Henry IIIHenry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
had expressely forbidden, as he did not want any of his subjects killing one another in sport. Gilbert was thrown from his horse and his foot was caught in the stirrup, thus he was dragged for some distance on the ground and died from the injuries he had received. He was buried at
Temple ChurchThe Temple Church is a late-12th-century church in London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built for and by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. In modern times, two Inns of Court both use the church. It is famous for its effigy tombs and for being a round church...
next to his father. His title was passed to his younger brother
WalterWalter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke was the fourth son of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke who succeeded his childless brother Gilbert as the 5th Earl of Pembroke and Earl Marshal of England in 1242 a year after the latter's death...
a year after his death. Walter was not immediately confirmed as Earl of Pembroke and Lord Marshal due to the King's anger at Walter's disobedience of royal orders, as he had also attended the tournament which had killed Gilbert.