'Patrick of Salisbury', 1st
Earl of Salisbury (d.
1168) was an
Anglo-Norman nobleman, and the uncle of the famous
William Marshal. Before 1141, Patrick was constable of
Salisbury, a powerful local official but not a nobleman. That year, Patrick married his sister to
John fitzGilbert the Marshal, who had been a local rival of his, and transferred his allegiance from
King Stephen to the
Empress Matilda. This political move gained him his earldom, and the friendship of John the Marshal, who was to send his younger son William to stay with him. It was in his household where the famous Marshal first learned about knighthood.
Patrick was killed in
France in an ambush by forces of
Guy of Lusignan.
References
★ Barlow, Frank. ''The Feudal Kingdom of England 1042-1216'' Londan: Longman Group Limited, 1961. ISBN 0-582-48237-2