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Vere
Earls of Oxford
Alphonso, Count de Ghisnes
earliest known ancestor.
Alberic (Aubrey) de Vere
(came to England in 1066)
Aubrey II de Vere,
Great Chamberlain (d.1141)
* EO 1 - Aubrey de Vere,
1st Earl of Oxford (d.1194)
* EO 2 - Aubrey de Vere,
2nd Earl of Oxford (d.1214)
* EO 3 - Robert de Vere,
3rd Earl of Oxford (d.1221)
* EO 4 - Hugh de Vere,
4th Earl of Oxford (d.1221)
* EO 5 - Robert de Vere,
5th Earl of Oxford (d.1296)
* EO 6 - Robert de Vere,
6th Earl of Oxford (d.1331)
* EO 7 - John de Vere
7th Earl of Oxford (d.1360)
* EO 8 - Sir Thomas de Vere,
8th Earl of Oxford (d.1371)
* EO 9 - Robert de Vere,
9th Earl of Oxford (d.1392)
* EO10 - Aubrey de Vere,
10th Earl of Oxford (d.1400)
* EO11 - Robert de Vere
11th Earl of Oxford (d.1417)
* EO12 - John de Vere,
12th Earl of Oxford (d.1462)
* EO13 - John de Vere,
13th Earl of Oxford (d.1513)
* EO14 - Sir Robert de Vere,
14th Earl of Oxford
* EO15 - John de Vere,
15th Earl of Oxford, (d.1539)
* EO16 - John de Vere,
16th Earl of Oxford (d.1562)
* EO17 - Edward de Vere,
17th Earl of Oxford (d.1604)
* EO18 - Henry de Vere,
18th Earl of Oxford (d.1625)
* EO19 - Robert de Vere,
19th Earl of Oxford (d.1632)
* EO20 - Aubrey de Vere,
20th Earl of Oxford (d.1702)
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The Vere Family
The ancient family of Vere is thought to have obtained its name from the
small village of Ver, near Bayeux, in Normandy, and their roots can be
traced back further to the early tenth century and possibly Danish origins.
It has been suggested elsewhere that the Veres were descended from a Breton
family from Vair, near Nantes, but that cannot be verified.
The Vere family became established in England by Aubrey ('Albericus')
de Vere, who received from William the Conqueror vast estates, including
the property of Wulfwine (also spelled Ulwine), in the counties of Essex,
Suffolk, and Cambridge, with two manors in Huntingdonshire and that of
Kensington in Middlesex (Domesday).
The survival of the Vere family through the male line and its possession
of an earldom for more than 500 years made its name famous.Alphonso, Count
de Ghisnes is the earliest known ancestor. He was succeeded by his son,
Alberic.
The first mention of the De Veres is in the General Survey of England,
made by William the Conqueror, wherein the name of Alberic de Vere is
stated.
Alberic (Aubrey) de Vere
The Vere family was founded in England by Aubrey 'Albericus' de Vere.
The earliest information in England concerning Vere history can be found
in the cartulary of Abingdon, which relates the grant of Kensington church
to the abbey by Alberic de Vere senior.
Alberic de Vere came to England in 1066 with the Norman invasion, fighting
alongside his brother-in-law, William the Conqueror. As reward for his
bravery and loyalty, Alberic was given vast estates by William the Conqueror.
These estates were once the property of Ulwine, a great Saxon thane, and
consisted of manors in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire,
Huntingdonshire and Middlesex. The de Veres were also Lords of Cheniston
(now Kensington, London) and nearby Earl's Court is where they had their
court-house. To this day there is a rather upscale neighborhood of Kensington
called de Vere Gardens. For his part in the conquest De Vere was also
given lordship over Lavenham, which was the center of the wool trade in
England.
Albericus de Ver married Beatrice, half sister of King William, and they
had five sons. He founded Earl's Colne Priory in 1105, and after the death
of Beatrice he became religious and took vows as a monk. Brother Alberic
died in 1088; he was buried in the church of Earls Colne Priory, which
he founded. He is also said to be responsible for laying out four new
vineyards in England, one being at Hedingham, where wild red grapes have
been found several times during the last century.
Alberic was known as Count Aubrey, and the "Sanglier." His wife,
Beatrix of Ghisnes, Countess of Ghisnes in her own right, was daughter
of Henry, Count of Ghisnes, and his wife Sibylla Alberic. He and his wife
had five sons as follows: 1. Alberic de Vere, 2. Geoffrey de Vere, 3.
Roger de Vere, 4. Robert de Vere, and 5. William de Vere. He was succeeded
by his eldest son, Alberic.
Aubrey II de Vere, Lord Great Chamberlain of England
Aubrey II, eldest son of Albericus, succeeded his father on his death.
Aubrey II was responsible for building the great castle-keep at Hedingham.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, William de Corbeuil, was his architect.
The castle, which is the best preserved Norman keep in Europe, is faced
with Ashlar stone, which was transported all the way from the quarries
of Barnack in Northamptonshire. This was a complex operation, of great
expense to Aubrey, but it guaranteed that the castle could withstand all
kinds of weather and considerable bombardment. as well as making it handsome
and impressive to look at. Very few Norman Castles were faced with stone
as at Hedingham; normally, only the doors and windows were faced with
cut stone.
Aubrey married Alice FitzRichard of Clare [a.k.a. Adeliza Tonebruge],
daughter of Gilbert FitzRichard feudal lord of Clare) and grand-daughter
of Hugh de Clermont, Count of Clermont and his wife Marguerita. Alice
became a nun at St. Osyth's Priory after the death of her husband. He
and his wife had the following children:
1. Alberic, or Aubrey de
Vere, 2. _______ de Vere, canon of St. Osyth's in Essex, 3. Robert de
Vere, Lord of Twiwell, co. Northampton, 4. Geoffrey de Vere, 5. William
de Vere, Chancellor of England, 6. Adeliza Vere, married Henry de Essex,
7. Juliana Vere, married Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, 8. Rohesia Vere,
married (1) Geoffrey Mandeville, Earl of Oxford, and (2) Payne Beauchamp,
of Bedford.
Aubrey II participated in the
First Crusade in 1098. Legend has it that while Aubrey was fighting in
the gruesome battle for Antioch against the skilled troops of the Sultan
of Persia's, the sky was darkening with the close of day, and there was
confusion on the battlefield. At just the moment when the Saracens were
taking advantage of the darkness, a brilliant five-pointed star appeared
[either in the sky, or on the flag being carried by de Vere's men]. The
battlefield was said to have been illuminated, and a great victory was
won over the Sultan's troops. This apocryphal story is probably told in
attempt to explain the unique heraldic symbol of the Vere line - the five
pointed mullet star. Alternately the single silver star on the Vere arms
may represent the Star seen by the Magi, as described in the Gospels.
The symbol is just as likely to derive from the spur, as the star, but
in any case it is likely a remembrance of Aubrey II's involvement in the
crusade to take back the Holy Land.
In 1125 Aubrey was made joint Sheriff of London. Together with Richard
Basset, the two men held the shrievalty of eleven counties 'ut custodes'
for the crown. In 1130 he became indebted to the crown for a large sum
after a prisoner (for whom he was responsible) escaped. He also paid a
fine for permission to resign the shrievalty of Essex and Hertfordshire.
Aubrey II was in high favor with King Henry I, and by that monarch (on
the occasion of his leaving England) was constituted, in 1133 at Fernham,
as Great High Chamberlain of England - to hold the same in fee to himself
and his heirs. He replaced Robert Malet, Lord of Eye in Suffolk, who had
been banished and disinherited from that office.
The title given was meant to be hereditary and all subsequent holders
of this office were his descendents. However, throughout the later middle
ages, there were various periods when the de Vere family fell out of favor
with the Crown, and didn't properly regain the LGC title until after Richard
III's defeat at Bosworth Field.
He attended King Stephen as chamberlain at Westminster and also at Winchester
in 1136. When King Stephen in 1139 was called upon to defend his arrest
of the bishops before a council, he selected as his advocate Aubrey, whom
William of Malmesbury describes as 'causidicus' and as practiced in (legal)
cases.
While serving as joint sheriff of Surrey, Cambridge, Essex, and other
counties, Alberic was slain during a popular uprising or riot in London
on May 15, 1141. He was buried in Colne Priory. Aubrey II left four sons,
Aubrey III, Robert, Geoffrey and William, and was succeeded by his eldest,
Aubrey de Vere III.
By Robert Brazil © copyright
2003
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