Earl of Oxford

Earl of Oxfordis a dormant title in thePeerage of England,first created forAubrey de Vereby theEmpress Matildain 1141.His familywas to hold the title for more than five and a half centuries, until the death of the20th Earlin 1703. The de Veres were also hereditary holders of the office ofMaster Chamberlain of Englandfrom 1133 until the death of the18th Earlin 1625. Their primary seat wasHedingham Castlein Essex, but they held lands insouthern Englandand theMidlands,particularly in eastern England. The actual earldom was called "Oxenford" until at least the end of the 17th century. Medieval sources thus refer to "my lord of Oxenford" when speaking of the earl.

Arms of de Vere:Quarterly gules and or, in the first quarter a mullet argent

1574 woodcut showing theheraldic achievementofEdward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford,with Latincanting mottoVero Nihil Verius( "Nothing more true than truth" )

Earls of Oxford (1141)

Hedingham Castlein Essex, primary seat of the Earls of Oxford

Soon after his father's death in 1141, Aubrey III de Vere was recruited byEmpress Matilda.Aubrey's brother-in-law, Geoffrey de Mandeville first earl of Essex, apparently negotiated the offer of the earldom of Cambridge, with a secondary offer of one of four counties if Cambridgeshire was claimed by her kinsman. Aubrey held no land in Oxfordshire at the time, but his eldest sonAubrey IVwas to marry an heiress with manors in that county. Aubrey IV was supposedly an ally of King John, while his brotherRobert, the 3rd Earlwas one of the 25 barons ofMagna Carta.His descendant, another Robert, the9th Earl,was a favourite of KingRichard IIwho created himDuke of Ireland.John the13th Earlwas a Lancastrian during theWar of the RosesandHenry Tudor's commander at theBattle of Bosworth Fieldin 1485.The17th Earlhas become the most famous of the line because of his emergence as a popular alternative candidate as the actual author of the works ofWilliam Shakespeare(seeOxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship). The 17th Earl was a ward and later son-in-law ofLord Burghley,Queen Elizabeth I's Secretary of State. On the death of the 20th Earl, without identifiable heirs male, the title became dormant.

The Earls of Oxford held nosubsidiary titles,and so theirheirs apparentwere styled by inventedcourtesy titles:initiallyLord Vere,and laterViscount Bolebec(sometimes speltViscount Bulbeck).

The principal Oxford coat of arms or shield was quarterly gules and or (red and yellow) with an argent (white) five-pointed star called a mullet or molet in the first canton. By De Vere family tradition this molet is said to refer to a reappearance of the Star of Bethlehem which showed itself to an earlier De Vere while on a Crusade and thus led him to victory. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the family livery worn by their retainers was orange/tawney decorated with a white molet. A later badge associated with the De Veres is a blue boar. A later shield variation of the De Vere white molet has a smaller blue molet located within the white one but this may be a simplecadencymark – in heraldry the molet is also used in any family to indicate the third son of a title holder. The third son bears his father's arms differenced with a molet.

A confusion between the De Vere white molet and Edward IV's sunburst and white rose is said to have led to the friendly fire incident between Neville's men and De Vere's men at theBattle of Barnetin 1471. Fighting in fog, the Nevilles (former Yorkists) fired on their De Vere (staunch Lancastrian) allies and thus brought about the collapse of the Lancastrian centre and right. Both contingents began to rout crying "treachery".

List of title holders

• Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford,(c. 1115–1194)
• Aubrey de Vere, 2nd Earl of Oxford(c. 1164–1214)
• Robert de Vere, 3rd Earl of Oxford(c. 1173–1221)
• Hugh de Vere, 4th Earl of Oxford(c. 1208–1263)
• Robert de Vere, 5th Earl of Oxford(1240–1296) (forfeit 1265, restored soon after)
• Robert de Vere, 6th Earl of Oxford(1257–1331)
• John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford(1312–1360)
• Thomas de Vere, 8th Earl of Oxford(1337–1371)
• Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford(1362–1392) (forfeit 1388)
• Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford(1340–1400) (restored 1393)
• Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford(1385–1417)
• John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford(1408–1462)
• John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford(1442–1513) (forfeit 1475, restored 1485)
• John de Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford(1499–1526)
• John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford(1482–1540)
• John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford(1516–1562)
• Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford(1550–1604)
• Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford(1593–1625)
• Robert de Vere, 19th Earl of Oxford(1575–1632)
• Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford(1627–1703) (dormant 1703)

Family tree

Earl of Oxfordfamily tree

Earl of Oxford,1141 Aubrey de Vere d. 1194 1st Earl of Oxford Aubrey de Vere d. 1214 2nd Earl of Oxford Robert de Vere d. 1221 3rd Earl of Oxford Hugh de Vere d. 1263 4th Earl of Oxford Robert de Vere d. 1296 5th Earl of Oxford Robert de Vere 1257–1331 6th Earl of Oxford Alfonso de Vere d. 1328 John de Vere 1312–1360 7th Earl of Oxford Thomas de Vere d. 1371 8th Earl of Oxford Aubrey de Vere 1338–1400 10th Earl of Oxford Marquess of Dublin,1385 Duke of Ireland,1386 Robert de Vere 1362–1392 9th Earl of Oxford Richard de Vere 1385–1417 11th Earl of Oxford Dukedom of Ireland and Marquessate of Dublin forfeit, 1388 John de Vere 1408–1462 12th Earl of Oxford Robert de Vere John de Vere 1442–1513 13th Earl of Oxford George de Vere John de Vere John de Vere 1499–1526 14th Earl of Oxford John de Vere d. 1540 15th Earl of Oxford John de Vere 1516–1562 16th Earl of Oxford Aubrey de Vere (b. 1519) Edward de Vere 1550–1604 17th Earl of Oxford Hugh de Vere Henry de Vere 1593–1625 18th Earl of Oxford Robert de Vere 1575–1632 19th Earl of Oxford Aubrey de Vere 1627–1703 20th Earl of Oxford

Earls of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (1711)

Main article:Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer

The titleEarl of Oxford and Earl Mortimerwas created in thePeerage of Great BritainforRobert Harleyin 1711. It became extinct in 1853.

Earls of Oxford and Asquith (1925)

Main article:Earl of Oxford and Asquith

After the extinction of the earls of Oxford and earls Mortimer, former Prime MinisterH. H. Asquithwas keen to choose "Earl of Oxford" for his own title. As an earldom was then traditional for former prime ministers, and Asquith had a number of connections with the city of Oxford, it seemed a logical choice and had the king's support. The proposal greatly offended the descendants of the earls, however, and, in the face of their opposition, another title had to be chosen – "Earl of Oxford and Asquith". For information on this creation, seeEarl of Oxford and Asquith.

See also

• Earl of Oxford's case
• Countess of Oxford (disambiguation)
• Duke of St. Albans
• Lord Great Chamberlain

Further reading

• Anderson, Verily(1993).The De Veres of Castle Hedingham.Lavenham, Suffolk: Terence Dalton.
• Markham, Sir Clements R.(1888).The Fighting Veres: Lives of Sir Francis & Lord Horace Vere, Generals of the Queen's Forces.London:Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington.

External links

Media related toEarls of Oxfordat Wikimedia Commons