Earl of Oxford

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Original coat of arms of the Earls of Oxford
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford

Earl of Oxford was one of the oldest hereditary British titles in the Peerage of England .

The Earls' family seat was Hedingham Castle in Essex .

Award

The title was in July 1142 by letters patent from King Stephen to Aubrey III. de Vere awarded. He was the son of Aubrey II. De Vere from the de Vere family . In the original award document the title was still called Earl of Cambridge but was changed to Earl of Oxford shortly afterwards as a result of an objection by King David I of Scotland , who regarded Cambridge as part of the Earldom of Huntingdon , which belonged to him as his wife's apanage .

The 1st Earl was Lord Great Chamberlain since 1133 . Up until the 18th Earl, all of his successors as Earl of Oxford were hereditary holders of this office.

The 9th Earl was a favorite and confidante of King Richard II. On December 1, 1385 he made him Marquess of Dublin for life . It was the first time a marquess was appointed in the British Isles. On October 13, 1386, he laid down the title of Marquis and was instead raised to the Duke of Ireland for life . Until then, the title of duke was reserved for close relatives of the king. A few barons, the Lords Appellants, rose up against the king's favoritism . The Duke was defeated in the battle in 1387 and exiled to France. His titles were revoked in 1388 and his lands were confiscated. On February 12, 1392, while still alive, his uncle and heir Aubrey de Vere received the lands and the earl title of 10th Earl back. In part, this is also counted and counted as a new award of the title.

His great-grandson, the 13th Earl , was on the side of the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses . When the House of York gained the upper hand, the title was revoked in October 1474 for high treason by a parliamentary resolution ( Bill of Attainder ). In October 1485, when the House of Lancaster regained power, he had the resolution withdrawn and the title restored.

The 17th Earl gained notoriety because it was partly suspected that he was the actual author of the works of William Shakespeare .

The earliest dignity finally expired on March 12, 1703, when the 20th earl died without leaving any male heirs.

The Earls of Oxford had no subordinate titles, the title heirs ( Heirs Apparent ) therefore partly used the invented courtesy title Lord Vere and later Viscount Bolebec (also Bulbeck ).

List of the Earls of Oxford

Earl of Oxford (1142)

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 461
  2. Thomas Baron de West: Handbook of the British Nobility 2015. Books on Demand, 2015, ISBN 3734794579 .

literature

  • Charles Kidd: Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. Debrett's Ltd, London 2014, ISBN 0-9929348-2-6 .

Web links

Commons : Earls of Oxford  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files