John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford
John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford KG ( September 8, 1442 - March 10, 1513 ), was an English nobleman and hereditary Lord Great Chamberlain of England. During the Wars of the Roses he was one of the most important supporters of the House of Lancaster . He was a younger son of John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford , and Elisabeth Howard.
Life
His father as well as his older brother, Aubrey , were executed in 1462 by the ruling York King Edward IV because of their supporters in the Lancaster house, the family property was confiscated. However, John received the inheritance again in 1464 and took part in the coronation of Elisabeth Woodville . Around the same time he married Margarete Neville and became a brother-in-law of Richard Neville , the notorious kingmaker . After a conspiracy against the king, John was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1468 , but was released the following year at the instigation of his brother-in-law. In 1469 he supported his brother-in-law in his coup d'état against King Edward IV and carried out the execution of John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester , who in turn was once responsible for the beheading of the 12th Earl of Oxford.
In 1470 John fled to France to join the members of the House of Lancaster around Margaret of Anjou . In the same year he returned after the restoration of King Henry VI. back to England. In 1471 he led the right wing for the House of Lancaster in the fateful Battle of Barnet , in which they were defeated by the House of York ; Neville was killed and King Henry VI. was finally ousted from the throne. John fled again to France, from where, with the support of King Louis XI. as a pirate carried out several raids against the English coast. In 1473 he occupied St. Michael's Mount , where he only had to surrender in 1472 after a siege lasting several months. John was again captured by King Edward IV, which he spent at Hammes Castle near Calais . In 1476 he fell from the walls of his prison into the moat. Whether this was an intentional suicide or a serious attempt to escape cannot be determined; in any case, his imprisonment continued. But in 1484 he gained freedom after he had succeeded in persuading the Hammes castle commanders to overflow to the Lancaster side.
John joined the Lancaster heir Heinrich Tudor and led his army in 1485 in the victorious Battle of Bosworth , which heralded the end of the Yorks and the beginning of Tudor rule. He not only got his lands back from the new King Henry VII, but was also appointed Lord High Admiral , Constable of the Tower and, in 1486, Knight of the Order of the Garter . In the following years he remained a loyal general to the House of Tudor and won for them at the Battle of Stoke in 1487, as commander of the vanguard, and as commander in chief in the Battle of Blackheath in 1497 victories against pretenders of the House of York.
De Vere had no children, which is why his nephew John de Vere succeeded him in ownership and title after his death .
Web link
- John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford on thepeerage.com , accessed September 11, 2016.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| John de Vere |
Earl of Oxford 1462-1475, 1485-1513 |
John de Vere |
| John de Vere |
Lord Great Chamberlain 1462-1513 |
John de Vere |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Vere, John de, 13th Earl of Oxford |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English nobleman and politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 8, 1442 |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 10, 1513 |