Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert de Vere after the Battle of Radcot Bridge
Coat of arms of Robert de Vere, supplemented from 1386 by the fields with three crowns each for the Lordship of Ireland

Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland, Marquess of Dublin, 9th Earl of Oxford, KG (born January 13, 1361 - † 1392 ) was an English nobleman and advisor to King Richard II.

Life

Robert de Vere followed his father, Thomas de Vere, 8th Earl of Oxford , in 1371 as 9th Earl of Oxford . With that he also took over the office of Lord Great Chamberlain from his father . In April 1377 he was beaten as Prince of Wales to Knight of the Bath on the occasion of the investiture of Richard of Bordeaux . He became the favorite and confidante of the prince, who in July of the same year became King of England as Richard II. In 1384 he accepted him into the Order of the Garter and on December 1, 1385 elevated him to Marquess of Dublin for life . On October 13, 1386 he laid down the title of Marques and was instead made the Duke of Ireland for life . His elevation to the Marquess of Dublin was the first appointment of a Marquess in the British Isles. Until then, the title of duke was reserved for close relatives of the king.

Richard II had personal favorites, u. a. Robert de Vere, entrusted with high state offices and preferred over the high nobility. As a result, and because of the king's mismanagement and wastefulness, the relationship between Richard II and the lords suddenly deteriorated in 1387. The Lords Appellant arose , a group of lords who stood together to wrest political power from the king. In 1387 De Vere led an army against the appellants. He was defeated at the Battle of Radcot Bridge near Oxford. After this battle, De Vere was exiled to France and his lands were confiscated. His title of Duke of Ireland was confiscated in 1388 and never reassigned.

In 1392 De Vere died in a hunting accident. In 1395 King Richard II brought the embalmed body of De Veres back to England and allegedly kissed the hand of his loyal follower there with the coffin lid open.

Trivia

Robert de Vere was married to Philippa de Coucy from the House of Ghent , a cousin of the king. Although historically difficult to prove, he is said to have had an affair with Agnes de Launcekrona (a Czech follower of Anne of Bohemia , the wife of Richard II and thus the English queen) and homosexual relationships with Richard II himself. It should be noted here that most of the records from this period come from church representatives. Richard II was a member of the Plantagenet House , which in turn did not do well with the Church. De Vere was apparently rather unpopular with the other English nobles at the time, not least because of the favoritism of King Richard II.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 443
  2. ^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 1, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 126.
  3. ^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 1, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 6.
  4. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 461
  5. ↑ Thomas Baron de West: Handbook of the British Nobility 2015. Books on Demand, 2015, ISBN 3734794579 .
  6. ↑ Richard II's biography on www.barkica.com (English)
  7. ↑ Battle description (English)

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Thomas de Vere Earl of Oxford
1371-1392 		Aubrey de Vere
New title created Marquess of Dublin
(Life Peerage)
1385-1386 		Title abandoned
New title created Duke of Ireland
(Life Peerage)
1386-1388 		Title forfeited
personal data
SURNAME Vere, Robert de, Duke of Ireland
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Oxford, Robert de Vere 9th Earl of
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH January 13, 1361
DATE OF DEATH 1392