ROBERT DE VERE, 3RD EARL OF OXFORD

'Robert de Vere' (d. 1221) was the second surviving son of Aubrey de Vere III, first earl of Oxford, and Agnes of Essex. Nothing of his life is known until he married the widowed aunt and co-heiress of his deceased sister-in-law, Isabel de Bolebec, in 1207. They had a son, Hugh, later 4th earl of Oxford. When his brother Aubrey de Vere IV, 2nd earl of Oxford died in Oct. 1214, Robert succeeded to the title and hereditary office of master chamberlain of England (later Lord Great Chamberlain). Yet he quickly joined the disaffected barons in opposition to King John. Many were his kinsmen. He was elected one of the twenty-five who were to ensure the king's adherence to the terms of Magna Carta, and as such was excommunicated by Pope Innocent III in 1215.
King John besieged and took Castle Hedingham, Essex, from Robert in March 1216 and gave his lands to a loyal baron. While this prompted Robert to swear loyalty to the king soon thereafter, he nonetheless did homage to Prince Louis when the French prince arrived in Rochester later that year. He remained in the rebel camp until Oct. 1217, when he did homage to the boy-king Henry III, but he was not fully restored in his offices and lands until Feb. 1218.^[1]
Robert served as a king's justice in 1220-21, and died in Oct. 1221. He was buried at Hatfield Regis Priory, where his son Earl Hugh later had an effigy erected of his father.^[2] DeAragon 03:19, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

Contents

Sources

Sources

1. Cokayne, "Complete Peerage'' v. 10, 210-213
2. "Royal Commission Historical Monuments" Essex, II, 119 & plate 122.