| Notes |
- Aubrey de Vere, first Earl of Oxford, was born circa 1130. He was, by tenure, the third Baron of Kensington, and Count of Ghisnes through his marriage, was confirmed also in the office of Great Lord Chamberlain, and all his father's territorial possessions. Aubrey de Vere at first might have become "Earl of Cambridge," but in the end he was created Earl of Oxford. Technically, he was made an earl by the Empress Matilda, and had been offered a choice of title from either Cambridge, Oxford, Berkshire, Wiltshire or Dorset, "provided the King of the Scots had it not." He chose Oxford, becoming the 1st earl of Oxford, a title that was later confirmed by Henry II, and would continue for another 20 generations. In January 1156 Henry II, by a fresh charter, granted him its 'thirdpenny' as earl. In addition to his title Aubrey III was also given the customary grant: "a third of the penny of the pleas of the county, as an earl ought to have." How did he win such a reward? Apparently Aubrey III had joined his brother-in-law, Earl Geoffrey, in intriguing with the Empress, and, through his influence, obtained from her at Oxford in 1142 this remarkable charter. The new earl was an ardent supporter of the Empress Matilda, who frequently came to Hedingham Castle as a guest of de Vere. Confusing things a bit is the fact that there were simultaneously two famous Matildas, one the Empress and wife of Henry II, the other, the former Queen and widow to King Stephen. The widow Matilda also was a visitor to Hedingham, and she died there on the May 3, 1152. In 1166, the 12th year of King Henry II, on the levy of the aid for portioning the king's daughter, the Earl of Oxford certified his knight's fees to be in number 28, for which he paid 20 pounds, and in the 2nd year of King Richard I , he paid a fine of 500 marks to the king, "for the sister of Walter de Bolebec, to make a wife for his son." In four years afterwards he contributed 30 pounds, 2 shillings, and 6 pence for the knight's fees he then held, towards the sum at that time raised for the ransom of the king. He is said to have founded the priories at Hedingham and at Ickleton, Cambridgeshire. Aubrey III was another crusader/veteran who was known as "Aubrey the Grim," perhaps because of his height and stern appearance. The first Earl of Oxford married (1) Euphamia Cantilupe, daughter of William de Cantilupe, by whom he had no issue, and (2) Lucia Abrincis, daughter and heiress of William de Abrincis, by whom he had the following children:
1. Aubrey de Vere, his successor (EO2), 2. Robert de Vere, who succeeded his brother, Aubrey, as EO3, 3. William de Vere, Bishop of Hereford in 1186, who died in 1199, *4. Henry de Vere, *5. Adeliza Vere, *6. Sarah Vere.
In his 'Historia Comitum Ardensium' (Pertz, vol. xxiv.), Lambert of Ardres, speaks of Aubrey as 'Albericus Aper' in his account of the comté of Guines. (Aper is Latin for Boar) Aubrey died in 1194. His monument's inscription describes him as the "Earl of Ghisnes and 1st Earl of Oxford."
By Robert Brazil
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1110 - 1194 (84 years)
