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. Almost nothing of his life is known until he married in 1207 the widow Isabel de Bolebec, the aunt and co-heiress of his deceased sister-in-law. The couple had one child, a son, Hugh, later 4th earl of Oxford. When Robert's brother Aubrey de Vere IV, 2nd earl of Oxford died in Oct. 1214, Robert succeeded to his brother's title, estates, castles, and hereditary office of master chamberlain of England (later Lord Great Chamberlain). He swiftly joined the disaffected barons in opposition to King John; many among the rebels were his kinsmen. He was elected one of the twenty-five barons 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. [Cokayne, "Complete Peerage" v. 10, 210-213]

At this time, aristocratic marriages were routinely contracted after negotiations over dowry and dower. In most cases, dower lands were assigned from the estates held by the groom at the time of the marriage. If specific dower lands were not named, on the death of the husband the widow was entitled to one-third of his estate. When Robert's brother Earl Aubrey married a second time, he did not name a dower for his wife Alice, for Robert determined the division of his estate by having lots drawn. For each manor his sister-in-law drew, he drew two. This is the sole known case of assigning dower lands in this manner.

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 or grandson Earl Robert later had an effigy erected. Earl Robert is depicted in chain mail, cross-legged, pulling his sword from its scabbard and holding a shield with the arms of the Veres. ["Royal Commission Historical Monuments" Essex, II, 119 & plate 122.]

ources

*Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom by G. E. Cokayne, Page: X:210-3