Maud de Badlesmere, Countess of Oxford (1310 – May 1366) was an English noblewoman, and the wife of
John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford
John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford (c. 12 March 1312 – 24 January 1360) was the nephew and heir of Robert de Vere, 6th Earl of Oxford who succeeded as Earl of Oxford in 1331, after his uncle died without issue.
John de Vere was a trusted capta ...
. She, along with her three sisters, was a co-heiress of her only brother
Giles de Badlesmere, 2nd Baron Badlesmere
Giles de Badlesmere, 2nd Baron Badlesmere (18 October 1314 – 7 June 1338) was an English nobleman.
Background and Biography
The son and heir of Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere and his wife Margaret de Clare, he was born at Ham ...
, who had no male issue.
At the age of 11 she was imprisoned in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
along with her mother,
Margaret de Clare, Baroness Badlesmere and her four siblings, after the former refused
Queen consort Isabella admittance to Leeds Castle and ordered an assault upon her when she attempted entry.
Family
Maud was born at
Castle Badlesmere, Kent, England in 1310, the second eldest daughter of
Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere and
Margaret de Clare
Margaret de Clare, Countess of Gloucester, Countess of Cornwall (12 October 1293 – 9 April 1342) was an English noblewoman, heiress, and the second-eldest of the three daughters of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford and his wife Joan of ...
. She had three sisters, Margery,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
, and Margaret; all of whom eventually married and had issue. She had one brother, Giles.
Her paternal grandparents were Guncelin de Badlesmere and Joan FitzBernard, and her maternal grandparents were
Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond
Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond (1244×1247Robin Frame (2005)"Clare, Thomas de (1244x7–1287), magnate and administrator" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Retrieved 11 November 2018.29 August 1287) was an Anglo-Norman peer and so ...
and
Juliana FitzGerald of
Offaly
County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...
.
On 14 April 1322, when she was twelve years of age, Maud's father was
hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under Edward III of England, King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the rei ...
by orders of King
Edward II
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...
, following his participation in the
Earl of Lancaster's rebellion and his subsequent capture after the
Battle of Boroughbridge
The Battle of Boroughbridge was fought on 16 March 1322 in England between a group of rebellious barons and the forces of King Edward II, near Boroughbridge, north-west of York. The culmination of a long period of antagonism between the King a ...
. Maud, her siblings, and her mother had been arrested the previous October after the latter had ordered an assault upon
Queen consort Isabella after refusing her admittance to
Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle is a castle in Kent, England, southeast of Maidstone. It is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds.
A castle has existed on the site since 857. In the 13th century, it came into th ...
where Baron Badlesmere held the post of governor. Maud's mother, Baroness Badlesmere, remained imprisoned in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
until 3 November 1322, although it is not known when Maud and her siblings were released. Her brother Giles obtained a reversal of their father's
attainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...
in 1328, and he succeeded to the barony as 2nd Baron Badlesmere. Maud, along with her three sisters, was Giles's co-heiress, as he had married but fathered no children by his wife, Elizabeth Montagu.
Marriages and issue
In June 1316, Maud, aged six, married her first husband, Robert FitzPayn, son of Robert FitzPayn. Welsh historian
R. R. Davies relates in his book, ''Lords and lordship in the British Isles in the late Middle Ages'' how her father, Lord Badlesmere, when drawing up the marriage contract, sought to provide for Maud's future by ensuring that she would have independent means. He granted her land worth 200 marks per year, and her future father-in-law was constrained to endow her with three manors and their revenues. The marriage did not produce children; and on an unknown date sometime before March 1335 Maud married secondly, John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford. Upon her marriage, Maud assumed the title Countess of Oxford. John was a captain in King
Edward III's army, and as such participated in the
Battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King EdwardIII. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France du ...
and the
Battle of Poitiers
The Battle of Poitiers was fought on 19September 1356 between a French army commanded by King JohnII and an Anglo- Gascon force under Edward, the Black Prince, during the Hundred Years' War. It took place in western France, south of Poi ...
.
The marriage produced seven children:
* John de Vere (December 1335- before 23 June 1350), married Elizabeth de Courtney as her first husband.
*
Thomas de Vere, 8th Earl of Oxford
Thomas de Vere, 8th Earl of Oxford (c. 1336 – September 1371) was the second son of John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford, and Maud de Badlesmere. He was predeceased by his elder brother, Sir John Vere of Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire, who married E ...
(1336- 18 September 1371), married
Maud de Ufford
Maud de Ufford, Countess of Oxford (1345/1346 – 25 January 1413) was a wealthy English noblewoman and the wife of Thomas de Vere, 8th Earl of Oxford. Her only child was Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford, the favourite of King Richard II of E ...
, by whom he had a son
Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford
*
Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford (1338- 15 February 1400), married Alice FitzWalter, by whom he had three children, including
Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford
Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford KG (15 August 1385 – 15 February 1417) was the son and heir of Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford. He took part in the trial of Richard, Earl of Cambridge, and Lord Scrope for their part in the Southampto ...
* Robert de Vere (died 1360)
*
Elizabeth de Vere
Elizabeth de Vere (died 14 or 16 August 1375) was the daughter of John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford and Maud de Badlesmere, and the wife of Sir Hugh Courtenay (died c. 1348), then John de Mowbray, 3rd Baron Mowbray, and then Sir William de Co ...
(died 23 September 1375), married firstly in 1341, Sir Hugh de Courtney, by whom she had one son, Hugh de Courtney, Lord Courtney; she married secondly John de Mowbray, 3rd Lord Mowbray; she married thirdly on 18 January 1369 Sir William Costyn
*
Margaret de Vere
Margaret de Vere (died 16 June 1398) was an English noblewoman, a daughter of John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford and his wife Maud de Badlesmere.
Background
Margaret was a daughter of John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford and his wife Maud de Badles ...
(died 15 June 1398), married firstly Henry de Beaumont, 3rd
Baron Beaumont
Baron Beaumont is an ancient title in the Peerage of England, created in 1309 for a younger branch of the French counts of ''de Brienne'' family. The sixth Baron Beaumont was created Viscount Beaumont (the first creation of this rank in England ...
(4 April 1340 – 17 June 1369), the son of John de Beaumont, 2nd
Baron Beaumont
Baron Beaumont is an ancient title in the Peerage of England, created in 1309 for a younger branch of the French counts of ''de Brienne'' family. The sixth Baron Beaumont was created Viscount Beaumont (the first creation of this rank in England ...
and
Eleanor of Lancaster
Eleanor of Lancaster, Countess of Arundel (sometimes called Eleanor Plantagenet; 11 September 1318 – 11 January 1372) was the fifth daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth.
First marriage and issue
Eleanor married first on 6 ...
, by whom she had issue; she married secondly
Sir Nicholas de Loveyne; she married thirdly after 1375
Sir John Devereux, by whom she had issue.
* Maud de Vere
In June 1338, Maud's brother Giles died without leaving any legitimate issue. A considerable portion of the Badlesmere estates was inherited by Maud and her husband.
Maud died at the de Vere family mansion ''Hall Place'' in
Earls Colne
Earls Colne is a village in Essex, England named after the River Colne, on which it stands, and the Earls of Oxford who held the manor of Earls Colne from before 1086 to 1703.
History Manor of Earls Colne
In the time of Edward the Confess ...
, Essex in May 1366 at the age of fifty-six years. Evidence given at the various inquisitions post mortem held after her death differ as to whether she died on the 19th, 23rd or 24th day of the month.
[Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, 1st series, Vol. 12, No. 81.] This source gives details of her numerous properties which were to be found in Essex and six other counties.
Maud was buried in
Colne Priory
Colne Priory at Earls Colne, Essex was a Benedictine priory, initially a dependent cell of Abingdon Abbey, Berkshire (now in Oxfordshire). It was founded by Aubrey de Vere I and his wife Beatrice in or before 1111. One piece of research suggests t ...
. Her husband had died in 1360.
Ancestry
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxford, Maud de Badlesmere, Countess of
1310 births
1366 deaths
Daughters of barons
English countesses
People from Badlesmere, Kent
Prisoners in the Tower of London
Maud
14th-century English people
14th-century English women