Hugh de Vere, 4th Earl of Oxford (c. 1207 – December 1263) was the only son and heir of

Robert de Vere, 3rd Earl of Oxford __NOTOC__ Robert de Vere (after c. 1165 – before 25 October 1221), hereditary Master Chamberlain of England, was the son of Aubrey de Vere III, Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford, and Agnes of Essex. He succeeded his brother as the third ...

and Isabel de Bolebec, daughter and eventually sole heiress of Hugh de Bolebec.

Early life

Hugh de Vere was born about 1207. Hugh's mother, Isabel de Bolebec, Countess of Oxford, purchased her minor son's wardship in 1221 from the crown for 6000 marks. Hugh did homage to King Henry III in October 1231, and was knighted by the King at

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

on 22 May 1233. Two days later the King 'girt him with the sword of the Earldom of Oxford and directed the sheriff to let him have what he ought to have in the name of the Earldom of Oxford as his predecessors had had'.

Career

He inherited the office of Master Chamberlain of England which had been granted to his great-grandfather

Aubrey de Vere II Aubrey () is a traditionally male English name. It was quite common in the Middle Ages, but had lost favour for a time before experiencing a resurgence of popularity in the 19th century. In the United States, following the 1973 release of the s ...

. By right of that office, he participated in the coronation of Queen

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It was the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages">Provençal dialect ...

in 1236. Earl Hugh was a critic of King Henry from 1246, and in 1258 and 1259 was elected to serve on various baronial committees attempting to reform royal government. The earl purchased the right to hold a market at the town on his primary estate,

Castle Hedingham Castle Hedingham is a village in northern Essex, England, located four miles west of Halstead and 3 miles southeast of Great Yeldham in the River Colne, Essex, Colne Valley on the ancient road from Colchester, Essex, to Cambridge. It develope ...

in Essex, and founded a chantry and hospital there.

Marriage and issue

Hugh de Vere married Hawise de Quincy, daughter of

Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester (c. 1155 – 3 November 1219) was one of the leaders of the baronial rebellion against John, King of England, and a major figure in both the kingdoms of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of England, ...

, and his wife, Margaret de Beaumont. They had a son and three daughters: *

Robert de Vere, 5th Earl of Oxford The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

. *Isabel de Vere, who married firstly, Sir John de Courtenay of

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 7,313, which was slightly more than the 7,104 recorded at the 2011 census. Th ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, and secondly, Oliver de Dinham, Lord Dinham. *Lora de Vere, who married Reynold d'Argentine of

Melbourn Melbourn () is a large, nucleated settlement, clustered village in the far south-west of Cambridgeshire, England. Its traditional high street is bypassed by the A10 road (England), A10, intersecting the settlement's other main axis exactly north ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

. *Margaret de Vere, who married Hugh de Cressy (d. shortly before 24 April 1263). Hugh de Vere died before 23 December 1263 and was buried at Earls Colne. His widow was living in 1273 and died on 3 February thereafter. She was buried at Earls Colne Priory..

Footnotes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oxford, Hugh de Vere, 4th Earl of 1200s births 1263 deaths Year of birth uncertain Hugh de Vere, 4th Earl

Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...

People from Castle Hedingham People from Earls Colne 13th-century English nobility Knights Bachelor