The De Veres are one of the oldest lines of Norman nobility in England, dating back to a certain 'Albericus' or Aubrey de Vere who was listed as a significant landowner in Essex (indeed this was where the De Veres' ancestral seat, Hedingham Castle, was built) and the Queen's chamberlain in the Domesday Book of 1086. His son and heir, also named Aubrey, was made into the first De Vere Lord Great Chamberlain of England following the disgrace of that office's previous occupant, Robert Malet, in 1133, while Aubrey II's son Aubrey III was made the first-ever Earl of Oxford in 1141. A De Vere has always held the Earldom of Oxford since, and the office of Lord Great Chamberlain as well with only a few interruptions. They have a lengthy history of getting involved in the great political disputes and civil wars of the country, and leaping from faction to faction as it suited their needs - then escaping the consequences for their oft-dizzying turnabouts, whether by attaching themselves to the victorious party just in time or making themselves indispensable to the victors even after their chosen side's defeat. Suffice to say that until recently, loyalty was not one of this house's strong suits.
Under Aubrey III, the De Veres at first fought for the claim of Matilda against that of Stephen de Blois during the Anarchy: after Aubrey II was lynched by a mob in London, Aubrey III did homage unto the Empress. His allegiance to Matilda was not ironclad however, and there were times where the new Earl of Oxford stood down and made peace with Stephen, then took up arms for Matilda again, and on and on. The end of the war saw a series of neck-breaking volte-faces on the part of Earl Aubrey, who at first hosted Matilda at Hedingham Castle where she died in 1152, then rode with Stephen to lay siege to Wallingford Castle in 1153, where he supported the Treaty of Wallingford as a compromise solution by which Stephen would remain King but be succeeded by Henry FitzEmpress of Anjou, Matilda's son, upon his death rather than his own offspring. The De Veres escaped consequences for their habit of constantly turning coats, as Aubrey de Vere kept both the Earldom of Oxford and the office of Lord Great Chamberlain under Henry II, and in fact both remained in the possession of his heirs to the present day.
Aubrey III's younger son Robert, 3rd Earl of Oxford, played the same dangerous game his father had taken part in during the time of King John. In 1215 he was among the peers who forced the unpopular John into signing the Magna Carta, for which he was excommunicated by the Pope as a rebel, and who then continued to follow the baronial party in attempting to overthrow John in favor of Prince Louis of France when John tried to avoid actually implementing the accord. The next year, Robert knelt before John and pleaded for his mercy after royalist forces took Hedingham Castle, only to turn around and proclaim himself Louis' man once again when the French prince rode into London just three months later. When John died in 1217, most of the rebel barons went back to the Angevin side, and Robert was little different: even after Louis had recovered Hedingham Castle for him, the Earl of Oxford hardly needed to think twice before going back on his oaths (again) and kneeling before the boy-king. Also like his father, Robert suffered virtually no consequences for his treacherous habits, as the new King (or his regents, rather) fully restored him to his lands and office by 1218.
Another Robert, grandson of the above, joined Simon de Montfort's rebels in the Barons' War of 1264-7. After the defeat and slaughter of the Montforts at the hands of Prince Edward, future King Edward I, at the Battle of Evesham, the 5th Earl of Oxford became the first member of his family to actually experience negative consequences for his treason by being attainted, though he continued to hold out with the other surviving rebels at Kenilworth Castle until his titles and estates were restored to him by the Dictum of 1266.
The early 14th-century De Veres were not as significant to England's internal troubles as their forebears, as they were mostly occupied by the Hundred Years' War in France. John, the 7th Earl, participated in the Battle of Crecy and later executed a flanking maneuver at the Battle of Poitiers that helped win the day for England. The same could not be said of John's grandson Robert, 9th Earl of Oxford, a close friend and even possible lover of Richard II, who took advantage of his influence to get Richard to name him Duke of Ireland in 1386. Oxford's closeness to Richard brought the disfavor of the other nobles down on their heads, and he was forced to flee the country after leading Richard's royal army to defeat against a party of rebellious magnates known as the 'Lords Appellant' at Radcot Bridge in 1387. When Robert died childless and in exile in 1392, his uncle Aubrey was restored to the Earldom of Oxford and the office of Lord Great Chamberlain, though not the 'Duchy of Ireland'.
Which brings us to the present day. Aubrey, the 10th Earl's son and heir Richard, the 11th Earl, was not a particularly distinguished man save for his participation in a 1412 expedition to Normandy and his vote in favor of condemning Richard of Conisburgh (grandfather of the York brothers of today) to death at the latter's trial, but his son John has emerged as a political animal and one of the most fervent supporters of the Lancastrian cause. Besides trying to expand his power in eastern England against the supporters of the fallen William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, John committed himself to the Lancastrian party starting in 1455 (where he arrived too late to aid the royal forces against the Yorkists at 1st St Albans) and reaffirmed his loyalty to Queen Margaret in person in 1459. The De Veres now hope to wipe away the stain of treachery from their family's reputation by supporting Henry VI in the struggle for England's throne.
| John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford | 
Age: 53 (born 1408)
Spouse: Elizabeth Howard (age 51)
Traits: 12 pts to start
+3 Battles
+2 Duels
+3 Joust
+2 Survival
+2 (10%) Wealth
John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford and Lord Great Chamberlain of England (at least according to the Lancastrians), initially inherited his lands and titles at the age of nine from his father Robert. He grew up under the tutelage of Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter and later John, Duke of Bedford, and considered the latter to be a second father of sorts. Never content to stay idle, after receiving his knighthood at the age of 18 he mixed himself up in East Anglian and Essexian politics, securing his appointment to various local councils and becoming a Justice of the Peace in Suffolk & Cambridgeshire before hitting 30. He did not get involved in the war in France until 1436, when he was commissioned to lead a relief force against the Burgundians besieging Calais, and there he attached himself to the pro-peace party of the Cardinal Henry Beaufort in opposition to Richard of York. He fully returned to England in 1450, where he simultaneously tried to undercut the influence of the late departed Duke of Suffolk's supporters in the eastern counties while combating Jack Cade's Kentish rabble.
When the lines were drawn between the Lancastrian and Yorkist parties throughout the 1450s, De Vere tried to remain neutral at first, but attached himself to the Lancastrian party in 1454. A year later, he arrived too late to avert disaster at the 1st Battle of St Albans. Still, he persisted in this course where many of his ancestors would probably have jumped ship to York's side for the sake of convenience, and publicly re-affirmed his commitment to the House of Lancaster in 1459 before Queen Margaret of Anjou. To strengthen ties between himself and the rest of the Lancastrian party, while he was still raising troops in the North for the Red Rose as a commissioner-of-array he also arranged the marriage of his oldest son and heir Aubrey to Anne Stafford, daughter of the Duke of Buckingham, in May 1460. His dark hair may have turned brittle and grey while his health is ailing, but even today the old Earl is still determined to support the rights of Henry VI with sword in hand, and in doing so hopefully wipe away the stain of treachery left on the good name of De Vere by his often-less than loyal ancestors.
John is a proud and confident man, perhaps justifiably so considering the history of the De Veres. However, he is also conscious of his family's unfortunate history of turning coats when it was convenient and dearly hopes he won't have to stoop to their level again. His confidence can swell to the extremes of recklessness at times, and have made him into an inflexible commander: although he can prove to be competent in devising strategies and battlefield tactics, should circumstances change in a way that renders his plans ill-advised at best he is rarely able to adapt and will often just stick with the original plan, no matter how impractical it has become. |
| Sir Aubrey de Vere | 
Age: 24 (born 1437)
Spouse: Anne Stafford (age 15)
Traits: 6 pts
+2 Joust
+1 Battles
+1 Duels
+1 Charisma
+1 Survival
Aubrey is the oldest son and heir of John, 12th Earl of Oxford. Like most firstborn noble lads, he was groomed to succeed his father and has enjoyed extensive training in the arts of combat & warfare as John's squire, culminating in his knighting ceremony at the age of 21. Though a stern and dark-eyed figure with a sense of duty much like his father and brother, unlike them he believes that his duty to the De Vere family name trumps their duty to the Red Rose of Lancaster and displays more pragmatic tendencies than his kin, from being willing to fight dirty in combat (a tendency he first displayed when he kneed a rival squire in the groin in his first ever sparring session) to entertaining thoughts of replacing the red rose on his breast with a white one should things go poorly for the cause of Lancaster, as they seemed to between Northampton and Wakefield: when the chips are down, he will always prioritize the survival and empowerment of his own family over that of others, even his overlord's. The destruction of the Yorkist army and the death of Richard of York at Wakefield a year ago banished such dark thoughts from his mind however, and he is determined to at least give his all for the Lancastrian cause before again considering following in the footsteps of his unreliable ancestors. |
| Sir John de Vere the Younger | 
Age: 19 (born 1442)
Spouse: None
Traits: 5 pts
+2 Joust
+1 Battles
+1 Duels
+1 Survival
John the Younger is the second son of his father and namesake, the 12th Earl of Oxford. Although both he and Aubrey took after their father in looks, having inherited his black hair and dark gray eyes, unlike his elder brother John truly inherited his proud and surprisingly loyal spirit. The solemn younger son of Oxford hates running from or employing 'unchivalrous' methods in a fight despite his youth and relative inexperience, and takes his oaths of allegiance more seriously than Aubrey does. He is of the firm belief that the name of De Vere only means something if those who carry it can break from the unfortunate tradition of treachery perpetuated by their ancestors, and like the 12th Earl is determined to follow the Lancastrian cause to the last gasp if he must. |
| The other De Vere children | By his wife Elizabeth Howard, John has many younger sons and daughters:
- Mary de Vere, age 21, a nun at Barking Abbey.
- Joan de Vere, age 17.
- Elizabeth de Vere, age 15.
- Richard de Vere, age 12.
- George de Vere, age 11.
- Thomas de Vere, age 9.
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Originally Posted by Noytary
