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 De Veres opened the 14th century as loyal and capable subjects of the Crown, a clean break from their murkier past. The 7th Earl, John de Vere, fought at the Battles of Crecy and Poitiers, executing a flanking maneuver at the latter which proved critical to the Black Prince's ultimate triumph over the Crown of France. John's oldest son and successor Thomas, the 8th Earl of Oxford, was a more obscure figure who played a minor part in Edward III's continental campaigns. Thomas' son and the 9th Earl Robert, however, has emerged as a major player on the English political scene: he became a favorite, close companion and probable lover of King Richard II, who showered him with titles and offices well beyond his station (and, frankly, ability). Despite having virtually no significant accomplishments to his name, Oxford was elevated to Marquess of Dublin in 1385 and Duke of Ireland a year later, making him the king's chief governor in the Emerald Isle.
As can be expected, the sudden ascendancy of the Star of Oxford was viewed with suspicion by the other peers of the realm. De Vere was an old and storied name, to be sure - they were among the first of the Norman earls in England - but they had always been a middling power, and Robert's propulsion to first become the first Marquess ever in English history, and then to join the ranks of the Dukes (previously a rank only attained by members of the royal family itself!), aggravated the more established magnates. Chief among those angered by the King's favoring of Oxford was his powerful uncle Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, who went on to form a bloc with other dissatisfied great peers called the 'Lords Appellant'. These Appellants have now seized the reins of the country from Richard, no doubt with the intent of purging his circle of favorites, and Oxford knows full well that his neck will be on the chopping block if they succeed; which is why he's eagerly taken up the King's order to build a new army for him and stop the Appellants, though he is not known to have commanded in any battle before. Only time will tell if the inexperienced but confident (perhaps too much so...) Duke of Ireland will succeed.
| Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland, Marquess of Dublin, 9th Earl of Oxford | 
Age: 26 (born 1362)
Spouse: Agnes de Launcekrona (age 20)
Traits: 6 pts to start
+2 Personal Combat
+2 Survival
+2 (10%) Wealth
Temperament: Sanguine/Melancholic
- Confident: This character is very self-assured, brimming with confidence and difficult to shake even under pressure. However, taken to an extreme, they can show a suicidal disregard for their life and the lives of others, and fail to take...well, failure into account when planning. +1 battle rolls, +1 to rout rolls.
- Sociable: This character is an extroverted social butterfly, capable of making friends left and right. However, they have little time for 'boring' matters like finances, and are more interested in buying flashy things to show off to their friends than managing their wealth. +1 to NPC reaction rolls, -2% income.
- Haggler: This character is obsessed with getting the best possible deal for themselves, and ever watchful (even paranoid) for anyone trying to rip them off. This sort of fellow is rarely the sort others like, but none can deny their ability to sniff for gold. +2% income and improves loot from raids, -2 to AI reaction rolls.
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The (still fairly) young and handsome Robert de Vere is the Duke of Ireland, Marquess of Dublin, 9th Earl of Oxford and Lord Great Chamberlain of England, by the grace of God and King.
...well, that's what Robert himself would write for his own introduction, if only he could pen his own entry in an encyclopedia. After an uneventful childhood and obscure adolescent years under a distant and equally un-notable father, Robert found himself in the company of the even younger King Richard II, having found himself seated on one of the 'continual councils' that guided the King in the time of his quasi-regency. The good-looking and charismatic Oxford easily made friends (and perhaps became something more?) with Richard, with their love of beauty and sumptuous ceremony at court being one of the things that bound them together. Richard lavished his favorite companion at court with honors, including making him the first Marquess in England in 1385 and elevating him to Duke of Ireland in 1386, which provoked the envy of the more established senior magnates of the realm. That envy has now blown up to murderous levels, with a faction of the high nobility led by the Duke of Gloucester now attempting to seize the reins of the country and purge Richard's inner circle of upstart and/or flattering favorites in a less than peaceful matter. Naturally, Ireland has answered his King's call to arms, as much for his own survival as out of loyalty, and despite having zero battle experience he was assigned to head an army recruited from the royalist bastion of Cheshire to confront the Appellants. The resulting battle at Radcot Bridge did not end well for the Duke, who ordered his men to charge directly across the bridge into the Earl of Derby's pike line; was surprised when this masterful tactical maneuver failed completely; and abandoned his men after Appellant reinforcements showed up, resulting in a mass royalist surrender.
Robert is a flighty playboy, chiefly concerned with having fun: vain, frivolous, reckless and with an eye for both beauty and opportunities for self-enrichment (of course he'd argue that there's no such thing as an 'ugly' opportunity to make himself rich...) His natural charisma, easygoing manner and similar taste for extravagant ceremony quickly got him admitted into King Richard's inner circle...and some say, his bed as well. That said, the Duke can also be pompous and overly confident in his own abilities, particularly when it comes to war where he is utterly inexperienced and at best, naturally mediocre. He also has an irresponsible streak to him, best showcased in his messy divorce from his first wife Philippa de Coucy (a cousin of King Richard) all so that he could marry the more beautiful Czech lady-in-waiting Agnes de Launcekrona earlier in 1387. The incident roused the anger of the King's uncles, who were also Philippa's uncles, against De Vere and even aggravated his own mother Maud de Ufford, who sheltered the heartbroken Philippa beneath her roof while admonishing her wayward son. Of course, to the carefree Duke, these complaints were nothing but noise to be tuned out - a decision he is now fast regretting as the Appellants march to take Richard's powers away and send Ireland himself to the block.
Now playtime is over for England's youngest Duke, and it remains to be seen whether he can survive in the chaotic environment now fast descending on the realm. After the debacle at Radcot Bridge, Ireland has fled to Wexford and is preparing to organize yet another royalist force there. |
| Sir Aubrey de Vere | 
Age: 50 (born 1338)
Spouse: Alice FitzWalter (age 36)
Traits: 6 pts to start
+2 Battles
+2 Survival
+2 Personal Combat
Temperament: Melancholic/Phlegmatic
- Haggler: This character is obsessed with getting the best possible deal for themselves, and ever watchful (even paranoid) for anyone trying to rip them off. This sort of fellow is rarely the sort others like, but none can deny their ability to sniff for gold. +2% income and improves loot from raids, -2 to AI reaction rolls.
- Meticulous: This character loves to analyze situations down to the last minutiae before acting. On one hand this means they'll probably have a clear picture going in, on the other their decision-making abilities could easily become paralyzed as they spend too much time analyzing and not enough acting. +1 detection rolls, -5% movement speed.
- Reserved: This character is a stoic who generally keeps to him/herself and exercises strict control over their emotions. While this means they're not likely to make reckless moves in court or on the battlefield, they can come across as unfeeling robots to others. +1 battle rolls, -1 to AI reaction rolls.
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Sir Aubrey is the second son of John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford, and thus uncle to Duke Robert. A much sterner and more imposing figure than his frivolous nephew, the diligent and stoic Aubrey worked in various capacities around the country while Robert partied the days away with the King and other friends. He was made steward of the royal forest of Havering in 1360, Constable of Wallingford Castle in 1375 and served as ambassador to France in the twilight years of Edward III's lengthy reign, among other duties and honors, and reportedly never gave cause to disappoint in his many jobs. In 1381, he was made a lesser chamberlain of the royal household (his nephew being the Lord Great Chamberlain, as was the hereditary right of the De Veres) and even served on the Privy Council for some time. Time will tell if his nephew's irresponsibility and excesses will drag him down, as well... |
| Other de Veres | Robert's family:
- Agnes de Launcekrona, Robert's wife. Aged 20, b. 1368.
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Aubrey's family:
- Alice Fitzwalter, Aubrey's wife. Aged 36, b. 1352.
- Richard de Vere, Aubrey's son. Aged 3, b. 1385.
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- Margaret de Vere, Robert's aunt, wife of Sir John Devereux, widow of Henry Beaumont 3rd Baron Beaumont (d. 1369) & Sir Nicholas de Loveyne (d. 1375). Aged 45, b. 1343.
- Maud de Vere, Robert's aunt, a nun. Aged 41, b. 1347.
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