Agnes of Essex Countess of Oxford

• Preferred Name: Agnes of Essex Countess of Oxford^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]}
  
• Gender: F
  
• Death: AFT 1212 in Oxfordshire, England at LATI: N1.8574 LONG: E1.2935
  
• Birth: 1120 in Rayleigh, Essex, England at LATI: N1.5875 LONG: E0.6094
  
• Burial: in Colne Priory, Earls Colne, Essex, England at LATI: N1.9164 LONG: E0.6977 with note: -- Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Wikiwand: AGNES de Essex ([1151/52]-after 1206, bur Colne Priory). -- Find a Grave: Agnes de Essex de Vere
  
• http://familysearch.org/v1/TitleOfNobility: Countess of Oxford
  
• FSID: 9HPH-W8F
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Agnes of Essex, Countess of Oxford (1151– 1212 or later) was the daughter of a royal constable Henry of Essex and his second wife, Alice. At the age of three she was betrothed to Geoffrey de Vere, brother of the first Earl of Oxford, and turned over to be raised by the Veres soon thereafter. She remained in the household of the earl of Oxford about three years, then moved to Geoffrey's care. In her eleventh year Agnes rejected the match with Geoffrey and by early 1163 was married to his eldest brother Aubrey de Vere III, 1st Earl of Oxford, as his third wife.
  
  In spring 1163, Agnes's father Henry was accused of treason and fought (and lost) a judicial duel. After her father's disgrace and the resulting forfeiture of his lands and offices, the earl of Oxford sought to have his marriage to Agnes annulled. On 9 May 1166, she appealed her case from the court of the bishop of London to the pope (the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, being in exile at the time). While the case was pending in Rome, the earl reportedly kept Agnes confined in one of his three castles, for which the bishop of London Gilbert Foliot reprimanded Aubrey. Pope Alexander III ruled in her favor, thus establishing the canon law requirement of consent by females in betrothal and the sacrament of marriage.
  
  The couple later jointly founded a Benedictine priory for nuns near their castle at Castle Hedingham, Essex around 1190. Countess Agnes long survived her husband and in 1198 paid the crown for the right to remain unmarried. She died sometime in or after 1212 and was buried in the Vere mausoleum at Colne Priory, Essex.
  
  Name Dispute
  Many mistakenly have called Earl Aubrey's third wife Lucia, rather than Agnes. This mistake is based on a misreading of a single document associated with a religious house at Hedingham, Essex. A woman named Lucia was the first prioress at Castle Hedingham Priory. On her death in the early thirteenth century, an illustrated mortuary or 'bede' roll was carried to many religious houses requesting prayers for her soul. In the preface of that document Lucia is called the foundress of the priory. As the role of "founder" is generally ascribed to lay patrons and the countess presumably cooperated with her husband in the founding of the house, 18th-century scholars erroneously assumed that the prioress was Earl Aubrey's widow. Royal records disprove that assumption.
  
  Children
  Agnes bore her husband four sons and a daughter, including two future earls of Oxford:
  1. Aubrey IV and
  2. Robert I.
  3. Her daughter Alice married 1) Ernulf de Kemesech, 2) John, constable of Chester.
  4. Agnes's son Henry appears to have become chancellor of Hereford Cathedral under his uncle, Bishop William de Vere, and later a royal clerk under King John of England.
  5. Little is known of Ralph de Vere except that he may have been the second son (from the order in which he witnessed his father's charters) and died before 1214, when his younger brother Robert succeeded to the earldom on the death of Aubrey IV, 2nd earl.
  
  -- Wikiwand: Agnes of Essex, Countess of Oxford
  
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  Agnes of Essex, countess of Oxford (c.1151-c.1212) was the daughter of Henry of Essex and his second wife. She was betrothed at age three to Geoffrey de Vere, brother of the first earl of Oxford, and turned over to the de Veres soon thereafter. Agnes later rejected the match with Geoffrey and by 1163 had married his brother Aubrey de Vere III, the earl (died 1194), as his third wife.
  
  After her father's disgrace and forfeiture of lands and office in that year, the earl sought to have his marriage annulled. Agnes fought the action. On May 9, 1166, she appealed her case from the court of the bishop of London to the pope (the archbishop Canterbury, Thomas Becket, being in exile at the time). While the case was pending in Rome, the earl kept Agnes confined in one of his three castles, for which the bishop of London Gilbert Foliot reprimanded Aubrey. Pope Alexander ll ruled in her favor, thus establishing the right and requirement of consent by females in betrothal and the sacrament of marriage.
  
  The couple may have co-operated in the founding of a Benedictine nunnery near their castle at Castle Hedingham, Essex. Countess Agnes survived her husband and in 1198 paid the crown for the right to remain unmarried. She died sometime in or after 1212 and was buried in the Vere mausoleum at Colne Priory, Essex/ Many have followed the mistake of antiquarians in believing the third wife of earl Aubrey to have been named Lucia. A woman of this name was prioress at Castle Heingham Priory. On Lucia's death in the early thirteenth century, a mortuary of "bede" roll was carried to many religious houses in the region requesting prayers, and in the preface of that document Lucia is called the foundress of the priory. As the countess presumably cooperated with her husband in the founding of the house, the erroneous assumption was made that the prioress was in fact Earl Aubrey's widow.
  
  Agnes bore her husband four sons and a daughter, including two future earls of Oxford: Aubrey IV and Robert l. Her daughter Alice married 1) Ernulf de Kemesech, 2) John, constable of Chester. Their son Henry may have become chancellor of Hereford Catherdral in the bishopric of his uncle, William de Vere, and later a royal clerk under King John of England. Little is known of Roger de Vere except that he may have been the second son and that he died by 1214, so that his younger brother Robert succeeded to the title on the death of the eldest son Aubrey IV. from Wikipedia
  
  References: 1. RaGena DeAragon. "The Child-Bride, the Earl, and the Pope: The Marital Fortunes of Agnes of Essex" in Henry l and the Anglo-Norman World, 2007 Boydell & Brewer, and 2. G. E. Cokayne, Completer Peerage, (bio was prepared by
  Audrey DeCamp Hoffman the 20th great-granddaughter of Agnes of Essex, countess of Oxford)
  
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  It is unknown which wife was the mother of Henry's daughter, Agnes, who married Aubrey de Vere, first Earl of Oxford, as his third wife, but Alice seems most likely.
  
  -- Wikiwand: Henry of Essex
  
  BIO
  BIO: from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLISHNOBILITYMEDIEVAL3D-K.htm#AgnesEssexMAubreyVereOxford as of 4/18/2016
  
  AGNES de Essex ([1151/52]-after 1206[344], bur Colne Priory). Earl Aubrey tried
  
  === At the age of three she was betrothed to ===
  At the age of three she was betrothed to Geoffrey de Vere, brother of the first Earl of Oxford, and turned over to be raised by the Veres soon thereafter. She remained in the household of the earl of Oxford about three years, then moved to Geoffrey's care. In her eleventh year Agnes rejected the match with Geoffrey and by early 1163 was married to his eldest brother Aubrey de Vere III, 1st Earl of Oxford, as his third wife.
  
  In spring 1163, Agnes's father Henry was accused of treason and fought (and lost) a judicial duel. After her father's disgrace and the resulting forfeiture of his lands and offices, the earl of Oxford sought to have his marriage to Agnes annulled. On 9 May 1166, she appealed her case from the court of the bishop of London to the pope (the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, being in exile at the time). While the case was pending in Rome, the earl reportedly kept Agnes confined in one of his three castles, for which the bishop of London Gilbert Foliot reprimanded Aubrey. Pope Alexander III ruled in her favor, thus establishing the canon law requirement of consent by females in betrothal and the sacrament of marriage.
  
  The couple later jointly founded a Benedictine priory for nuns near their castle at Castle Hedingham, Essex around 1190. Countess Agnes long survived her husband and in 1198 paid the crown for the right to remain unmarried. She died sometime in or after 1212 and was buried in the Vere mausoleum at Colne Priory, Essex.
  
  === !married ROGER CLAVERING ===
  !married ROGER CLAVERING

1. Sir Robert de Vere, b. ABT 1164     d. 25 OCT 1221 in Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex, England

1. Title: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Wikiwand: AGNES de Essex ([1151/52]-after 1206, bur Colne Priory)
   Publication: Name: http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/enguntdk.htm#_ftnref269;
   Note: c) AGNES de Essex ([1151/52]-after 1206, bur Colne Priory). Earl Aubrey tried to repudiate his third wife within a year but in [1171/72] Alexander III King of Scotland directed the Bishop of London to order Earl Aubrey to take her back. m ([1162/63]) as his third wife, AUBREY [III] de Vere Earl of Oxford, son of AUBREY [II] de Vere & his wife Adelisa [Alice] de Clare ([1110]-26 Dec 1194, bur Colne Priory).
   
2. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Countess Agnes Essex - birth: 1151; England, United Kingdom
   Author: World Family Tree Vol. 2, Ed. 1, Brøderbund Software, Inc., Release date: November 29, 1995, Not Given, Page number: Tree #3385
   Note: birth: 1151; England, United Kingdom Customer pedigree. Source Media Type: Family Archive CD death: 1194; England, United Kingdom Customer pedigree. Source Media Type: Family Archive CD Customer pedigree. Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2737222798
   
3. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Alice Eleanor Or Adeliza De Vere -
   Author: Ancestral File (TM), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998, Family History Library, 35 N West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84150 USA
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:3244051500
   
4. Title: Wikiwand: Agnes of Essex, Countess of Oxford
   Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
   Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Agnes_of_Essex,_Countess_of_Oxford;
   Note: Agnes of Essex, Countess of Oxford (1151– 1212 or later) was the daughter of a royal constable Henry of Essex and his second wife, Alice. At the age of three she was betrothed to Geoffrey de Vere, brother of the first Earl of Oxford, and turned over to be raised by the Veres soon thereafter. She remained in the household of the earl of Oxford about three years, then moved to Geoffrey's care. In her eleventh year Agnes rejected the match with Geoffrey and by early 1163 was married to his eldest brother Aubrey de Vere III, 1st Earl of Oxford, as his third wife. In spring 1163, Agnes's father Henry was accused of treason and fought (and lost) a judicial duel. After her father's disgrace and the resulting forfeiture of his lands and offices, the earl of Oxford sought to have his marriage to Agnes annulled. On 9 May 1166, she appealed her case from the court of the bishop of London to the pope (the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, being in exile at the time). While the case was pending in Rome, the earl reportedly kept Agnes confined in one of his three castles, for which the bishop of London Gilbert Foliot reprimanded Aubrey. Pope Alexander III ruled in her favor, thus establishing the canon law requirement of consent by females in betrothal and the sacrament of marriage. The couple later jointly founded a Benedictine priory for nuns near their castle at Castle Hedingham, Essex around 1190. Countess Agnes long survived her husband and in 1198 paid the crown for the right to remain unmarried. She died sometime in or after 1212 and was buried in the Vere mausoleum at Colne Priory, Essex. Name Dispute Many mistakenly have called Earl Aubrey's third wife Lucia, rather than Agnes. This mistake is based on a misreading of a single document associated with a religious house at Hedingham, Essex. A woman named Lucia was the first prioress at Castle Hedingham Priory. On her death in the early thirteenth century, an illustrated mortuary or 'bede' roll was carried to many religious houses requesting prayers for her soul. In the preface of that document Lucia is called the foundress of the priory. As the role of "founder" is generally ascribed to lay patrons and the countess presumably cooperated with her husband in the founding of the house, 18th-century scholars erroneously assumed that the prioress was Earl Aubrey's widow. Royal records disprove that assumption. Children Agnes bore her husband four sons and a daughter, including two future earls of Oxford: Aubrey IV and Robert I. Her daughter Alice married 1) Ernulf de Kemesech, 2) John, constable of Chester. Agnes's son Henry appears to have become chancellor of Hereford Cathedral under his uncle, Bishop William de Vere, and later a royal clerk under King John of England. Little is known of Ralph de Vere except that he may have been the second son (from the order in which he witnessed his father's charters) and died before 1214, when his younger brother Robert succeeded to the earldom on the death of Aubrey IV, 2nd earl.
   
5. Title: Find a Grave: Agnes de Essex de Vere
   Publication: Name: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85046054;
   Note: Agnes de Essex de Vere BIRTH 1151 Rayleigh, Rochford District, Essex, England DEATH 1212 (aged 60–61) Oxfordshire, England BURIAL Colne Priory Earls Colne, Braintree District, Essex, England MEMORIAL ID 85046054 Agnes of Essex, countess of Oxford (c. 1151 – c. 1212) was the daughter of Henry of Essex and his second wife. She was betrothed at age three to Geoffrey de Vere, brother of the first earl of Oxford, and turned over to the de Veres soon thereafter. Agnes later rejected the match with Geoffrey and by 1163 had married his brother Aubrey de Vere III, the earl (died 1194), as his third wife. After her father's disgrace and forfeiture of lands and offices in that year, the earl sought to have his marriage annulled. Agnes fought the action. On May 9, 1166, she appealed her case from the court of the bishop of London to the pope (the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, being in exile at the time). While the case was pending in Rome, the earl kept Agnes confined in one of his three castles, for which the bishop of London Gilbert Foliot reprimanded Aubrey. Pope Alexander III ruled in her favor, thus establishing the right and requirement of consent by females in betrothal and the sacrament of marriage. The couple may have co-operated in the founding of a Benedictine nunnery near their castle at Castle Hedingham, Essex. Countess Agnes survived her husband and in 1198 paid the crown for the right to remain unmarried. She died sometime in or after 1212 and was buried in the Vere mausoleum at Colne Priory, Essex. Many have followed the mistake of antiquarians in believing the third wife of earl Aubrey to have been named Lucia. A woman of this name was prioress at Castle Hedingham Priory. On Lucia's death in the early thirteenth century, a mortuary or 'bede' roll was carried to many religious houses in the region requesting prayers, and in the preface of that document Lucia is called the foundress of the priory. As the countess presumably cooperated with her husband in the founding of the house, the erroneous assumption was made that the prioress was in fact Earl Aubrey's widow. Agnes bore her husband four sons and a daughter, including two future earls of Oxford: Aubrey IV and Robert I. Her daughter Alice married 1) Ernulf de Kemesech, 2) John, constable of Chester. Their son Henry may have become chancellor of Hereford Cathedral in the bishopric of his uncle, William de Vere, and later a royal clerk under King John of England.[2] Little is known of Roger de Vere except that he may have been the second son and that he had died by 1214, so that his younger brother Robert succeeded to the title on the death of the eldest son Aubrey IV. from Wikipedia References: 1. RaGena DeAragon. "The Child-Bride, the Earl, and the Pope: The Marital Fortunes of Agnes of Essex" in Henry I and the Anglo-Norman World, 2007 Boydell & Brewer, and 2. G. E. Cokayne, Complete Peerage, vol. 10 (bio was prepared by Audrey DeCamp Hoffman the 20th great-granddaughter of Agnes of Essex, countess of Oxford) Family Members Parents Henry de Essex 1121–1170 Spouse Photo Aubrey de Vere 1110–1194 Children Photo Aubrey IV de Vere 1163–1214 Photo Robert Magna de Vere 1164–1221
   
6. Title: Wikipedia: Agnes of Essex, Countess of Oxford
   Author: Wikipeida
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_of_Essex,_Countess_of_Oxford;
   Note: Information for Agnes of Essex, Countess of Oxford
   
7. Title: Agnes Vere (born of Essex)
   Publication: Name: https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-40001-814099430/agnes-vere-born-of-essex-in-familysearch-family-tree?s=406723121&fspid=K1TD-J9P;
   
8. Title: Wikiwand: Henry of Essex
   Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
   Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Henry_of_Essex;
   Note: Henry of Essex or Henry de Essex (died c. 1170) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman who held the honours of Rayleigh (by inheritance) and Haughley (by right of his second wife). He was also one of the royal constables during the reigns of Kings Stephen and Henry II by right of his second wife. That office included the duty of bearing the royal standard to indicate the location of the king when on campaign or in battle. He was convicted as a traitor and took the habit in 1163, spending his last years at Reading Abbey. Life Henry was the son and heir of Robert fitz Swein of Essex, a descendant of the pre-conquest landowner Robert fitz Wimarch who was favored by King Edward the Confessor. Henry is mentioned in several chronicles, including that of Jocelin of Brakelond. His influence at the royal court was greatest during the reign of Stephen, but it continued into the early years of Henry II's. He served Henry as Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire from 1156 to 1159 and as a justiciar, as well as being his constable. Henry participated in the king's Toulouse campaign in the spring and summer of 1159. After he dropped the royal standard in a Welsh ambush during Henry II's campaign into Wales of 1157, however, his political importance waned. As royal constable, his office required that he hold the standard to indicate the king's position during any military engagement. Dropping the standard seemed to signal the king's death. At the royal court held at Easter, 1163, Henry was accused of treason for that act by a claimant to the Montfort estate of Haughley. The two men fought a judicial duel a few months later. Jocelin details Henry's judicial duel with Robert de Montfort (a rival for Henry's wife's inheritance) on Fry's Island in the River Thames at Reading. Henry's body was carried senseless from the site of the duel by monks of the nearby Reading Abbey, but he survived and took the Benedictine cowl. As he was a convicted traitor, however, his estates and offices were forfeit, and his family was disgraced. Henry was allowed to remain as a monk at Reading Abbey, where he remained for the rest of his life. Henry of Essex is thought to have died at Reading Abbey in the same year that Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered, 1170. Family Henry married firstly Cecily; they had least at two sons, Henry and Hugh. His second wife was Alice, probably the daughter and heiress of Robert de Vere, the royal constable (d. circa 1151). It is unknown which wife was the mother of Henry's daughter, Agnes, who married Aubrey de Vere, first Earl of Oxford, as his third wife, but Alice seems most likely. Arms Henry's arms were blazoned "Argent, an Orle Gules."
   
9. Title: Agnes de Vere in the UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300s-Current
   Publication: Name: https://search.ancestry.com/collections/60526/records/708872;
   Note: Name: Agnes de Vere Birth Date: 1151 Birth Place: Rayleigh, Rochford District, Essex, England Death Date: 1212 Death Place: Oxfordshire, England Cemetery: Colne Priory Burial or Cremation Place: Earls Colne, Braintree District, Essex, England Has Bio?: Y Father: Henry de Essex Spouse: Aubrey de Vere Children: Robert Magna de Vere Aubrey IV de Vere URL: https://www.findagrave.com/mem...
   
10. Title: Agnes De Essex De Vere, "Find A Grave Index"
    Author: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV2Y-TDHQ : 18 July 2020), Agnes De Essex De Vere, ; Burial, , ; citing record ID , Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
    Publication: Name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV2Y-TDHQ;
    Note: Agnes de Essex de Vere BIRTH 1151 Rayleigh, Rochford District, Essex, England DEATH 1212 (aged 60–61) Oxfordshire, England BURIAL Colne Priory Earls Colne, Braintree District, Essex, England MEMORIAL ID 85046054 Agnes of Essex, countess of Oxford (c. 1151 – c. 1212) was the daughter of Henry of Essex and his second wife. She was betrothed at age three to Geoffrey de Vere, brother of the first earl of Oxford, and turned over to the de Veres soon thereafter. Agnes later rejected the match with Geoffrey and by 1163 had married his brother Aubrey de Vere III, the earl (died 1194), as his third wife. After her father's disgrace and forfeiture of lands and offices in that year, the earl sought to have his marriage annulled. Agnes fought the action. On May 9, 1166, she appealed her case from the court of the bishop of London to the pope (the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, being in exile at the time). While the case was pending in Rome, the earl kept Agnes confined in one of his three castles, for which the bishop of London Gilbert Foliot reprimanded Aubrey. Pope Alexander III ruled in her favor, thus establishing the right and requirement of consent by females in betrothal and the sacrament of marriage. The couple may have co-operated in the founding of a Benedictine nunnery near their castle at Castle Hedingham, Essex. Countess Agnes survived her husband and in 1198 paid the crown for the right to remain unmarried. She died sometime in or after 1212 and was buried in the Vere mausoleum at Colne Priory, Essex. Many have followed the mistake of antiquarians in believing the third wife of earl Aubrey to have been named Lucia. A woman of this name was prioress at Castle Hedingham Priory. On Lucia's death in the early thirteenth century, a mortuary or 'bede' roll was carried to many religious houses in the region requesting prayers, and in the preface of that document Lucia is called the foundress of the priory. As the countess presumably cooperated with her husband in the founding of the house, the erroneous assumption was made that the prioress was in fact Earl Aubrey's widow. Agnes bore her husband four sons and a daughter, including two future earls of Oxford: Aubrey IV and Robert I. Her daughter Alice married 1) Ernulf de Kemesech, 2) John, constable of Chester. Their son Henry may have become chancellor of Hereford Cathedral in the bishopric of his uncle, William de Vere, and later a royal clerk under King John of England.[2] Little is known of Roger de Vere except that he may have been the second son and that he had died by 1214, so that his younger brother Robert succeeded to the title on the death of the eldest son Aubrey IV. from Wikipedia References: 1. RaGena DeAragon. "The Child-Bride, the Earl, and the Pope: The Marital Fortunes of Agnes of Essex" in Henry I and the Anglo-Norman World, 2007 Boydell & Brewer, and 2. G. E. Cokayne, Complete Peerage, vol. 10 (bio was prepared by Audrey DeCamp Hoffman the 20th great-granddaughter of Agnes of Essex, countess of Oxford) Family Members Parents Henry de Essex 1121–1170 Spouse Photo Aubrey de Vere 1110–1194 Children Photo Aubrey IV de Vere 1163–1214 Photo Robert Magna de Vere 1164–1221