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- 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
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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)
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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
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