Talk:Robert de Vere, 3rd Earl of Oxford

Date of birth

There is no source that provides a date of birth for Robert de Vere, son of Aubrey III, first earl of Oxford. His eldest brother Aubrey IV may have been born in 1164, as his parents had married by Easter 1163. The judicial dual fought by Robert's maternal grandfather, Henry of Essex, in 1163 resulted in Henry's sentence as a traitor. That resulted in the forfeiture of his estates and offices. As a consequence, Earl Aubrey sought an annulment of his marriage to Agnes by late 1165 or early 1166, and a letter of the bishop of London suggests that the earl and countess had separated. The pope ruled their marriage valid, but early in 1172 the pope threatened to excommunicate the earl if he did not treat the countess as his wife. Robert was the third son and possibly the fourth child, as there was a daughter as well. It is therefore highly unlikely that Robert was conceived before 1172. The best that can be deduced is that he was born between 1172 and 1180 and probably around 1175. He was almost certainly younger than his wife by at least ten years. DeAragon 05:30, 25 May 2014 (UTC)

Robin Hood

Read this - can anyone confirm? Morphh ^(talk) 17:50, 16 November 2010 (UTC)

In the 12th Century, Melusine's descendant, Robert de Vere, 3rd Earl of Oxford, and legal pretender to the Earldom of Huntingdon, was appointed as King Richard's steward of the forest lands of Fitzooth. As Lord of the Greenwood, and titular Herne of the Wild Hunt, he was a popular people's champion, and, as a result, he was outlawed for taking up arms against King John. It was he who, subsequently styled Robert 'Robin' Fitzooth, became the prototype for the popular tales of Robin Hood.

Not a chance

There is absolutely no evidence of an historical Robin Hood, yet every late 12th- and early 13th-century Englishman whose Christian name was Robert seems to have been pegged by someone as the "real" Robin Hood. Robert de Vere is an unlikely candidate for a prototype. His father was earl of Oxford, his brother was earl of Oxford, and he eventually became earl of Oxford--and we know his ancestors for several generations, not one of whom was named "Melusine" or anything similar. No earl of Oxford had any claims to the earldom of Huntingdon or any other earldom during the twelfth or thirteen centuries. He was not made forester anywhere in England--he was probably too young in King Richard's reign to hold that office. From 1217-1221 he served as a royal judge. He appears in no surviving records between about 1197 and 1207, which has been sufficient license to the fanciful to fill the gap with Robin Hood doings. Since he was a younger son, however, it's hardly uncommon for there to be no surviving record of his activities in this 10-year span. He was clearly available to marry his deceased sister-in-law's aunt Isabel in 1207, soon after she was widowed, so as to restore Vere control over half of the Bolebec lands. He did rebel against King John--but so did many others in 1214, including a number of men by the name of Robert. They were not outlawed, although they were dispossessed if the king could accomplish that and some rebel leaders (like Earl Robert de Vere) were excommunicated. DeAragon 00:52, 19 October 2011 (UTC)