The de Vere Family

The most commonly held opinion is that the De Vere's came over with William the Conqueror in 1066. From my research I am not so sure.

This page is based on the paper by RáGena C. DeAragon - "Brief history of the Vere family in England, c. 1080-1225
Part One: Aubrey I de Vere - RáGena is also skeptical of websites such as HouseofVere.com

With reference to the History of Belchamp Walter the de Vere name is mentioned with respct to the ownership of the manor at the time of the Domesday Survey. The de Vere "family seat" is known to be Castle Hedingham, which is 5 miles (by road) from Belchamp Walter.

The de Veres are known as Earls of Oxford, their dominance in East Anglia needs some background as the comunity of Abingdon is/was in Oxfordshire.
Abingdon was in Berkshire at the time of the Survey and it is reported that an Aubrey I holding a small manor there.

RáGena says: (in the green boxes)

Was Aubrey I a royal servant or administrator?

The evidence is slim, but the conclusion that he served the royal family in several capacities seems inescapable.
Again, the earliest hints of his service are in Domesday Book.

I have found that "mentions" in Domesday are often "hints". The listing "The Land of Aubrey deVere" less than helpful.
Other "mentions" are William Peche and Enisant of Belchamp. de Vere is mentioned as Tenant in Chief and as Lord (I thought they were different ranks, a Tenant in Chief being the subordinant - but perhaps they are one and the same.

An Aubrey the queen’s chamberlain held a small manor in Berkshire, about ten kilometers southwest of Windsor, he was the only man named Aubrey holding land in that county.

The Queen Matilda here is William the Conqueror's wife, Matilda of Flanders.

It appears that he was also known as Aubrey the chamberlain, who held manors in Hampshire and Wiltshire.9

Queen Matilda had died in November 1083; there is no indication of how long he had served as her chamberlain but she had spent most of her time in Normandy. He may have transferred to the king’s household before the Domesday Survey was conducted in 1086.

There are no certain references to Aubrey de Vere, Aubrey the chamberlain, or the like between that date and 1100.

Perhaps he served as a chamberlain for Prince Henry in his short-lived role as count of the Cotentin in western Normandy in 1088.10

On April 3, in 1102 or 1103, at Westminster, “A. de Ver” attested the king’s charter to the great abbey of Bury St. Edmund along with three high-ranking clergymen, Roger Bigod, and Robert fitz Hamo.11

Roger was Henry I’s dapifer or steward and Robert fitz Hamo was the son of William I’s steward, so these laymen were both associated with the royal household, suggesting that Aubrey was as well.

Sometime between 1100 and August 1107, Aubrey the chamberlain granted land on the Cotentin peninsula to the Norman abbey at Monteburg.12

Could Henry have called on his mother’s former chamberlain to set up the household for Queen Edith/Matilda, his new wife, in or about 1100?

After all, there had been no queen of England since his mother’s death and the previous queen’s experienced chamberlain would know the proper protocol and routines.13

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The lack of historical evidence/records

Apart from some (somewhat) anecdotal statements made in various historical accounts of the region there is much doubt about actual origins of the de Vere family in East Anglia.

Various histories of Belchamp Walter and surrounding communities make reference to de Vere but the Foundation for Medieval Geneology and RáGena C. DeAragon's paper casts some doubt and raises some questions.

Vire, Normandy

Vire is a community 60km from Caen, the home of William I when he was Duke of Normandy. Aubrey de Vere, or a variation on that name has been reported as being a relative of William. I need to confirm my source on this.

"Tenant in Chief" and "Lord"

The National Archives page on the Social Order in the World of Domesday:

What was to become known much later as the feudal system is reflected in the arrangement of Domesday Book, which groups holdings, manor by manor, under the main landholders, the tenants-in-chief. The medieval manor often contained two elements. The demesneglossary icon land was held by the lord of the manor (the King or one of his tenants-in-chief) for his own use and support. Other land in the manor could be leased to lesser tenants, usually Norman or Anglo-Saxon nobles.

RāGena C . DeAragon - Professor of History, Gonzaga University

RāGena has a big precence on Academia.edu. Her interest and insight into the medieval period in England, especially that of the de Vere and the Bigot families. Her portfolio also features other papers on periods of Medieval History from Conquest to the 13th Century

The de Vere Family

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