James Ross 
John de Vere, Thirteenth Earl of Oxford (1442-1513) 
`The Foremost Man of the Kingdom’

First book to deal with de Vere’s life and extraordinary career, during the Wars of the Roses and beyond.


Earl of Oxford for fifty years, and subject of six kings of England during the political strife of the Wars of the Roses, John de Vere’s career included more changes of fortune than almost any other. He recovered his earldom afterthe execution of his father and brother for treason, but his resistance to Edward IV led to a decade in prison. He escaped in time to lead Henry Tudor’s vanguard at Bosworth in 1485 and subsequently enjoyed twenty-five years as perhaps ‘the foremost man of the kingdom’, virtually ruling East Anglia for the king.

This is the first full-length study of de Vere’s life and career. Through this lens it also tackles a number of broader themes. It reconsiders the role of the nobility under Henry VII, challenging the common perception of Henry as an anti-aristocratic king. It also explores East Anglian political society in the second half of the fifteenth century, how the earl came to dominate it, how successfully he exercised his power, and the personnel, including the Paston family, he used to run the region.


James Ross holds his doctorate from the University of Oxford.

Table of Content

Introduction

The Earl’s Familial Inheritance

The Thirteenth Earl: Sedition, the Readeption, and Imprisonment, 1462-85

Estates and Wealth

‘His principal servant both for war and peace’: Political life under Henry VII

Oxford’s ‘Satrapy’ – East Anglia, 1485-1513

‘My retainers…come to do me service’ – The Earl’s Affinity

Private and Public

Conclusion

Appendix

Select Bibliography

About the author

JAMES ROSS is Reader in Late Medieval History at the University of Winchester, UK. He has published extensively on the late medieval nobility, kingship and political society.