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BOLEBEC Isabel
Birth: ABT 1164 Hatfield, Essex, England
Death: 3 Feb 1245 England
Notes
d 2/3 Feb 1245
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_de_Bolebec,_Countess_of_Oxford
Isabel de Bolebec, Countess of Oxford (c. 1164 – 2 or 3 February 1245), was the
eldest daughter and co-heiress of Hugh de Bolebec II, Lord of Whitchurch,
Buckinghamshire, and his wife, Margaret de Montfichet. She married Robert de Vere,
3rd Earl of Oxford, and was a benefactress of the Order of Friars Preacher
(Dominicans) in England.
Isabel de Bolebec was the daughter and co-heiress of Hugh de Bolebec II (died c.
1165),[1] Lord of Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire, and his wife, Margaret de Montfichet.
She had a brother, Walter,[2] and a sister, Constance, the wife of Ellis de
Beauchamp.[3] In 1206-07 she and Constance were co-heirs to their niece, Isabel de
Bolebec, daughter of their brother, Walter, and wife of Aubrey de Vere, 2nd Earl of
Oxford.[4]
Isabel's first husband was Henry de Nonant (Novaunt), Lord of Totnes, Devon, who
died childless in 1206.[5] The widowed Isabel petitioned the Crown in 1207 for the
right to marry whom she wished. That same year she married Robert de Vere, a
younger brother of the earl of Oxford, by whom she had a son, Hugh de Vere. In the
autumn of 1214 Robert inherited the earldom at the death of his brother, Aubrey de
Vere, 2nd Earl of Oxford, without legitimate offspring, and Isabel became Countess of
Oxford. The new earl joined barons and kinsmen whose dissatisfaction with King John
prompted their rebellion. On 15 June 1215 the King agreed to Magna Carta, and
Oxford was one of twenty-five barons elected to guarantee its observance, and was
thus among those excommunicated by Pope Innocent III when he released the King
from its terms. In 1216 King John besieged and took the Oxford's seat, Castle
Hedingham, in Essex. Oxford made peace with the regents of John's son, Henry III the
next year, and later served as a royal judge.[6] He died before 25 October 1221.[7]
Isabel inherited the barony of Bolebec, and from her death in 1245 until 1703 the Earls
of Oxford adopted the style of "Baron de Bolebec" in addition to their title of earl, and
from 1462-1625 that of "Viscount Bolebec".[8]
On the death of Earl Robert, the widowed Countess purchased the wardship of her
minor son from the crown for the substantial sum of 6000 marks. In 1237, she and
Hugh traveled together on a pilgrimage "beyond the seas".[9] In 1224-25 Isabel sued
Woburn Abbey for the manor of Mendham.[10]
Isabel was a benefactress of the Order of Friars Preacher (Dominicans) in England,
[11] helping them to find quarters at Oxford, and contributing to the building of their
oratory there about 1227. When the friars needed a larger priory, she and the Bishop
of Carlisle bought land south of Oxford and contributed most of the funds and
materials. She was buried in the new church in the friary there.[12]
Parents
BOLEBEC Hugh (ABT 1140 - ABT 1165)
DE MONTFICHET Margaret (ABT 1142 - )
Siblings
BOLEBEC Isabel (ABT 1164 - 3 Feb 1245)
Marriage To DE VERE Robert (ABT 1166 - 25 Oct 1221)
m. 1207
Notes
Parents
DE VERE Aubrey (ABT 1115 - 26 Dec 1194)
OF ESSEX Agnes (ABT 1150 - AFT 1212)
Children by DE VERE Robert ABT 1166 - 25 Oct 1221
DE VERE Hugh (ABT 1208 - 23 Dec 1263)
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