Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 9.djvu/42

22 It is remarkable, however, that the Earls of Oxford never possessed lands in Oxfordshire. Essex was always their principal county; and Aubrey, the second Earl, was sheriff of the counties of Essex and Hertford from the tenth to the fifteenth years of king John.

The first earl of Oxford enjoyed his dignity for a period of nearly forty years. He died in 1194, and was followed in succession by his two sons, Aubrey and Robert, the former of whom gave king John, in his sixth year, a fine of two hundred marks to be confirmed in this earldom, and in the receipt of the third penny. After these brothers, six more generations carry us down to Robert, the ninth earl and fourth of his name, who is celebrated in history for the extraordinary honours which were lavished upon him by king Richard the Second.

Having been left an orphan at an early age, his wardship was given, by king Edward III., to his son-in-law Ingelram de Courcy, earl of Bedford; and, according to the ordinary practice in such cases, that nobleman destined the young earl's marriage as a provision for the establishment of his own daughter, Philippa de Courcy. Having thus become the husband of king Richard's cousin-german, the earl of Oxford was placed in a position of family relationship towards his sovereign, which, added to his own rank and a parity of years, might at first appear to justify a familiarity which was gradually carried beyond all the bounds of propriety and decency. On the 1st Dec, 1385, to distinguish his favourite beyond all his peers, Richard introduced into this country the hitherto unknown title of Marquess, advancing the earl of Oxford to the dignity of Marquess of Dublin, with no less an appanage than the whole territory and lordship of Ireland. About the same time he was elected into the order of the Garter. But these favours still fell short of his fond master's estimate of his deserts. The patent of the Marquisate was therefore recalled, and, on the 13th October following, the lordship of Ireland was erected into a Dukedom, and, with the adjacent islands and all other dependencies, transferred