Richard de Vere, the eleventh Earl of Oxford, married Alice, one of
the daughters and coheirs of Sir Richard Sergeaulx, knight, Lord of
Collquite and Killygarth, widow of Guy Seyntaubyn, Sheriff of Cornwall
22 Richard II. 1399; but she passed her lands from her son by her
first husband, to her second husband the Earl of Oxford, who had issue
by her John de Vere, the 12th Earl of Oxford, who married Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir John Howard Knight; the which John, the 12th Earl, was
the chief of those barons that opposed the precedence in parliament of
the Lords Spiritual, temp. Henry VI. the which Parliament roll in the
Tower of London, is thus endorsed:
MEMORANDUM.――The Lords Spiritual alleged that, forasmuch as they were
spiritual Barons, they ought to have the right of precedence of the
Lords Temporal, for it was well known how far things spiritual
exceeded carnal or temporal. To which this Earl of Oxford replied on
behalf of the Lords Temporal, that whatsoever right or privilege they
had or could challenge, [see Brooke on Oxford, Earl,] it came from
them and their ancestors, and their almsdeeds, who had been the worthy
founders and benefactors of the Lords Spiritual; and further said it
was an unseemly thing for masters to be inferior to their servants,
who were descended of regal, honourable, and noble families, which
most of the Spiritual Barons were not; which matter being fully
understood, and indifferently heard, the Lords Temporal, by means of
the logic and rhetoric of this Earl, had then the precedence of place
in Parliament given them. But, alas! this bold demand, question, and
argument of his, at that time, was a project rather pitied than
admired by his best friends, for though it succeeded well in one
Parliament, it got him many enemies in another. So that in the
Parliament, held 2d November, 1462, tempore Edward IV., this Earl, and
his son Aubrey, were attainted of treason against that King, on
the behalf of Henry VI., and both beheaded without trial or
answer.――(Baker’s Chronicle, page 204.)
Whereupon John, his second son, succeeded, and was the 13th Earl of
Oxford, who married Margaret daughter of Richard Nevill, Earl of
Salisbury, who, as his father had done before, adhered to the interest
of King Henry VI., against Edward IV., and was at the battle of Barnet
Heath 1471, and had, with the Marquess Montacute, the command of the
right wing of King Henry’s horse, under Richard Earl of Warwick,
general of his army; and when in the battle, it appeared the vanward
of King Henry’s horse had somewhat worsted King Edward’s party, by the
valour of the Earl of Oxford, the news presently fled to London that
Warwick had obtained the victory; but, alas! Fama est mendax; for
immediately after a strange misfortune befel the Earl of Oxford and
his men in the latter part of this encounter. They having a star with
streams on their liveries, as King Edward’s soldiers had the sun, the
General Warwick’s men, by reason of a great mist, (raised as was
thought by the magic art of Friar Bungey) mistaking the badges, shot
at the Earl of Oxford’s men, which were of their own party, to their
great hurt and destruction; whereupon the Earl, seeing how matters
went, cried out treason, and forthwith fled with 800 men, whose
departure gave King Edward opportunity to obtain a total victory over
his enemies.
Whereupon the Duke of Somerset and this Earl of Oxford fled to Jasper
Earl of Pembroke, in Wales, for safety and protection; from whence
Oxford, and a convenient number of men of arms, shipped themselves
from Milfordhaven, and with a fair wind sailed down St. George’s
Channel, turned the Land’s End, and came safely at anchor in this
Mount’s Bay. Where, as soon as the Earl and his men had disguised
themselves in pilgrims’ and friars’ apparel, under which all had
lodged a small sword and a dagger, they went on shore, pretending that
they were pilgrims that had come a long pilgrimage from the remotest
part of this kingdom, to perform the penance imposed upon them by
their father confessors, and to perform their vows, make orisons and
oblations to the altar of St. Michael, who presided there; upon which
pious pretext the monks and inhabitants opened their gates and let
them into the castle, where they were no sooner entered, but, as de la
Pomeray had done before, they shewed their weapons, discovered their
impious fraud, and made known who they were, and their designs to kill
all persons that made resistance or opposed King Henry VI. for whom
the Earl of Oxford was come to take possession of this Mount, and
would keep it to his use; whereupon, the monks and the small garrison
were necessitated to comply with their demands, and yield them a quiet
possession thereof; which forthwith the Earl put in better repair, and
by the interest of King Henry and the Earl’s friends and relations in
those parts, his grandmother as aforesaid being Sir Guy St. Aubyn’s
widow and Sergeaulx’s coheir, he soon got ammunition, provision, and
soldiers sufficient for their defence.
As soon as King Edward IV. heard of the surprise of St. Michael’s
Mount by the Earl of Oxford, he issued forth his proclamation,
proclaiming him and all his adherents traitors, and then consulted how
to regain both to his obedience; and in order thereto he forthwith
sent to Sir John Arundell of Trerice, Knight, then Sheriff of
Cornwall, to reduce and besiege the same by his posse comitatus; which
gentleman, pursuant to his orders, and by virtue of his office, soon
rose a considerable army of men and soldiers within his bailiwick, and
marched with them towards St. Michael’s Mount, where being arrived he
sent a trumpeter to the Earl with a summons of surrender of that
garrison to him for King Edward upon mercy; especially for that in so
doing, in all probability, he would prevent the effusion of much
Christian blood.
To this summons of the trumpeter the Earl sent a flat denial; saying
further, that rather than he would yield the fort on those terms,
himself and those with him were all resolved to lose their lives in
defence thereof. Whereupon the Sheriff commanded his soldiers, being
very numerous on all parts, to storm the Mount, and reduce it by
force; but, alas! maugre all their attempts (of this kind) the
besieged so well defended every part of this rocky mountain that in
all places the Sheriff’s men were repulsed with some loss; and the
besieged issued forth from the outer gate and pursued them with such
violence, that the said Sir John Arundell and some others were slain
upon the sands at the foot of the Mount, to the great discouragement
of the new-raised soldiers, who quickly departed thence, having lost
their leader; leaving the besieged in better heart than they found
them, as much elevated at their good success as themselves were
dismayed at their bad fortune. This Sir John Arundell, as Mr. Carew,
in his Survey of Cornwall, tells us, p. 119, had long before been told
by some fortune-teller that he should be slain in the sands;
wherefore, to avoid that destiny, he removed from Efford, near
Stratton on the sands, where he dwelt, to Trerice, far off from the
sea-sands, yet by this misfortune fulfilled the prediction in another
place.
King Edward, upon news of this tragical accident, forthwith ordered
letters patent to be drawn for making John Fortescue, Esq. Sheriff of
Cornwall, in the place of Sir John Arundell, slain as aforesaid; who
being accordingly sworn in that office, received the same commands,
and took the same measures for reducing the Mount as the former
Sheriff had done, by summons and assault, but was always, and in all
places, repulsed with dishonour and loss, the same being as stoutly
defended within as it was assaulted without; the fort thus appearing
invincible. All which circumstances being transmitted to King Edward
by Mr. Fortescue, the Sheriff, the King, for prevention of further
bloodshed, ordered him to have a parley with the said Earl of Oxford,
and know what his designs and expectations were; who thereupon sent a
messenger to him for that purpose; from whom he received this resolute
and desperate answer,――that, if the King would pardon the offences of
him and his adherents, and grant them their lives, liberties, and
estates, that then he would yield up the fort to his use; otherwise
they would fight it out to the last man. Which answer being sent up to
the King, he granted their request; and forthwith ordered a
proclamation of free pardon to be made unto them, under the broad seal
of England; which, with all convenient speed was sent down, and by Mr.
Sheriff Fortescue delivered to the Earl, to the great quiet and
content of all parties. Whereupon the fort was yielded to him for the
King’s use; and the Earl of Oxford was soon after sent prisoner to the
castle of Hamms, in Normandy, where he was continued a prisoner till
the first year of King Henry VII. 1485, with whom he came into
England, and led the vanward of his army at Bosworth Field against
King Richard III. where he was slain. After the death of this Earl’s
first wife, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Richard Scrope,
Knight, widow of William Lord Beaumont, by whom he had no issue; so
that, he dying the 4th Henry VIII. left John, the son of George Vere
his brother, his heir and successor, and the fourteenth Earl of
Oxford, who gave for his arms, Gules, escartellé de Or, le premier
brisé d’un molette de Argent.
King Edward attributed this ineffectual long siege of St. Michael’s
Mount either to the cowardice or disloyalty of the Sheriffs and
country people of Cornwall; but there was no just cause for this
conjecture, since Sir John Arundell and several of his men lost their
lives about it: at other times, he would say the inhabitants were more
affected to the house of Lancaster than that of York; whereupon, when
the said Mr. Fortescue went out of his office after four years’
service, he made his brother Richard Duke of Gloucester Sheriff of
Cornwall during life; for that he was often heard to say he looked
upon Cornwall only as the back-door of rebellion; so that those
several persons set down in the catalogue of Sheriffs of Cornwall
after Fortescue, were not absolute Sheriffs, but Deputies under the
said Duke, viz. Daubeny, Carnesew, Willoughby, Nanfon, Grenvill,
Fullford, Treffry, Terrill, and Houghton, who stiled themselves
Vicecomes, and their under Sheriffs Sub-Vicecomes.