Earl of Warwick - 1088 Creation

1088 Creation

The medieval earldom created in 1088 was held to be inheritable through a female line of descent, and thus was held by members of several families. It was traditionally associated with possession of Warwick Castle. The heraldic device of the Earls of Warwick, the bear and ragged staff, is believed to derive from two legendary Earls, Arthal and Morvidus. Arthal is to mean "bear", while Morvidus was to have slain a giant "with a young ash tree torn up by the roots."

The first Earl of Warwick was Henry de Beaumont, younger son of Roger de Beaumont, Count of Meulan and brother to Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester.

The family name of Beaumont was Latinised to de Bello Monte ("from the beautiful mountain"); the family was also known as de Newburgh, Latinised to de Novo Burgo ("from the new borough/town"). Henry changed his named to de Newburgh, after the Castle de Neubourg, his home in Normandy.

Henry became constable of Warwick castle in 1068 and Earl in 1088 as reward for his support for the king during the Rebellion of 1088.

The title passed through several generations of the Beaumont family until Thomas, the 6th earl, died in 1242 without a male heir. The earldom then went to his sister Margaret and her husbands and on her death to her cousin William Maudit.

When he died also without a male heir the title passed to his daughter Isabel and her husband William Beauchamp and thence her son William, who became 9th earl.

During this period the earldom and the Beauchamps were elevated to the highest levels until Henry, the 14th earl was created Duke of Warwick with precedence over all except the Duke of Norfolk.

This precedence was disputed however and with Henry’s death in 1445, also without male heir, the dukedom was extinguished. The earldom went to his infant daughter, and on her death a few years later passed to Henry's sister Anne and her husband Richard Neville, who became 16th earl and was known to history as "Warwick the Kingmaker".

After Richard Neville’s death the title was created for his son-in-law, George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, husband of Neville's eldest daughter Isabella Neville, on 25 March 1472. It then passed to Richard and Anne’s grandson Edward, son of George, Duke of Clarence, and with his death in 1499 the title became extinct.