Aubrey de Vere I
Aubrey (Albericus) de Vere (died circa 1112-1113) was a tenant-in-chief in England of William the Conqueror in 1086, as well as a tenant of Geoffrey de Montbray, bishop of Coutances and of Count Alan, lord of Richmond. A much later source named his father as Alphonsus. Biography His origins are obscure and various regions have been proposed for his birthplace, from Zeeland to Brittany. He may have been Norman, possibly from the region of Ver in the Cotentin peninsula of western Normandy, or Ver-sur-Mer, but the evidence is such that no certainty is possible. Late medieval sources put forward claims of descent from Charlemagne through the Counts of Flanders or Guînes. In fact, the only connection of the Veres of England with Guînes in Flanders was through a short-lived marriage; Aubrey I's grandson Aubrey de Vere III married Beatrice, heiress to the county of Guînes, in the 12th century but there was no issue and their marriage was annulled after six or seven years of their marriage. In the Domesday Book, he is listed as "Aubrey the chamberlain" and "Aubrey the queen's chamberlain" as well as Aubrey de Vere. He and his wife held land in nine counties in 1086.