Encyclopedia Project Search | Luminarium | Encyclopedia | What's New | Letter from the Editor | Bookstore | Poster Store | Discussion Forums | Search   Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl Of Essex,1 son of Walter Devereux, the 1st Devereux Earl [and Lettice Knollys], was born at Netherwood, Herefordshire, on the 19th of November 1566. He entered the university of Cambridge and graduated in 1581. In 1585 he accompanied his stepfather, the Earl of Leicester, on an expedition to Holland, and greatly distinguished himself at the battle of Zutphen. He now took his place at court, where so handsome a youth soon found favour with Queen Elizabeth, and in consequence was on bad terms with Raleigh. In 1587 he was appointed master of the horse, and in the following year was made general of the horse and installed knight of the Garter. On the death of Leicester he succeeded him as chief favourite of the queen, a position which injuriously affected his whole subsequent life, and ultimately resulted in his ruin. While Elizabeth was approaching the mature age of sixty, Essex was scarcely twenty-one. Though well aware of the advantages of his position, and somewhat vain of the queen's favour, his constant attendance on her at court was irksome to him beyond all endurance; 2 and when he could not make his escape to the scenes of foreign adventure after which he longed, he varied the monotony of his life at court by intrigues with the maids of honour. He fought a duel with Sir Charles Blount, a rival favourite of the queen, in which the earl was disarmed and slightly wounded in the thigh. In 1589, without the queen's consent, he joined the expedition of Drake and Sir John Norris against Spain, but in June he was compelled to obey a letter enjoining him at his "uttermost peril" to return immediately. In 1590 Essex married the widow of Sir Philip Sidney, but in dread of the queen's anger he kept the marriage secret as long as possible. When it was necessary to avow it, her rage at first knew no bounds, but as the earl did "use it with good temper," and "for her majesty's better satisfaction was pleased that my lady should live retired in her mother's house," he soon came to be "in very good favour." In 1591 he was appointed to the command of a force auxiliary to one formerly sent to assist Henry IV. of France against the Spaniards; but after a fruitless campaign he was finally recalled from the command in January 1592. For some years after this most of his time was spent at court, where he held a position of unexampled influence, both on account of the favour of the queen and from his own personal popularity. In 1596 he was, after a great many "changes of humour" on the queen's part, appointed along with Lord Howard of Effingham, Raleigh and Lord Thomas Howard, to the command of an expedition, which was successful in defeating the Spanish fleet, capturing and pillaging Cadiz, and destroying 53 merchant vessels. It would seem to have been shortly after this exploit that the beginnings of a change in the feelings of the queen towards him came into existence. On his return she chided him that he had not followed up his successes, and though she professed great pleasure at again seeing him in safety, and was ultimately satisfied that the abrupt termination of the expedition was contrary to his advice and remonstrances, she forbade him to publish anything in justification of his conduct. She doubtless was offended at his growing tendency to assert his independence, and jealous of his increasing popularity with the people; but it is also probable that her strange infatuation regarding her own charms, great as it was, scarcely prevented her from suspecting either that his professed attachment had all along been somewhat alloyed with considerations of personal interest, or that at least it was now beginning to cool. Francis Bacon, at that time his most intimate friend, endeavoured to prevent the threatened rupture by writing him a long letter of advice; and although perseverance in a long course of feigned action was for Essex impossible, he for some time attended pretty closely to the hints of his mentor, so that the queen "used him most graciously." In 1597 he was appointed master of the ordnance, and in the following year he obtained command of an expedition against Spain, known as the Islands or Azores Voyage. He gained some trifling successes, but as the Plate fleet escaped him he failed of his main purpose; and when on his return the queen met him with the usual reproaches, he retired to his home at Wanstead. This was not what Elizabeth desired, and although she conferred on Lord Howard of Effingham the earldom of Nottingham for services at Cadiz, the main merit of which was justly claimed by Essex, she ultimately held out to the latter the olive branch of peace, and condescended to soothe his wounded honour by creating him earl marshal of England. That, nevertheless, the irritated feelings neither of Essex nor of the queen were completely healed was manifested shortly afterwards in a manner which set propriety completely at defiance. In a discussion on the appointment of a lord deputy to Ireland, Essex, on account of some taunting words of Elizabeth, turned his back upon her with a gesture indicative not only of anger but of contempt, and when she, unable to control her indignation, slapped him on the face, he left her presence swearing that such an insult he would not have endured even from Henry VIII. In 1599, while Ulster was in rebellion under the earl of Tyrone, the office of lieutenant and governor-general of Ireland was conferred on Essex, and a large force put at his command. His campaign was an unsuccessful one, and by acting in various ways in opposition to the commands of the queen and the council, agreeing with Tyrone on a truce in September, and suddenly leaving the post of duty with the object of privately vindicating himself before the queen, he laid himself open to charges more serious than that of mere incompetency. For these misdemeanours he was brought in June 1600 before a specially constituted court, deprived of all his high offices, and ordered to live a prisoner in his own house during the queen's pleasure. Chiefly through the intercession of Bacon his liberty was shortly afterwards restored to him, but he was ordered not to return to court. For some time he hoped for an improvement in his prospects, but when he was refused the renewal of his patent for sweet wines, hope was succeeded by despair, and half maddened by wounded vanity, he made an attempt (Feb. 7, 1601) to incite a revolution in his behalf, by parading the streets of London with 300 retainers, and shouting, "For the queen! a plot is laid for my life!" These proceedings awakened, however, scarcely any other feelings than mild perplexity and wonder; and finding that hope of assistance from the citizens was vain, he returned to Essex House, where after defending himself for a short time he surrendered. After a trial - in which Bacon, who prosecuted, delivered a speech against his quondam friend and benefactor, the bitterness of which was quite unnecessary to secure a conviction entailing at least very severe punishment - he was condemned to death, and notwithstanding many alterations in Elizabeth's mood, the sentence was carried out on the 25th of February 1601. Essex was in person tall and well proportioned, with a countenance which, though not strictly handsome, possessed, on account of its bold, cheerful and amiable expression, a wonderful power of fascination. He was a patron of literature, and himself a poet. His carriage was not very graceful, but his manners are said to have been "courtly, grave and exceedingly comely." He was brave, chivalrous, impulsive, imperious sometimes with his equals, but generous to all his dependants and incapable of secret malice; and these virtues, which were innate and which remained with him to the last, must be regarded as somewhat counterbalancing, in our estimation of him, the follies and vices created by temptations which were exceptionally strong. 1 i.e. in the Devereux line. 2 Diary and Corresp. (1850), ii. 141, 178.       Excerpted from:       Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Ed. Vol IX.       Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1910. 783. Other Local Resources: Queen Elizabeth I Sir Francis Bacon Sir Walter Ralegh Books for further study: Brimacombe, Peter. All the Queen's Men: The World of Elizabeth I.            Palgrave Macmillan, 2000. Doran, Susan. Monarchy and Matrimony: The Courtships of Elizabeth I.            London: Routledge, 1996. Devereux, Walter Bourchier. Lives and Letters of the Devereux, Earls of Essex:            In the Reigns of Elizabeth, James I, and Charles I, 1540-1646. Vol 2            Adamant Media Corporation, 2001 Hammer, Paul E.J. The Polarisation of Elizabethan Politics: The Political Career             of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, 1585-1597.            Cambridge University Press; New Ed edition , 2005. Harrison, G.B. The Life and Death of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex            H. Holt and Company, 1937. Lacey, Robert. Robert, Earl of Essex: An Elizabethan Icarus            Phoenix Press, 2002. Robert Devereux on the Web: Biography - BBC Biography - Britannia Internet Magazine Biography - Tudor Place to Elizabeth I to Renaissance English Literature to Luminarium Encyclopedia Index of Encyclopedia Entries: Medieval Cosmology Edward II Piers Gaveston Thomas, Earl of Lancaster Roger Mortimer, Earl of March Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) Edward III Edward, Black Prince of Wales Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster Edmund of Langley, Duke of York Thomas of Woodstock, Gloucester Richard of York, E. of Cambridge Richard II Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford Ralph Neville, E. of Westmorland Edmund Mortimer, 3. Earl of March Roger Mortimer, 4. Earl of March Edmund Mortimer, 5. Earl of March Sir Henry Percy, "Harry Hotspur" Owen Glendower Henry IV Edward, Duke of York Henry V Thomas, Duke of Clarence John, Duke of Bedford Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury The Battle of Castillon, 1453 William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk Thomas de Montacute, E. of Salisbury Richard de Beauchamp, E. of Warwick Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter Cardinal Henry Beaufort John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset Catherine of Valois Owen Tudor Charles VII, King of France Joan of Arc Louis XI, King of France Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy The Wars of the Roses 1455-1485 Causes of the Wars of the Roses The House of Lancaster The House of York The House of Beaufort The House of Neville The First Battle of St. Albans, 1455 The Battle of Blore Heath, 1459 The Rout of Ludford, 1459 The Battle of Northampton, 1460 The Battle of Wakefield, 1460 The Battle of Mortimer's Cross, 1461 The Second Battle of St. Albans, 1461 The Battle of Towton, 1461 The Battle of Hedgeley Moor, 1464 The Battle of Hexham, 1464 The Battle of Edgecote, 1469 The Battle of Barnet, 1471 The Battle of Tewkesbury, 1471 The Treaty of Pecquigny, 1475 The Battle of Bosworth Field, 1485 The Battle of Stoke Field, 1487 Henry VI Margaret of Anjou Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York Edward IV Elizabeth Woodville Richard Woodville, 1. Earl Rivers Anthony Woodville, 2. Earl Rivers Jane Shore Edward V Richard III George, Duke of Clarence Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick John Neville, Marquis of Montague George Neville, Archbishop of York John Beaufort, 1. Duke Somerset Edmund Beaufort, 2. Duke Somerset Henry Beaufort, 3. Duke of Somerset Edmund Beaufort, 4. Duke Somerset Margaret Beaufort Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke Humphrey Stafford, E. of Buckingham Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham Thomas, Lord Stanley, Earl of Derby Archbishop Thomas Bourchier William, Lord Hastings Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter William Herbert, 1. Earl of Pembroke John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford Thomas de Clifford, 8. Baron Clifford John de Clifford, 9. Baron Clifford John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester Sir Andrew Trollop Archbishop John Morton Jack Cade's Rebellion, 1450 Tudor Period King Henry VII Queen Elizabeth of York Lambert Simnel Perkin Warbeck King Ferdinand II of Aragon Queen Isabella of Castile Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor King Henry VIII Queen Catherine of Aragon Queen Anne Boleyn Queen Jane Seymour Queen Anne of Cleves Queen Catherine Howard Queen Katherine Parr King Edward VI Queen Mary I Queen Elizabeth I Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland James IV, King of Scotland The Battle of Flodden Field, 1513 James V, King of Scotland Mary of Guise, Queen of Scotland Mary Tudor, Queen of France Louis XII, King of France Francis I, King of France Field of the Cloth of Gold, 1520 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor The Siege of Boulogne, 1544 Pico della Mirandola Thomas Linacre William Grocyn Archbishop William Warham Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester Edward Fox, Bishop of Hereford Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire John Russell, Earl of Bedford Thomas, Lord Audley Richard de la Pole Thomas Seymour, Lord Admiral Edward Seymour, Protector Somerset Lady Jane Grey Cardinal Thomas Wolsey Archbishop Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cromwell Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio Cardinal Reginald Pole Bishop Stephen Gardiner Edmund Bonner, Bishop of London Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester John Aylmer, Bishop of London Pope Julius II Pope Leo X Pope Clement VII Pope Paul III Desiderius Erasmus Martin Bucer Richard Pace Thomas Tallis Elizabeth Barton, the Nun of Kent Robert Aske The Sweating Sickness Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536 Attainder Oath of Supremacy The Act of Supremacy, 1534 The Act of Succession, 1534 The Ten Articles, 1536 The Six Articles, 1539 The Second Statute of Repeal, 1555 The Act of Supremacy, 1559 Articles Touching Preachers, 1583 Contemporary Letter on Anne Boleyn's Execution, 1536 Edward VI's Letter to Dowager Queen Katherine Parr, 1547 Katherine "Kat" Ashley Archbishop Matthew Parker Sir Francis Walsingham Sir Nicholas Bacon William Cecil, Lord Burghley Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury Sir Thomas Egerton, Viscount Brackley Sir Henry Sidney Sir Robert Sidney Sir Francis Knollys Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich Sir Christopher Hatton Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley Mary, Queen of Scots James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell Anthony Babington and the Babington Plot William Davison Philip II of Spain The Spanish Armada, 1588 Sir Francis Drake John Knox William Camden Archbishop Whitgift Martin Marprelate Controversy John Penry (Martin Marprelate) Richard Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury Philip Henslowe Edward Alleyn The Blackfriars Theatre The Fortune Theatre The Rose Theatre The Swan Theatre Children's Companies The Admiral's Men The Lord Chamberlain's Men Citizen Comedy The Isle of Dogs, 1597 Common Law Court of Common Pleas Court of King's Bench Court of Star Chamber Council of the North Anne of Denmark Henry, Prince of Wales King Charles I George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham Queen Henrietta Maria William Alabaster Bishop Hall Bishop Thomas Morton Archbishop William Laud John Selden Lucy Harington, Countess of Bedford Henry Lawes King Charles II King James II Test Acts Greenwich Palace Hatfield House Richmond Palace Windsor Palace Woodstock Manor Fleet Prison Mermaid Tavern Malmsey Wine Great Fire of London, 1666 Merchant Taylors' School Westminster School The Sanctuary at Westminster "Sanctuary" Images: Chart of the English Succession from William I through Henry VII Medieval English Drama Ptolemaic Universe - Andrew Borde's The First Book of the Introduction of Knowledge, 1542. Zodiac and Planets Circling Earth - Sacrobosco, Sphaera Mundi, early 15th-c. Planisphere with Constellations - Aratus, Phaenomena, 1469. London in the time of Henry VII. MS. Roy. 16 F. ii. London, 1510, the earliest view in print Map of England from Saxton's Descriptio Angliae, 1579 Location Map of Elizabethan London Plan of the Bankside, Southwark, in Shakespeare's time Detail of Norden's Map of the Bankside, 1593 Bull and Bear Baiting Rings from the Agas Map (1569-1590, pub. 1631) Sketch of the Swan Theatre, c. 1596 Westminster in the Seventeenth Century, by Hollar Visscher's Panoramic View of London, 1616. COLOR c. 1690. View of London Churches, after the Great Fire The Yard of the Tabard Inn from Thornbury, Old and New London Site copyright ©1996-2007 Anniina Jokinen. All Rights Reserved.   Created by Anniina Jokinen on January 15, 2007. Last updated on April 30, 2007.