Edward Courtenay 1st Earl Devon 1527-1556

After June 1515 [his father] Henry Courtenay 1st Marquess Exeter [aged 19] and Elizabeth Grey Countess Devon [aged 10] were married. She by marriage Countess Devon. He the son of [his grandfather] William Courtenay 1st Earl Devon and [his grandmother] Catherine York Countess Devon [aged 35]. They were fifth cousin once removed. He a grandson of King Edward IV of England.

On 25th October 1519 [his father] Henry Courtenay 1st Marquess Exeter [aged 23] and [his mother] Gertrude Blount Marchioness of Exeter [aged 16] were married. She by marriage Countess Devon. He the son of [his grandfather] William Courtenay 1st Earl Devon and [his grandmother] Catherine York Countess Devon [aged 40].

Around 1527 Edward Courtenay 1st Earl Devon was born to Henry Courtenay 1st Marquess Exeter [aged 31] and Gertrude Blount Marchioness of Exeter [aged 24]. He a great grandson of King Edward IV of England.

Wriothesley's Chronicle [1508-1562]. 25th May 1544. Frydaye 25 Maii Sir Edward Courtney, Earle of Devonshire [aged 17], was had out of the Tower [Map] at 3 of the clock in the morninge, Mr. Chamberlayne of Suffolke and Sir Tho. Tresham, knights, ridinge with him, with certeyne of the Queens garde and others, to Fodringay Castle [Map] in Northamptonshire, and he there to remayne under theyr custodie at the Queens pleasure.

This moneth allso divers persons both men and weomen were sett on the pillorie in Cheape for slaunderouse and seditiouse wordes speakinge against the Queene [aged 28] and her Councell and had their eares nayled to the pillorie [Map].

Henry Machyn's Diary. 3rd August 1553. The iij day of August, at Rychemond [Map], was my lord Cortnay [aged 26] created the yerle of Denshyre of owre nobulle qwene Mare [aged 37].

Henry Machyn's Diary. 5th August 1553. [The Queen [aged 37] released from prison the lord Courtenay [aged 26], soon after created earl] of Denshyre, and odur moo.

Wriothesley's Chronicle [1508-1562]. The Duke of Norfolke [aged 80] and my Lord Courtney [aged 26] were deliuered out of the Tower this 10th of August[ 1553].

Henry Machyn's Diary. 13th August 1553. The xiij day (of) August dyd pryche at Powlles crosse doctur [Bourn] parsun of hehnger, in Essex, the qwen('s) chaplen, and ther [was a] gret up-rore and showtyng at ys sermon, as yt [were] lyke madpepull, watt yonge pepell and woman [as] ever was hard, as herle-borle, and castyng up of capes; [if] my lord mer and my lord Cortenay [aged 26] ad not ben ther, ther had bene grett myscheyff done.

Note. Riot at the Paul's Cross sermon. This incident is noticed in the public chronicles. Bourne, the preacher, offended the audience by speaking vehemently in the defence of bishop Bonner, and extremely against bishop Ridley. One of the populace threw a dagger at Bourne, which struck one of the sideposts of the pulpit. Maister Bradford, the celebrated Reformer, came forward to persuade the people to quietness, and by the help of that worthy man and of maister Rogers, (both of whom were afterwards sacrificed in cold blood by their religious adversaries,) Bourne was conveyed safely away into Paul's School. Grafton's Abridgement, 1566, and Stowe's Summarie of the same date.

The privy council, which was sitting at the Tower, took immediate alarm at this difturbance. The "order taken" on the same day, in concert with the lord mayor, will be found in their Register. (transcript in MS. Harl. 643, f. 1.) On the 16th Homfrey Palden was "committed to the counter for seditious wordes uttered by him againste the preacher Mr. Burne for his sermon at Paule's crosse on Sunday last;" and the same day the celebrated Bradford and Veron, "two seditious preachers," were committed to the Tower, as was "Theodore Basill, alias Thomas Beacon, another seditious preacher." Ibid. pp. 2b, 3.

On 3rd September 1553 Edward Courtenay 1st Earl Devon [aged 26] was created 1st Earl Devon. The Earldom was created with a special remainder i.e. to his heirs male forever, rather than to the heirs male of his body, so that on his death in 1556 he was succeeded by his fourth cousin William Courtenay 2nd Earl Devon [aged 24] who was not a descendant of his. The position was not made clear, however, until 1831, when the 9th Earl, William "Kitty" Courtenay 9th Earl Devon claimed the Earldom and became the de facto Earl of Devon.

On 29th September 1553 Edward Courtenay 1st Earl Devon [aged 26] was appointed Knight of the Bath.

Henry Machyn's Diary. 5th October 1553. The v day of October the Qwuen('s) [aged 37] grace rod unto Westmynster chyrche, and ther her grace hard masse of the Holy-gost, and ther wher ij bysshopes; on delevered her the shepter and odur thyng. Her grace rod in her parlement robes, and all the trumpeters blohyng a-for them all; and so, after her grace had hard masse, they whent to the Parlement howsse all to-geyther, and the yerle of Devonshyre [aged 26] bare the sworde, and the yerle of Westmorland [aged 28] bare the cape of mayntenans.

Henry Machyn's Diary. 5th November 1553. The v day of November dyd pryche master Feknam [aged 38] at sant Mare Overays [Map] a-for non, and ther wher at ys sermon the yerle of Devonshyre [aged 26], ser Antony Browne [aged 24], and juge Morgayn, and dyvers odur nobull men.

Henry Machyn's Diary. 2nd January 1554. [The ij day of January the king of Spain's ambassadors landed at Tower wharf. During whose landing there was great shooting of the guns. The lord] Wylliam Haward dyd saff-gard them; and so rod to-gether, and in Fanchyrche stret my lord of Devonshire [aged 27] and dyvers odur mett them, and rod with them unto Durram Plasse, and ther they dyd a-lyght.

Note. Ibid. P. 50. The king of Spain's ambassadors. These were ambassadors from the emperor Charles [aged 53], father of Philip [aged 26], to conclude a treaty for the queen's [aged 37] marriage namely, the count d'Egmont, Charles count de Laing, Jehan de Montmorancy sieur de Corriers, Philip Negri, and Simon Renard: see Strype, Mem. iii. 58, and the marriage treaty in Rymer, vol. xv. p. 393. An extract from their Instructions may be seen in Burgon's Life of Gresham, i. 145.

In May 1554 Edward Courtenay 1st Earl Devon [aged 27] was imprisoned at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire [Map].

Henry Machyn's Diary. 25th May 1554. The xxv day of May, wyche was the sam day, whent owt of the Towre [Map] northwarde the yerle of Devonshyre [aged 27], and cared into Northhamtunshyre to a castyll called Fotheringay [Map] with serten of the gard, and dyvers knyghtes, by iij and iiij of the cloke in the mornyng.

Around 1555. Attributed Steven van der Meulen of the English School. Portrait of Edward Courtenay 1st Earl Devon [aged 28].

In November 1555 Edward Courtenay 1st Earl Devon [aged 28] wrote a letter from Brussels [Map] pleading for permission to return to England to pay his respects to Queen Mary and to his mother.

On 18th September 1556 Edward Courtenay 1st Earl Devon [aged 29] died. His succeeded fourth cousin William [aged 27] de jure 2nd Earl Devon. Elizabeth Paulett Countess Devon by marriage Countess Devon. John Trelawny of Poole in Cornwall [aged 52] was one of his co-heirs.