ancient heraldic motif used by the Earls of Warwick The
medieval earldom created in 1088 was held to be heritable via a female line of descent, and thus was held by members of several different families. It was traditionally associated in its
feudal form with possession of
Warwick Castle. The ancient
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 thought to mean "bear", while Morvidus was to have slain a giant "with a young ash tree torn up by the roots." Alternatively the emblem of a bear (Latin
ursus) is believed to refer to
Urse d'Abetot ( 1040 – 1108), 1st
feudal baron of
Salwarpe in
Worcestershire, a
Norman who followed King
William the Conqueror to England, and served as
Sheriff of Worcestershire. His heir was his son-in-law
Walter de Beauchamp (died 1130/3), whose descendant was
William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick (–1298). The first
Earl of Warwick was
Henry de Beaumont (d.1119), second son of
Roger de Beaumont (d. circa 1094) by his wife Adeline de Meulan (/20–1081), daughter and heiress of Waleran III,
Count of Meulan. Henry's elder brother was
Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, Count of Meulan, who fought at the
Battle of Hastings with
William the Conqueror. The family name of "Beaumont" was
Latinised to
de Bello Monte ("from the beautiful mountain"); the Warwick branch of the family was also known as
de Newburgh,
Latinised to
de Novo Burgo ("from the new borough/town"). Henry changed his name to "de Newburgh", after the
Castle de Neubourg, his home in Normandy, an ancient Beaumont possession. Henry became
Constable of
Warwick Castle in 1068 and Earl of Warwick 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 1242 when
Thomas de Beaumont, 6th Earl of Warwick died without male issue. The earldom then went to his sister,
Margaret de Beaumont, 7th Countess of Warwick and her successive husbands
jure uxoris, and on her death to her cousin
William Mauduit, 8th Earl of Warwick. When he died also without a male heir, the title passed to his sister, Isabel de Mauduit, and her husband Lord
William de Beauchamp (d.1268), and thence to her son
William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick. During this period the Earldom and the Beauchamps were elevated to the highest levels until
Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick, 14th Earl of Warwick, 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 issue, the dukedom was extinguished. The earldom went to his infant daughter, and on her death aged 5 a few years later passed to Henry's sister
Anne de Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick and her husband
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, who "succeeded in right of his wife" but was subsequently "confirmed" in that title on 23 July 1449 which confirmation he thereafter resigned and was definitively created Earl of Warwick by
letters patent dated 2 March 1450, with his wife being similarly created Countess of Warwick. He is known to history as "Warwick the Kingmaker" and died without male issue in 1471, aged 42, when the Earldom fell into abeyance between his two daughters. Although he was so created,
The Complete Peerage nevertheless terms him the 17th Earl of Warwick, which suggests perhaps that the creation was considered a mere formality and confirmation of his inheritance. He was attainted and executed in 1478 whereupon his titles became forfeited. His Earldom was forfeited and thus not able to be inherited by his son Edward Plantagenet, who did however manage to inherit it from his maternal grandmother Anne de Beauchamp (d.1492), wife of "Warwick the Kingmaker", who had been created Countess of Warwick by letters patent in 1450, at the same time her husband was created Earl of Warwick. He thus became
Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, but on his beheading for treason in 1499 the title became forfeited. ==1547 creation==