Edward de Courtenay, 3rd/11th Earl of Devon

Edward de Courtenay, 3rd/11th Earl of Devon
Arms of early Courtenay Earls of Devon: Or, three torteaux a label azure
Bornc.1357
Died5 December 1419
buried at Forde Abbey
Noble familyCourtenay
Spouse(s)Maud Camoys
IssueSir Edward Courtenay
Hugh Courtenay, 12th Earl of Devon
FatherSir Edward de Courtenay
MotherEmeline Dawney
Ruins of Tiverton Castle, seat of the Earls of Devon

Edward de Courtenay, 3rd/11th Earl of Devon (c.1357 – 5 December 1419), known by the epithet the "Blind Earl", was the son of Sir Edward de Courtenay and Emeline Dawnay, and in 1377 succeeded his grandfather, Hugh Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon, as Earl of Devon. The ordinal number given to the early Courtenay Earls of Devon depends on whether the earldom is deemed a new creation by the letters patent granted 22 February 1334/5 or whether it is deemed a restitution of the old dignity of the de Redvers family. Authorities differ in their opinions,[1] and thus alternative ordinal numbers exist, given here.

  1. ^ Watson, in Cokayne, The Complete Peerage, new edition, IV, p.324 & footnote (c): "This would appear more like a restitution of the old dignity than the creation of a new earldom"; Debrett's Peerage however gives the ordinal numbers as if a new earldom had been created. (Montague-Smith, P.W. (ed.), Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, Kelly's Directories Ltd, Kingston-upon-Thames, 1968, p.353)