Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux was the eldest son of Sir Richard Devereux, who was created a Knight of the Bath on 20 February 1547 and died that same year, in the lifetime of his father, The 1st Viscount Hereford. Walter Devereux's mother was Lady Dorothy Hastings, daughter of The 1st Earl of Huntingdon and Anne Stafford, said to have been a mistress of Henry VIII. Through his paternal ancestry he was related to the Bourchier family, to which previous Earls of Essex had belonged: John Devereux, son of Walter Devereux who died at the Battle of Bosworth, married Cecily Bourchier, sister of Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex.
Walter Devereux (died c. 1383)
On 26 May 1380 Walter Devereux and his liege, Thomas of Woodstock, were appointed Justice of the Peace for Herefordshire. On 22 June 1380 he was granted protection and appointed an attorney for 1 year while overseas in France serving in the company of Thomas of Woodstock, Earl of Buckingham. In July Woodstock led an army across the channel to Calais to bring support to John IV, Duke of Brittany in his resistance to Charles V of France. The army marched east of Paris where it confronted Philip the Bold at Troyes, but the French refused battle and the two armies marched away. On 16 Sep 1380 Charles V died, and the French defense was thrown into disarray. Thomas of Woodstock led a chevauchée westward, and in November laid siege to Nantes. In January 1381 the Duke of Brittany reconciled with the new French King, Charles VI, and Woodstock was forced to abandon the siege due to dysentery and the collapse of his alliance.