Edward de Courtenay, 3rd Earl of Devon

Edward Courtenay, 3rd/11th Earl of Devon
Ruins of Tiverton Castle, seat of the Earls of Devon
Spouse(s)	Maud Camoys
Issue Sir Edward Courtenay Hugh Courtenay, 12th Earl of Devon
Noble family	Courtenay
Father	Sir Edward Courtenay
Mother	Emeline Dawney
Born	c.1357
Died	5 December 1419 buried at Forde Abbey

Edward 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, and thus alternative ordinal numbers exist, given here.

Edward Courtenay, born about 1357, was the elder of two sons of Sir Edward de Courtenay (d. between 2 February 1368 and 1 April 1371) and Emeline or Emme Dawnay (c.1329 – 28 February 1371), daughter and heiress of Sir John Dawney (d.1346/7) by Sybil Treverbyn. He succeeded to the earldom at the age of 20 at the death of his grandfather, Hugh Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon, on 2 May 1377.

Courtenay had a younger brother, Sir Hugh Courtenay of Haccombe and Bampton (after 1358 – 5 or 6 March 1425), who married successively Elizabeth Fitzpayn, Elizabeth Cogan, Philippa Arcedekne, and Maud Beaumont.

Sir John Dawney (d.1346/7) is said to have held 'fifteen large manors in Cornwall' which came to the Courtenay family through Edward Courtenay's marriage to Emeline Dawney. In 1378 Courtenay proved his age, and had livery of the lands of his mother and his grandfather, the 10th Earl.

Like his ancestors, Courtenay was a soldier. He served in the Scottish wars and after some success was knighted in 1380 by the Earl of Buckingham. The following year King Richard II sent Courtenay as an emissary to escort his Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia from Gravelines harbour to London for her marriage. In 1383 he was appointed Admiral of the West, responsible for policing the seas off the coasts of Devon and Cornwall; his brother Sir Hugh Courtenay was a famed pirate. The Council believed that the Earl should protect the River Exe as French pirates had attempted several incursions into the Devonshire interior. Edward however was more of a soldier and relinquished his naval post. He was appointed to the King's Council which in 1395 attended Richard II in Westminster Hall. By 1400, the Earl was blind. He had probably contracted a disease such as leprosy or erysipelas which attacked the retina in his eyes.