Earl of Winchester was a title that was created three times in the Peerage of England

Peerage of England

The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....

 during the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

. The first was Saer de Quincy, who received the earldom in 1207/8 after his wife inherited half of the lands of the Beaumont earls of Leicester. This creation became extinct in 1265 upon the death without male heirs of Saer's son Roger de Quincy. In 1322 Edward II

Edward II of England

Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...

 created the elder Hugh le Despenser

Hugh le Despenser

Le Despenser is a surname, most commonly associated with Norman-English barons of the 13th- and 14th- centuries and their descendants.* Sir Hugh le Despenser I , High Sheriff of Berkshire* Sir Hugh le Despenser II...

 Earl of Winchester. This creation lapsed after Despenser's execution in 1326.

During his exile in 1470–71 Edward IV

Edward IV of England

Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...

 had been the guest of a Flemish nobleman, Louis de Bruges

Lewis de Bruges

Lewis de Bruges, lord of Gruuthuse, prince of Steenhuijs , also called Loys, Louis de/of Gruuthuse or Lodewijk van Gruuthuuse, was a Flemish, courtier, bibliophile, soldier and nobleman...

. After Edward's return to the throne Louis was rewarded with the earldom of Winchester. His son, the second Earl, returned it to the crown in 1500.

In medieval times earldoms closely associated with counties, and the Earls of Winchester were sometimes referred to as Earls of Southampton

Earl of Southampton

Earl of Southampton was a title that was created three times in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1537 in favour of the courtier William Fitzwilliam. He was childless and the title became extinct on his death in 1542. The second creation came in 1547 in favour of the politician...

 (for Winchester is the county seat of Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, which in those days was known as County Southampton or Southamptonshire).

Earls of Winchester, 1st Creation (1207)

• Seyer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester (d. 1219)
• Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester
  Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester
  Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester was a medieval nobleman who was prominent on both sides of the Anglo-Scottish border, as Earl of Winchester and Constable of Scotland....
  
   (d. 1265)

Earls of Winchester, 2nd Creation (1322)

• Hugh le Despencer, 1st Earl of Winchester (d. 1326)

Earls of Winchester, 3rd Creation (1472)

• Lewis de Bruges, 1st Earl of Winchester (1427–1492)
• John de Bruges, 2nd Earl of Winchester (1458–1512), renounced peerage 1500