Sir Christopher Blount (1555/1556Hammer 2008 – 18 March 1601) was an English soldier,

secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

, and rebel. He served as a leading household officer of

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was ov ...

. A

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Blount corresponded with

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

agent, Thomas Morgan, probably as a double agent. After the Earl of Leicester's death he married the

Dowager Countess A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property—a "dower"—derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles. In popular usage, the noun ...

Lettice Knollys Lettice Knollys ( , sometimes latinized as Laetitia, alias Lettice Devereux or Lettice Dudley), Countess of Essex and Countess of Leicester (8 November 1543Adams 2008a – 25 December 1634), was an English noblewoman and mother to the courtier ...

, mother of

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a ...

. Blount became a comrade-in-arms and confidant of the Earl of Essex and was a leading participant in the latter's rebellion in February 1601. About five weeks later he was beheaded on

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

Career

Christopher Blount was born in

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it ha ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, the younger son of Thomas Blount, a relative of

on the Earl's mother's side, and one of his chief household officers until his death in 1588. Blount's mother was Margery Poley, daughter of Edmund Poley of Badley. The Poley family of Badley were ardent

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in contrast to the Blount family who had adopted the reformed religion. As a child Christopher Blount was sent to

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

to be privately tutored by

William Allen William Allen may refer to: Politicians United States *William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio *William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio *William ...

.Haynes 1992 p. 55 Despite being a Catholic, he was

Gentleman of the Horse Gentleman of the Horse was a position in the stables department of the British Royal Court, subordinate only to the Master of the Horse. It existed from 1693 until abolished in 1782, and carried a salary of £256. The post was revived in 1828, wi ...

to the Earl of Leicester by 1584. He corresponded with Thomas Morgan in

, the exiled agent of

. Apparently Blount offered to "do ernotable service". In his dealings with Morgan, Blount probably had the backing of Leicester and

Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wals ...

, Queen Elizabeth's spymaster. Leicester trusted Blount, calling him "Mr. Kytt" and caring for his well-being. Blount served in the Netherlands Campaign from 1585 till 1587, when Leicester was

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

there. In the spring of 1589, about seven months after the Earl's death, Blount married the Earl's widow,

, whom Queen Elizabeth reportedly hated for having married the Earl of Leicester. Accordingly,

, Lettice's son and the new

favourite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated si ...

of the Queen, termed this an "unhappy choice". Lettice seems to have been very happy with her choice, as is shown by her later correspondence. Lady Leicester (she continued to be styled thus) and Sir Christopher were busy repaying the Earl of Leicester's colossal debts and were engaged in numerous lawsuits because of this. Blount was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, where he lived, in the Parliaments of 1593 and 1597; he was elected at the insistence of the Earl of Essex, who was influential in the county. In 1596, Blount was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

expedition, and in 1597 in that to the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. One of the main followers of the Earl of Essex, he became much involved in the latter's rebellion in 1601. On Sunday, 8 February, he tried to raise

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, riding side by side with his stepson, the Earl, and was badly wounded in the cheek.Lacey 1971 p. 293 Following his arrest, he was carried on a litter to his trial, still weak from his injury. He was beheaded about four weeks after Essex on

for

Notes

References

*Adams, Simon (1995): ''Household Accounts and Disbursement Books of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester'' Cambridge *Adams, Simon (2002): ''Leicester and the Court: Essays in Elizabethan Politics'' Manchester UP *Hammer, P.E.J. (1999): ''The Polarisation of Elizabethan Politics: The Political Career of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex 1585–1597'' Cambridge UP *Hammer, P.E.J. (2008)
"Blount, Sir Christopher (1555/6–1601)"
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', online edn. Jan 2008 (subscritption required) Retrieved 2010-04-04 *Haynes, Alan (1992): ''Invisible Power: The Elizabethan Secret Services 1570–1603'' Alan Sutton * Jenkins, Elizabeth (2002): ''Elizabeth and Leicester'' The Phoenix Press * Lacey, Robert (1971): ''Robert, Earl of Essex: An Elizabethan Icarus'' Weidenfeld & Nicolson {{DEFAULTSORT:Blount, Christopher 16th-century English soldiers

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

English knights 1550s births 1601 deaths Year of birth uncertain People of the Elizabethan era English rebels English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 Executions at the Tower of London People executed under the Tudors for treason against England People executed by Tudor England by decapitation People executed under Elizabeth I Burials at the Church of St Peter ad Vincula People from Kidderminster Executed people from Worcestershire English politicians convicted of crimes