William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy
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William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy (8 November 1534), KG, of Barton Blount,
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
, was an extremely influential English courtier, a respected humanistic scholar and patron of learning. He was one of the most influential and perhaps the wealthiest English noble courtier of his time. Mountjoy was known internationally as a humanist writer and scholar and patron of the arts.


Origins

William Blount was born circa 1478 in Barton Blount, Derbyshire, the eldest son of John Blount, 3rd Baron Mountjoy (c. 14501485) by his wife Lora Berkeley (died 1501), daughter of Edward Berkeley (died 1506) of
Beverston Castle Beverston Castle, also known as Beverstone Castle or Tetbury Castle, was constructed as a medieval stone fortress in the village of Beverston, Gloucestershire, England. The property is a mix of manor house, various small buildings, extensive gar ...
,
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
. After her husband's death in 1485, Lora Berkeley remarried first Sir Thomas Montgomery (died 1495), and secondly Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond (died 1515), grandfather of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, father of Queen
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...
, second wife of King Henry VIII.


Biography

Blount was a pupil of
Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...
, who called him ''inter nobiles doctissimus'' ("The most learned amongst the nobles"). His friends included John Colet,
Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...
and
William Grocyn William Grocyn ( 14461519) was a humanist English scholar and friend of Erasmus. Grocyn was a prominent educator born in Colerne, Wiltshire. Intended for the church, he attended Winchester College and later New College, Oxford. He held various po ...
. In 1497 he commanded part of a force sent to fight and suppress the rebellion of
Perkin Warbeck Perkin Warbeck ( – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called "Princes in the Tower". Richard, were he alive, would ...
. Mountjoy was appointed and served as
King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...
's boyhood tutor. In 1509 he was appointed
Master of the Mint Master of the Mint is a title within the Royal Mint given to the most senior person responsible for its operation. It was an office in the governments of Scotland and England, and later Great Britain and then the United Kingdom, between the 16th ...
. In 1513 he was appointed Governor of
Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...
(1513–1519), and his letters to
Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling f ...
and King
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
describing his vigorous government of the town are preserved in the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
. In 1520 he was present with Henry VIII at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and in 1522 at the king's meeting with
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...
. Having served since 1512 as Chamberlain to Queen
Katherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until its annulment on 23 May ...
, it fell to him in that office to announce to her the intention of Henry VIII to
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...
her. He also signed the letter to the Pope conveying the King's threat to repudiate papal supremacy unless the divorce was granted. Mountjoy was one of the most influential and perhaps the wealthiest English noble courtier of his time. Sir William Blount, 4th Lord Mountjoy died on 8 November 1534 at Sutton-on-the-Hill, Derbyshire, England. Mountjoy was never disgraced, nor out of royal favour. His son
Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy (28 June 151610 October 1544), was an English courtier and patron of learning. Life Charles Blount was born on 28 June 1516 in Tournai, where his father, William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy, was governor. His m ...
(1516–1544), was also a patron of learning.


Family

Mountjoy married four times: *Firstly, about Easter 1497, Elizabeth Saye (died before 1506), daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Saye of Essenden,
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
, by whom he had a daughter: ** Gertrude Blount, later a
lady in waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but ...
to Queen
Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...
(1553–1558), who on 25 October 1519 married
Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter, 2nd Earl of Devon (c. 1498 – 9 December 1538), feudal baron of Okehampton, feudal baron of Plympton, of Tiverton Castle, Okehampton Castle and Colcombe Castle all in Devon, was a grandson of ...
(1538), KG, PC, the eldest son of William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon by his wife Katherine of York, daughter of King
Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
. *Secondly, before the end of July 1509, Mountjoy married Inés de Venegas, one of the Spanish attendants or
chamberer A chamberer was a female attendant of an English queen regnant, queen consort, or princess. There were similar positions in aristocratic households. Chamberers at court At court, the position was similar to a male groom of the privy chamber. The n ...
s of Katherine of Aragon while she was Princess of Wales. *Thirdly, before February 1515, Mountjoy married Alice Keble (died 8 June 1521), daughter of Henry Keble, Lord Mayor of London in 1510 and widow of Sir William Browne (died 1514),
Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...
in 1513. She died in 1521 and was buried at the
Greyfriars, London In London, the Greyfriars was a Conventual Franciscan friary that existed from 1225 to 1538 on a site at the North-West of the City of London by Newgate in the parish of St Nicholas Shambles, St Nicholas in the Shambles. It was the second Fran ...
. By Alice, he had children as follows: **
Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy (28 June 151610 October 1544), was an English courtier and patron of learning. Life Charles Blount was born on 28 June 1516 in Tournai, where his father, William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy, was governor. His m ...
(28 June 151610 October 1544), eldest son and heir, like his father also a successful English courtier and patron of learning. **Katherine Blount (c. 1518 25 February 1559), who married firstly Sir John Champernowne of
Modbury Modbury is a large village, ecclesiastical parish, civil parish and former manor in the South Hams district of the county of Devon in England. Today due to its large size it is generally referred to as a "town" although the parish council has ...
,
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
, and secondly Sir Maurice Berkeley (died 1581) of
Bruton Bruton ( ) is a small market town, and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the River Brue and the A359 between Frome and Yeovil. It is south-east of Shepton Mallet, just south of Snakelake Hill and Coombe Hill, north-west of Gillingham ...
,
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
. *Fourthly, before 29 July 1523, Mountjoy married Dorothy Grey (daughter of
Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, 7th Baron Ferrers of Groby, (145520 September 1501) was an English nobleman, courtier and the eldest son of Elizabeth Woodville and her first husband Sir John Grey of Groby. Her seco ...
by his wife, Cecily Bonville) and widow of Robert Willoughby, 2nd Baron Willoughby de Broke. Dorothy Grey was the sister of
Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset (22 June 1477 – 10 October 1530) was an English peer, courtier, soldier and landowner of the House of Grey. Early life Grey was the third son and heir of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (1455–1501) ...
(1477–1530), grandfather of
Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...
(1536/1537–1554). Dorothy, Lady Mountjoy, left a will proved 17 November 1553 (P.C.C. 20 Tasche). By Dorothy, Blount had the following children, all first-cousins-once-removedThey are cousins to her father, so are one generation removed from Jane Grey. to Lady Jane Grey: **John Blount **Mary Blount, who married (as his first wife) Sir Robert Dennis, Knight (died 1592), of Holcombe Burnell in Devon. **Dorothy Blount, who married John Blewett, Esq. (died 1585) of Holcombe Rogus in Devon.


Notes


References

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External links


Berkeley family tree
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mountjoy, William Blount, 4th Baron 1470s births 1534 deaths 15th-century English people 16th-century English nobility
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
Knights of the Garter Masters of the Mint Barons Mountjoy (1465) Household of Catherine of Aragon 16th-century English knights