William de Mohun of Dunster, Earl of Somerset (c. 1090 – c. 1155), 2nd feudal baron of Dunster, was a favourite of

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

and a loyal supporter of her in the war against King Stephen, during which he earned the epithet of the "Scourge of the West".

Life

William was the son of William de Moion, who was seigneur of Moyon which is close to

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.High Sheriff of Somerset in 1084. During the war between Matilda and Stephen, Stephen marched against Mohun's castle at Dunster, but finding it too hard to take, he left Henry de Tracy to keep Mohun under siege. Empress Matilda conferred upon him the title Earl of Somerset, in 1141. In the foundation charter of the priory at Bruton , he describes himself as "Willielmus de Moyne, comes Somersetensis". Unlike Baldwin de Redvers who was created

Earl of Devon Earl of Devon is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. It was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the Redvers family (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.), and later by the Courtenay famil ...

by Matilda at around the same time, William's title was not recognised by Stephen or

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

, Matilda's son, and his descendants did not use the title.

Family

William de Mohun, Earl of Somerset, married Agnes de Gaunt, daughter of Walter de Gaunt and Maud of Brittany, daughter of Stephen, Count of Tréguier, 3rd Lord of Richmond (born btw. 1058/62died 21 April 1136), (he is sometimes misidentified as "Stephen, Count of Brittany").Weis, Frederick Lewis. ''Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700''. Eighth ed. (2004): p. 137 ine 143:24(author states, "AGNES DE GAUNT, m. William de Mohun, adult by 1131, d. in or bef. 1155, Earl of Somerset, held barony of Dunster, Somerset, son of Sir William de Mohun, d. aft. 1190, lord of Dunster, Sheriff of Somerset, 1084, 1086, by his wife Adeliz.").

References

Sources

* *''Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700'' by Frederick Lewis Weis; Line 143-24 *G. E. C., ed. Geoffrey F. White. ''The Complete Peerage''. (London: St. Chaterine Press, 1953) Vol. XII, Part 1, p. 36-38. * 1090s births 1150s deaths Earls of Somerset Peers created by Empress Matilda {{England-earl-stub