William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy
Sir William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy KG (c. 1478–1534) was an English scholar and patron of learning.
William Blount was born circa 1478 in Barton Blount, Derbyshire, the eldest son of John Blount, 3rd Baron Mountjoy (c.1450-1485) and Lora Berkeley. He married four times; firstly to Elizabeth Saye, secondly to Alice Keble, daughter of Henry Keble, Lord Mayor of London, thirdly to Inez de Venegas, one of the Spanish attendants of Katherine of Aragon, and fourthly to Dorothy Grey, widow of Robert Willoughby, 2nd Baron Willoughby de Broke. His children were his son Charles (1516–1544), a daughter Gertrude, and another daughter Catherine(d.25/2/1559), 1st wife of Sir Maurice Berkeley(d.1581) of Bruton.[1]
He was a pupil of Erasmus, who called him inter nobiles doctissimus. His friends included Colet, More and Grocyn. He held a command in the force sent to suppress Perkin Warbeck's rebellion in 1497. In 1513 he was appointed governor of Tournai, and his letters to Wolsey and Henry VIII describing his vigorous government of the town are preserved in the British Library.
He was present with Henry VIII at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520, and at the meeting with Charles V in 1522. He had been master of the mint since 1509, and chamberlain to Catherine of Aragon since 1512. It fell to him in this office to announce to the queen Henry's intention to divorce her; he also signed the letter to the pope conveying the king's threat to repudiate the papal supremacy unless the divorce were granted. Mountjoy, who was one of the wealthiest English nobles of his time, died on 8 November 1534 and is buried at Barton Blount. His son Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy (1516–1544), was also a patron of learning.
[edit] Sources
"Blount, William". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
[edit] References
| Peerage of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Blount |
Baron Mountjoy 1485-1534 |
Succeeded by Charles Blount |
