Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy facts for kids
Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy (born 28 June 1516, died 10 October 1544) was an important English nobleman. He worked for the king and supported education and scholars.
Early Life and Education
Charles Blount was born on June 28, 1516, in Tournai. At that time, his father, William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy, was the governor there. Charles's mother was Alice, whose father, Henry Keble, had been the Lord Mayor of London.
Charles received an excellent education at home. In 1522, a scholar named Jan van der Cruyce came from Leuven to teach Charles and his siblings. He was a friend of the famous scholar Erasmus. Van der Cruyce taught them until 1527.
Later, another teacher from Leuven, Petrus Vulcanius, took over. Erasmus, who was a very respected thinker, once praised Charles's writing. However, he later realized that Charles's good writing was mostly thanks to his talented teacher, Vulcanius.
Charles also studied with John Palsgrave, who taught French. Palsgrave also taught other noble children, including Henry FitzRoy, King Henry VIII's son. Charles's schoolmate, Lord Thomas Howard, also studied with them. Another scholar, John Leland, praised Charles's skill in Latin.
Supporting Learning
Charles Blount was very interested in learning, just like his father. In 1523, a scholar named Juan Luis Vives wrote a special book about how boys should study, dedicating it to Charles. This book was similar to one Vives wrote for Mary Tudor about girls' education.
Erasmus also showed his respect for Charles. He added Charles's name to the dedication of his famous book, Adagia, in 1528. Charles was also the main person Erasmus dedicated his 1531 edition of the Roman historian Livy to.
Family and Public Life
Around August 1530, Charles Blount married Anne, who was his stepsister. Her mother, Dorothy, had married Charles's father as his fourth wife.
When his father died in 1534, Charles became the 5th Baron Mountjoy. He regularly attended meetings in the House of Lords, which is part of the English Parliament. He lived in the countryside at Apethorpe, Northamptonshire, and had a house in London.
Charles continued his family's tradition of supporting scholars. After a monastery called Syon Abbey was closed down in 1539, Mountjoy offered a home to a learned priest named Richard Whitford. Whitford stayed with Charles's family until he died in 1542. He might have also taught Charles's children.
Charles tried to hire Roger Ascham, a well-known scholar from Cambridge, to teach his eldest son and be his secretary. Although Ascham did not take the job, he greatly admired Mountjoy. Ascham said that Charles's home was like the famous Medici family's home in Italy because of how much it supported learning.
King Henry VIII also gave Mountjoy land in Derbyshire after the monasteries were closed.
Final Years
Charles Blount wrote his will on April 30, 1544, before going to France with the English army. In his will, he told his children to be "worthy of so much honour as to be called hereafter to die for their master and country." He also wrote his own poem to be put on his tombstone.
Charles was with King Henry VIII during the First Siege of Boulogne in France. He died on October 10, 1544, likely from an illness he caught during the military campaign. He was buried in St Mary Aldermary church in London. His wife, Anne, later remarried and lived until 1582.
