Barton Blount, court and learning
William Blount was born at Barton Blount, Derbyshire, and was the eldest son of John Blount, 3rd Baron Mountjoy, and Lora Berkeley. Erasmus praised him as among the most learned of the nobility.
His circle included humanist figures such as John Colet, Thomas More, William Grocyn and Erasmus. At court, he served as Master of the Mint, was associated with Henry VIII’s education, and became chamberlain to Queen Katherine of Aragon.
Mountjoy was Governor of Tournai from 1513 to 1519, was present at the Field of Cloth of Gold, and later became involved in the politics of Henry VIII’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon.