blunt

Sir Walter Blount (or Blunt, as Shakespeare calls him) was born circa 1350, a member of the Blount family of Sodington, Worcester.  He married Sancha de Ayala, a Castilian noblewoman, and they had five sons and three daughters together.  Two of their sons, John and James, figure as characters in Shakespeare's HENRY IV Part Two and RICHARD III, respectively.

Blount was noted for being extremely loyal to whoever happened to be on the throne.  Under Edward III, he fought with the King's son, the Black Prince, during his 1367 invasion of Spain.  He later served the Black Prince's son, King Richard II, and was a loyal subject of Henry IV when he came to power as well.  He does not seem to have had any direct involvement with the numerous rebellions during this time period, though it is easy to see why he might have been in favor of Henry becoming king:  Blount was a very close friend of Henry's father, John of Gaunt, and served as the executor of his will (a position made fairly useless considering Richard's unlawful seizure of Gaunt's possessions).

Blount died fighting in the Battle of Shrewsbury.  He was serving as a standard-bearer (someone who wore the king's arms to act as a decoy), and was therefore probably slain by someone who mistook him for King Henry.  All things considered, this was an honorable death for an honorable man.

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