Walter Blount

Sir Walter Blount (circa 1348-21 July 1403), was a soldier and supporter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. He later supported John's son and heir Henry Bolingbroke in his bid to become King Henry IV and in later battles against his enemies. At the Battle of Shrewsbury he served as the royal standard-bearer, was mistaken for the king and killed in combat. He appears as a character in Shakespeare's play Henry IV, part 1, in which he epitomizes selfless loyalty and chivalry. Early life Walter Blount was the third son of Sir John Blount of Sodington, by his first wife, Iseult Mountjoy, and was a child at the death of his father in 1358 (his eldest brother Richard, the heir, was aged 13). In 1367 Blount participated in Edward, the Black Prince's expedition to restore Peter of Castile to the throne of Leon and Castile. This expedition was terminated by the Battle of Nájera in 1367, which led to Peter's brief restoration, but also resulted in the fracturing of his English alliance. Blount returned to England.