View source for William de Mohun, 1st Earl of Somerset

{{Short description|English noble (c. 1090 – c. 1155)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
'''William de Mohun of Dunster, Earl of Somerset''' (c. 1090&nbsp;– c. 1155), 2nd [[Feudal barony of Dunster|feudal baron of Dunster]], was a favourite of [[Empress Matilda]] and a loyal supporter of her in the war against [[Stephen, King of England|King Stephen]], during which he earned the epithet of the "Scourge of the West".
==Life==
William was the son of [[William de Moyon|William de Moion]], who was seigneur of [[Moyon]] which is close to [[Saint-Lô]]. The elder William was [[High Sheriff of Somerset]] in 1084.{{sfn|Hunt|1894}}
During the war between Matilda and Stephen, Stephen marched against Mohun's castle at Dunster, but finding it too hard to take, he left Henry de Tracy to keep Mohun under siege.{{sfn|Hunt|1894}}{{sfn|Lyte|1909|pp=5—6}}
Empress Matilda conferred upon him the title [[Earl of Somerset]], in 1141. In the foundation charter of the priory at Bruton{{sfn|Lyte|1909|p=8}}
, he describes himself as "Willielmus de Moyne, comes Somersetensis". {{sfn|Hunt|1894}}
Unlike [[Baldwin de Redvers, 1st Earl of Devon|Baldwin de Redvers]] who was created [[Earl of Devon]] by Matilda at around the same time, William's title was not recognised by Stephen or [[Henry II of England|Henry II]], Matilda's son, and his descendants did not use the title.
==Family==
William de Mohun, Earl of Somerset, married Agnes de Gaunt,{{sfn|Lyte|1909|pp=7—8}} daughter of Walter de Gaunt and Maud of Brittany, daughter of [[Stephen, Count of Tréguier|Stephen, Count of Tréguier, 3rd Lord of Richmond]] (born btw. 1058/62{{snd}}died 21 April 1136), (he is sometimes misidentified as "Stephen, Count of Brittany").<ref>Weis, Frederick Lewis. ''Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700''. Eighth ed. (2004):  p. 137 [Line 143:24] (author states, "AGNES DE GAUNT, m. William de Mohun, adult by 1131, d. in or bef. 1155, Earl of Somerset, held barony of Dunster, Somerset, son of Sir William de Mohun, d. aft. 1190, lord of Dunster, Sheriff of Somerset, 1084, 1086, by his wife Adeliz.").</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Sources==
*{{Cite DNB|wstitle=Mohun, William de (fl.1141)|first=William |last=Hunt|volume=38 }}
*''Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700'' by Frederick Lewis Weis; Line 143-24
*G. E. C., ed. Geoffrey F. White. ''The Complete Peerage''. (London: St. Chaterine Press, 1953) Vol. XII, Part 1, p.&nbsp;36-38.
* {{cite book | last=Lyte | first=Henry Churchill Maxwell | title=A history of Dunster and of the families of Mohun & Luttrell | publisher=St. Catherine Press | year=1909 | oclc=679874960 | url=https://archive.org/details/historyofdunster01lyte }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerset, William de Mohun of Dunster, 1st Earl of}}
[[Category:1090s births]]
[[Category:1150s deaths]]
[[Category:Earls of Somerset]]
[[Category:Peers created by Empress Matilda]]
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