Background

Blount was probably the son, by his first wife, of Sir John Blount, who was summoned to parliament in 1327 as Lord Blount of Belton. His father has been identified with the Sir John Blount who was custos or mayor of London from 1301 to 1307, engaged in the Scotch war of 1304, and was afterwards constable of the Tower; but the dates seem to make the identification doubtful (Srow's London, ed. Strype, v. 109; Liber Albus, ed. Riley, 5, 15, &c.).

He married in 1387 the widow of the former treasurer of the Exchequer, Sir Hugh Segrave. A second marriage gained him land in Wiltshire and Hampshire and allowed him to represent Wiltshire in Parliament in 1397 with Sir Henry Greene

Henry Green (politician)

Sir Henry Green was a courtier and councillor of Richard II.He was born in Greene's Norton, Northamptonshire to Sir Henry Green, a lawyer and Chief Justice...

.

Life at Court

At Richard II's coronation Sir Thomas was deputy for John Hastings, earl of Pembroke, in the office of king's ‘naperer,’ or keeper of his linen, and he was in close attendance on Richard II throughout his reign. At its close he declined to recognise the claim of Henry IV to supersede Richard. After Henry's coronation (6 Oct. 1399) he joined John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon

John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter

John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter KG , also 1st Earl of Huntingdon, was an English nobleman, primarily remembered for helping cause the downfall of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester and then for conspiring against Henry IV.He was the third son of Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent and Joan...

, Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent

Thomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey

Thomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey, 3rd Earl of Kent, 4th Baron Holland, KG, Earl Marshal was an English nobleman.-Early life and family:...

, the Earl of Salisbury, the Earl of Rutland

Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York

Sir Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York, 2nd Earl of Cambridge, Earl of Rutland, Earl of Cork, Duke of Aumale KG was a member of the English royal family who died at the Battle of Agincourt....

, the Abbot of Westminster, and others in an insurrection, now known as the Epiphany Rising

Epiphany Rising

The Epiphany Rising was a failed rebellion against Henry IV of England in January 1400.-Background:After the murder of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester in 1397, Richard II rewarded those who had supported him against Gloucester and the Lords Appellant with a plethora of new titles.Upon...

. Sir Thomas, who is described by contemporary chroniclers as a noble and wise knight, met the leading conspirators at dinner with the Abbot of Westminster 18 Dec. 1399, and there they agreed to surprise Henry at a tournament at Windsor.

But Henry discovered the plot through the treachery of the Earl of Rutland, and, summoning an army in London, advanced against the rebels, who had assembled in some hundreds near Windsor. The latter retreated before Henry, and managed to reach Cirencester, where many of them were captured (6 Jan. 1400), but Blount, with a few friends, fled to Oxford, and was taken and executed on Jan 12 in the Green Ditch near the city (Wood, Annals of Oxford, ed. Gutch, i. 537). Eleven persons, described as Blount's servants, were condemned to outlawry at Oxford at the same time, and afterwards (19 Feb. 1400) pardoned. Most of the other leading plotters were executed.

Execution

The revolting cruelty of Blount's death has been described at great length by many contemporary chroniclers. He was first hanged, then cut down and eviscerated, although still alive and replying to the taunts of Sir Thomas Erpingham, the king's chamberlain, who directed the horrible procedure; he was finally beheaded and quartered, and his head was sent to London. His large estates were forfeited to the crown, but some were bestowed on Sir Walter Blount (d. 1403) [q. v.], a distant relative, and his wife Sancha. With Sir Thomas Blount the Belton line of the Blount family became extinct.

One contemporaneous account read: Sir Thomas Blount was hanged; but the halter was soon cut, and he was made to sit on a bench before a great fire, and the executioner came with a razor in his hand, and knelt before Sir Thomas, whose hands were tied, begging him to pardon him his death, as he must do his office. Sir Thomas asked, "Are you the person appointed to deliver me from this world ? The executioner answered, " Yes, Sir, I pray you pardon me." And Sir Thomas kissed him, and pardoned him his death. The executioner then knelt down, and opened his belly, and cut out his bowels, and threw them into the fire. While Sir Thomas was dying, one Erpyngham, the king's chamberlain, insulting Blount, said to him, in derision, " Go, seek a master that can cure you." Blount only answered, " Te Deum laudamus ! Blessed be the day on which I was born, and blessed be this day, for I shall die in the service of my sovereign lord, the noble King Richard". His head was soon after cut off and he was quartered.

Aftermath

Sir Thomas's cousin Nicholas, who aided him in the insurrection, escaped to Italy, and was outlawed. He entered the service of Galeazzo Visconti, duke of Milan, and fought with the Milanese against Rupert, emperor of Germany, from 1401 to 1404. He returned to England in 1404, and lived in concealment till Henry IV's death in 1413. On his return to this country he assumed the name of Croke. He married Agnes, daughter of John Heynes, by whom he became the ancestor of Sir John Croke [q. v.] and of Sir George Croke.