Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun
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Politics of England
The Politics of England forms the major part of the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with England being more populus than all the other countries of the United Kingdom put together. As England is also the largest in terms of area and GDP, its relationship to the UK is somewhat different from...
best known for his frequent participation in duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
s and his reputation as a rake
Rake (character)
A rake, short for rakehell, is a historic term applied to a man who is habituated to immoral conduct, frequently a heartless womanizer. Often a rake was a man who wasted his fortune on gambling, wine, women and song, incurring lavish debts in the process...
.
Mohun was the second child of Charles, 3rd Baron Mohun and his wife Philippa, daughter of Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey
Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey
Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey PC was an Anglo-Irish royalist statesman. After short periods as President of the Council of State and Treasurer of the Navy, he served as Lord Privy Seal between 1673 and 1682 for Charles II...
. His father died shortly after his birth, following a duel, and left him the family estate. The estate, however, was heavily in debt. Due to this Mohun received no education, and was forced to resort to gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
in order to support his lavish lifestyle.
Mohun married Charlotte Orby, granddaughter of Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield
Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield
Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield PC was an English aristocrat, soldier and courtier.-Life:The eldest son of Sir Charles Gerard, he was a member of an old Lancashire family, his great-grandfather having been Sir Gilbert Gerard of Ince, in that county, one of the most distinguished judges...
, in 1691 with the hope that this match would alleviate some of his debt. Unfortunately he received no dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
for the marriage, and the couple separated shortly thereafter. Following the separation, Mohun's behaviour became ever more licentious. A gambling dispute in late 1692 resulted in his first duel, with John Kennedy, 7th Earl of Cassilis
John Kennedy, 7th Earl of Cassilis
John Kennedy, 7th Earl of Cassilis, PC was a Scottish peer, the son of John Kennedy, 6th Earl of Cassilis.He succeeded to the titles of 9th Lord Kennedy and 7th Earl of Cassillis on 22 September 1668. He held the office of Lord of the Treasury between 1689 and 1695...
. But Mohun is best remembered for the events of 9 December of that year—a friend of Mohun's, an officer named Richard Hill, had fallen in love with the actress Anne Bracegirdle
Anne Bracegirdle
Anne Bracegirdle was an English actress.Little is known of Bracegirdle's early life. Her precise date of birth is a source of great dispute due to conflicting records of her life. She was baptised in Northampton on 15 November 1671, although her tombstone says that she died at the age of 85...
; however he thought himself, almost certainly erroneously, to face competition from actor William Mountfort
William Mountfort
William Mountfort , English actor and dramatic writer, was the son of a Staffordshire gentleman.His first stage appearance was with the Dorset Garden company about 1678, and by 1682 he was taking important parts, usually those of the fine gentleman. Mountfort wrote a number of plays, wholly or in...
. Mohun and Hill ambushed the actor after a performance and, whilst Mohun restrained him—or by some eyewitness accounts stood by watching—Hill stabbed him through the chest. Following Mountfort's death the next day, Hill fled the country, Mohun was captured and tried by the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. However, in a verdict that was widely condemned, Mohun was acquitted on 6 February 1693.
Mohun joined the army shortly after his acquittal. There he served under Charles Gerard, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield
Charles Gerard, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield
Charles Gerard, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield was born in France and was naturalized in England by Act of Parliament in 1677.-Biography:...
, the uncle of his former wife, and briefly served in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 1697 Mohun was again tried by the Lords for murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
following a duel on Leicester Square
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
. Mohun was again acquitted, although his friend Edward Rich, 6th Earl of Warwick
Edward Rich, 6th Earl of Warwick
Edward Rich, 6th Earl of Warwick and 3rd Earl of Holland was an English peer and member of the House of Lords, styled Lord Rich until 1675.Rich succeeded his father Robert as Earl of Warwick and Holland in 1675...
was found guilty of manslaughter
Manslaughter in English law
In the English law of homicide, manslaughter is a less serious offence than murder, the differential being between levels of fault based on the mens rea . In England and Wales, the usual practice is to prefer a charge of murder, with the judge or defence able to introduce manslaughter as an option...
. After this incident Mohun took his seat in the House of Lords. In 1701 he accompanied the Earl of Macclesfield on a diplomatic mission to Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. Following the death of Macclesfield later in the year, Mohun was left most of his estate. He went on to spend over a decade defending his inheritance from rival claimants, most famously James Douglas
James Douglas, 4th Duke of Hamilton
Lieutenant General Sir James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton and 1st Duke of Brandon KG KT was aScottish nobleman, the Premier Peer of Scotland and Keeper of the Palace of Holyroodhouse...
, 4th Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that Peerage , and as such its holder is the Premier Peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas...
. In 1707 he became a member of the Kit-Cat Club
Kit-Cat Club
The Kit-Cat Club was an early 18th century English club in London with strong political and literary associations, committed to the furtherance of Whig objectives, meeting at the Trumpet tavern in London, and at Water Oakley in the Berkshire countryside.The first meetings were held at a tavern in...
, the pre-eminent Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
political and literary association of the period. Also in 1707 Mohun began building his new country house, Gawsworth New Hall
Gawsworth New Hall
Gawsworth New Hall is a country house in the village of Gawsworth, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building....
.
In 1712, two years after Mohun's Whig party had been heavily defeated in an election, the Duke of Hamilton was given the post of special envoy to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Also at this time Mohun's legal dispute with Hamilton over his inheritance of the Macclesfield estate was going badly. Shortly before Hamilton left for France, Mohun challenged him to a duel which was fought on 15 November in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
. Hamilton was killed during the fight by Mohun's second, George MacCartney, after he had mortally wounded Mohun during the duel; Mohun died from his wounds shortly afterwards. This bloody duel was made immortal by William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
in his novel The History of Henry Esmond
The History of Henry Esmond
The History of Henry Esmond is a historical novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, originally published in 1852. The book tells the story of the early life of Henry Esmond, a colonel in the service of Queen Anne of England...
. The injuries suffered by the two men were so horrific that the government passed legislation banning the use of seconds in such duels. Also as a result swords were replaced as the weapons of choice in duel by the pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
, which tended to result in shorter and less bloody fights.