William de Mohun of Dunster, 1st Earl of Somerset William de Mohun of Dunster, 1st Earl of Somerset William de Mohun of Dunster, Earl of Somerset (c. 1090 – c. 1155), 2nd feudal baron of Dunster, was a favourite of Empress Matilda and a loyal supporter of her in the war against King Stephen, during which he earned the epithet of the "Scourge of the West". William was the son of William de Moion, who was seigneur of Moyon which is close to Saint-Lô. The elder William was High Sheriff of Somerset in 1084. During the war between Matilda and Stephen, Stephen marched against Mohun's castle at Dunster, but
Dunster Castle with a supply of venison as well as generating income. During the 15th century, England was divided by the prolonged period of civil war called the Wars of the Roses: the Luttrells were supporters of the House of Lancaster. In 1461, Sir James Luttrell died following the Lancastrian defeat at the Second Battle of St Albans, and his family were deprived of their estates by the Yorkist Edward IV. The castle was given to the Herberts, but the Luttrells regained it on the accession of the Lancastarian Henry VII in 1485, when Dunster was restored to James' son, Sir Hugh