Sir John Prise (also Prys, Price, in Welsh Syr Siôn ap Rhys) (1501/2–1555) was a Welsh public notary, who acted as a royal agent and visitor of the monasteries. He was also a scholar, associated with the first Welsh printed publication '' Yn y lhyvyr hwnn''. He was a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(MP) of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

for

Breconshire , image_flag= , HQ= Brecon , Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= Brycheiniog , Status= , Start= 1535 , End= ...

in 1547;

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

October 1553;

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

April 1554; and Ludgershall November 1554.

Life

He was son of Rhys ab Gwilym by Gwenllian, daughter of Howel Madoc. He was educated at

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

, and became a notary public and receiver of the king. From a statement of Rowland Lee, it appears that Prise had been some time in the service of the

Earl of Arundel Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and is used (along with the Earl of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title. The ...

as constable of Cloon Castle in Ireland, and that for his employment he was promoted to be one of

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

's agents. In May 1532, when the Earls of Westmorland and Cumberland and Sir Thomas Clifford searched

Cuthbert Tunstall Cuthbert Tunstall (otherwise spelt Tunstal or Tonstall; 1474 – 18 November 1559) was an English Scholastic, church leader, diplomat, administrator and royal adviser. He served as Prince-Bishop of Durham during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edwar ...

's house at

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

, Price looked into the manuscripts, and made a report to Cromwell. In 1533 he was employed under Cromwell. In 1534 he was registrar of Salisbury Cathedral. In April 1535 he took part in the proceedings against the

Carthusians The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...

as to the royal supremacy. He officiated in the same way at the trial of

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI. Fisher was executed by o ...

and

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

. He took part in the major visitation of the monasteries of 1535, alongside Sir Thomas Legh. When the

Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...

was quelled, he assisted in trying the rebels. For his services he received in 1537–38 a joint lease of

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

rectory, and a lease of

Brecon Priory Brecon Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Aberhonddu), in the town of Brecon, Powys, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales and seat of the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon. Previously the church of Brecon Priory ...

and rectory. He also bought the priory of St. Guthlac,

. In a petition of 1538 he asked for the manor of West Dereham. He took part in public affairs, for example in the union of England and Wales, drafting or suggesting the petition on which the statutes were framed. He was Sheriff of Breconshire in 1541, and lived chiefly at Brecon Priory. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

on 22 February 1547, served as

knight of the shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...

for

Breconshire , image_flag= , HQ= Brecon , Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= Brycheiniog , Status= , Start= 1535 , End= ...

in 1547, and made one of the

council for the Welsh marches The Court of the Council in the Dominion and Principality of Wales, and the Marches of the same, commonly called the Council of Wales and the Marches () or the Council of the Marches, was a regional administrative body based in Ludlow Castle wi ...

in 1551. He and his son Richard were patrons of Hugh Evans, and are said to have introduced him to Shakespeare; Richard gave Evans the living of

Merthyr Cynog Merthyr Cynog is a hamlet and a community in the modern county of Powys, Wales, in the historic county of Brecknockshire. The population of the community at the 2011 Census was 245. The Welsh name signifies the 'shrine of Cynog'. The grade II* li ...

, Brecon, in 1572. Evans died in 1581, and made Richard Price the overseer of his will. He married Joan, daughter of John Williams of Southwark, and had a family of five sons and two daughters.

Works

Prise was encouraged as a scholar by William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, and became a collector of manuscripts. He wrote: * ''Historiae Britannicae Defensio'', composed about 1553, published by his son Richard in 1573, and dedicated to Lord Burghley; in part a protest against

Polydore Vergil Polydore Vergil or Virgil (Italian: ''Polidoro Virgili''; commonly Latinised as ''Polydorus Vergilius''; – 18 April 1555), widely known as Polydore Vergil of Urbino, was an Italian humanist scholar, historian, priest and diplomat, who spent ...

. It defended the traditional historical accounts of

Brutus of Troy Brutus, also called Brute of Troy, is a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas, known in medieval British history as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain. This legend first appears in the ''Historia Brittonum'', an anonymous ...

and

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

in early British history.Peter J. French, ''John Dee: The World of the Elizabethan Magus'' (1987),

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, p. 195, * ''Description of Cambria'', translated and enlarged by Humphrey Lhuyd, and published as part of the '' Historie of Cambria'' by

David Powel David Powel (1549/52 – 1598) was a Welsh Church of England clergyman and historian who published the first printed history of Wales in 1584. Life Powel was born in Denbighshire and commenced his studies at the University of Oxford when he was 1 ...

, 1584; other editions 1697, 1702, 1774, and 1812. * ''Fides Historian Britannicae'', a correction of Polydore Vergil (Brit. Mus. Cotton MS. Titus, F. iii. 17). * A tract on the restitution of the coinage, written in 1553; dedicated to Queen Mary (MS. New Coll. Oxon. Arch. MS. 317, iii.); in this tract he refers to a larger treatise on the same subject, which is not extant. He is also said to have translated and published the Lord's Prayer, Creed, and Ten Commandments in Welsh, for the first time, in ''Yn y lhyvyr hwnn'' (1546).

Modern editions

References

History of Parliament-Breconshire
*

Life

Works

Modern editions

References

Further reading