Tomos Prys (c.1564–1634) was a Welsh soldier, sailor and poet. He was the eldest son of

Ellis Price Ellis Price or Prys (by 1514-8 October 1594) was a Welsh administrator and MP. He was a younger son of Robert ap Rhys of Plas Iolyn near Ysbyty Ifan, the chaplain to Cardinal Wolsey. His grandfather Rhys Fawr ap Maredudd had fought (and thoug ...

MP, of Plas Iolyn, Pentrefoelas, Denbighshire.

Life

He followed a seafaring life for many years, joining expeditions under both

Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...

and

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 ( ...

. In one of his poems he states that he, Captain William Myddelton and Captain Thomas Koet were the first who 'drank' (smoked) tobacco in the streets of London. He fought in the campaign in the Netherlands between 1585 and 1587 under

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was ov ...

, and was also with the earl at Tilbury in the army that protected London from the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...

in 1588. He was also occupied as a

buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from Stuart Restoration, the Restoration in 16 ...

; at the end of the 16th century he bought a ship and went buccaneering on the Spanish sea routes from the Llŷn coast, having built a residence out of the ruins of the old monastery on

Bardsey Island Bardsey Island ( cy, Ynys Enlli), known as the legendary "Island of 20,000 Saints", is located off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The Welsh name means "The Island in the Currents", while its English name refers to the "Islan ...

. On his death, Prys was buried at

Ysbyty Ifan Ysbyty Ifan (often formerly anglicised as Yspytty Ifan) is a small, historic village and community in the Conwy County Borough of Wales. The population in 2011 was 196 in 76 households (29 household spaces had no usual residents), over 79% of t ...

on 23 August 1634.

Works

Many details survive about Tomos's life, recorded in his poems, of which more than two hundred are extant. Many of these poems describe his adventures as a soldier who faced the

and fought in the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estim ...

. A poem written by Tomos at Plas Iolyn in his later life:

Family

Prys was twice married; firstly to Margaret, the daughter of William Griffith of Caernarvon, with whom he had three children, and secondly to Jane, the daughter of Hugh Gwynn of Berth-ddu and Bodysgallen, with whom he had ten children. According to his will, he disinherited his eldest son, Thomas, for marrying without his consent, so the manor of Ysbyty Ifan was left to the eldest son by his second wife, Robert.

References

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

1560s births 1634 deaths Welsh-language poets Welsh soldiers 16th-century Welsh writers 16th-century male writers 17th-century Welsh writers 17th-century male writers High Sheriffs of Denbighshire {{Wales-writer-stub