Davies, John Of Hereford

(?1565-1618)

   Born at Hereford and believed to have been educated at Oxford University, he was a writing master who became a prolific poet. He lived in Oxford, where he taught penmanship to pupils from all the noblest families, though from 1608 Davies was living in London. When his first wife died she was buried in the church of St. Dunstan, where he erected a monument to her with memorial verses by him. Although he married again, he was buried beside his first wife. His major publications (some of the long titles have been shortened): Mirum in Modum, 1602. Microcosmos, 1603. A Request to the City of Hereford, 1605. Humours Heau'n on Earth, 1605. The Holy Roode, 1609. Wittes Pilgrimage, 1610/1611. The Scourge of Folly, 1610/1611. Some of his other poems: "A Blind Man Cannot See the Default of His Eyes," "Against Amorous Andrugio," "An Acknowledgement of Gods Gifts," "The Complaint of a Sinner," "To the Printer," "To the Sacred Queene of England's Most Excellent Majestie," "To the World," "Too Much Honie Breakes the Belly," "Yee Have Made a Mocke of the Counsell of the Poore."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2006. English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.html). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Complete Works of John Davies of Hereford. AMS Press, 1967. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000.