John Prise

Sir John Prise (also Prys, Price; ) (1501/2 – 15 October 1555) of Brecon and Hereford, 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 (MP) of the Parliament of England for Breconshire in 1547; Hereford October 1553; Ludlow April 1554; and Ludgershall November 1554.

Life John was the son of Rhys ap Gwilym by Gwenllian, daughter of Howel Madoc, He was educated at Oxford, practiced in the Court of Arches and subsequently graduated BCL at Cambridge in 1535/6. By 1530 he was a servant of Thomas Cromwell, to whom he would later be related by marriage. six sons, including: Richard Prise (c.1538–c.1587), married Elizabeth, daughter of William Wightman of Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex. John Prise, married Elizabeth, daughter of John Games. William Prise 3. Thomas Jones (c.1530–1609) of Fountain Gate, alias Twm Siôn Cati. Jane Prise Katherine, the 1st wife of James Gomond of Byford, Herefordshire, who was older than any of the children he had with Joan.

In April 1535 he took part in the proceedings against the Carthusians as to the royal supremacy. He officiated in the same way at the trial of John Fisher and Thomas More. He took part in the major visitation of the monasteries of 1535, alongside Sir Thomas Legh and penned one of the summaries of the visit (cf. Compendium Compertorum). He was a public notary by 1536. He was elected knight of the shire for Breconshire in the same year, and became secretary of the council for the Welsh marches in 1551. 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. It defended the traditional historical accounts of Brutus of Troy and King Arthur in early British history. Description of Cambria, translated and enlarged by Humphrey Lhuyd, and published as part of The Historie of Cambria, Now Called Wales by David Powel, 1584; other editions 1697, 1702, 1774, and 1812.

Modern editions

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