Morris Kyffin (c. 1555 – 2 January 1598) was a Welsh author and soldier, brother of the poet Edward Kyffin. He was also a student and friend of Doctor

John Dee John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, ...

. Kyffin was a member of a literary circle that included the Queen's Godson Sir

John Harington (writer) Sir John Harington (4 August 1560 – 20 November 1612), of Kelston, Somerset, England, but born in London, was an English courtier, author and translator popularly known as the inventor of the flush toilet. He became prominent at Queen Eliz ...

Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; – 13 January 1599 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the House of Tudor, Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is re ...

, and

William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...

. Kyffin wrote two dedicatory poems to works by Sir Lewis Lewknor, the first appeared in 1593 The Resolved Gentleman and the second in 1599 in Lewkenor's translation of Gasparo Contarini's ''De magistratibus et republica Venetorum''. ''Lewkenor, whom arms and letters have made known, In this work hath the fruits of either shown.'' Maur. KiffenThe Commonwealth and Government of Venice, 1598. His best known works are the poem ''The Blessedness of Britayne'' (1587) and the first translation into English of

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a playwright during the Roman Republic. He was the author of six Roman comedy, comedies based on Greek comedy, Greek originals by Menander or Apollodorus of Carystus. A ...

's comedy ''

Andria Andria (; Barese: ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Apulia region of Southern Italy. It is an agricultural and service center, producing wine, olives and almonds. It is the fourth-largest municipality in the Apulia region (behind ...

'' (1588). In the same year he was appointed surveyor of the muster rolls to the English army in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

and in 1592 he was vice-treasurer of the 'old bands' in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kyffin, Morris 1550s births 1598 deaths Welsh-language poets 16th-century Welsh male writers 16th-century Welsh poets 16th-century soldiers