John, an English dramatic poet, was born at North Mims, near St Albans, in Hertfordshire, and educated at Oxford. But the sprightliness of his disposition not being well adapted to the sedentary and plodding life of an academician, he retired to the place of his nativity, where he had the good fortune to become acquainted with Sir Thomas More. This patron of genius introduced our poet to the Princess Mary, and afterwards to her father Henry, who was much delighted with his wit and skill in music. When Mary came to the crown, Heywood became a favourite at court, and continued often to entertain her majesty, exercising his fancy before her, even till the time when she lay languishing on her deathbed. On the accession of Elizabeth, Heywood, being a zealous Catholic, thought fit to decamp, with other favourites of her deceased majesty, and settled at Mechlin in Flanders, where he died in the year 1565. Heywood was a man of no great learning; nor were his poetical abilities by any means extraordinary; but he possessed talents of more importance in the times in which he lived, namely, the talents of a jester. He wrote several plays, five hundred epigrams, A Dialogue in Verse concerning English Proverbs, and The Spider and Fly, a Parable. He left two sons, Ellis Heywood, who continued some time at Florence under the patronage of Cardinal Polo, became so good a master of the Italian tongue as to write a treatise in that language, entitled Il Moro, and died at Louvain about the year 1572; and Jasper Heywood, who was obliged to resign a fellowship at Oxford on account of his immoralities. The latter translated three tragedies of Seneca, wrote various poems and devices, and died at Naples in 1597.