Epigrammatist, playwright, and musician, born perhaps in London, England, UK. He was a favourite with Henry VIII and with Mary I, to whom he had been music teacher in her youth. He was a devout Catholic, and after the accession of Elizabeth I went to Belgium. He wrote several short plays (interludes), where the individual characters represent classes, such as the Pedlar and the Pardoner. They thus form a link between the old morality plays and modern drama. He is remembered above all, however, for his collections of proverbs and epigrams.