"... John of Kent, as he is called, is said to have been a priest at Kentchurch in Herefordshire, on the confines of Wales, about the beginning of the fifteenth century. He still enjoys a high degree of popularity, in the legendary stories of the principality, as a powerful magician. There is in the possession of Mr. Scudamore, of Kentchurch, an ancient painting of a monk, supposed to be a portrait of John of Kent; and as the family of Scudamore is descended from a daughter of Owen Glendowr, at whose house that chieftain is believed to have passed in concealment a portion of the latter part of his life, it has been supposed that John of Kentchurch was no other than Owen Glendowr himself," &c. &c.—Page 676., note to the poem on The Names of God.
"... The author was a priest of Kentchurch in Herefordshire, on the confines of Monmouthshire and Breconshire, and is said to have lived in the time of Wickliffe, and to have been of his party. As the parish of Kentchurch is adjacent to that of Oldcastle, the residence of Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, it is by no means impossible that John of Kentchurch may also have favoured the same opinions; and may in some measure sanction the idea."
"... The poet then proceeds to speak of the indignation of the well-robed bishops, the monks, friars and priests; and in the course of the composition he makes some strong animadversions on the luxurious living of the churchmen, stating that formerly the friars were preachers, who possessed no wealth, and went about on foot with nothing but a staff; but that they now possessed horses, and frequented banquets," &c. &c.—Page 687., notes to A Poem to another's Book, by John of Kentchurch; from the collection of Thomas ap Jevan of Tre'r Bryn, made about 1670.
The following words occur in this poem:—
"... onid côf cwymp
Olcastr, ti a gair ailcwymp."
"—— rememberest thou not the fall
Of Oldcastle?—Thou shall have a repetition of the fall."
In addition to the two poems here mentioned, the collection contains one "Composed by John of Kent on his death-bed;" in which are some lines of considerable beauty: and also one on The Age and Duration of Things.
The parish church of Kentchurch is dedicated to St. Mary. I hope to be able to send you some further information on the subject, but I well know that quotations from memory are nearly valueless. Meanwhile, the following note on the mysterious disappearance to which I have already alluded may be not uninteresting: I give it as translated by the editors of the Iolo MSS.