John Kay (Poet Laureate) Explained

John Kay was a fifteenth-century English poet who described himself as the versificator regis (which would develop into the position of Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom) to Edward IV of England.^{[1] [2]} If it ever existed, none of his poetic work remains.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Laureate . 16 . 282; see middle of first para . W. Hamilton classes Chaucer, Gower, Kay, ......as “volunteer Laureates.” .
2. Book: Howland, Frances Louise Morse. The laureates of England: Ben Jonson to Alfred Tennyson. Frederick A. Stokes. 1895.
3. News: English Poets Laureate: First Versifier to Hold the Office was John Kay. 17 February 1902. The Pittsburgh Press. 7.