Life

Davies was born in Kidwelly

Kidwelly

Kidwelly is a town in Carmarthenshire, west Wales, approximately north-west of the main town of Llanelli.It lies on the River Gwendraeth Fach above Carmarthen Bay. The town is twinned with French village St Jacut de la Mer.-History:...

 in Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 and was educated in Carmarthen

Carmarthen

Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....

 before entering Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

 in 1641. He moved to St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....

 in 1646, during the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

, and met the poet John Hall

John Hall (poet)

John Hall was an English poet, essayist and pamphleteer of the Commonwealth period. After a short period of adulation at university, he became a writer in the Parliamentary cause and Hartlib Circle member.-Life:...

, later writing a preface to Hall's book of essays. Davies acquired through Hall a Latin manuscript of The Ancient Rites, and Monuments of the Monastical, Cathedral Church of Durham; he proceeded to translate this and it was published in 1672, dedicated to James Mickleton of Durham. Davies learned French during his years abroad; on his return, after the Restoration, he wrote The civil warres of Great Britain and Ireland: containing an exact history of their occasion, originall, progress, and happy end (1661, Scottish edition 1664). He translated various works from French, Spanish and Latin, some being practical works, others being novels and histories. He was buried in the church in Kidwelly on 22 July 1693.