In 1539 John Davy, described as a Welsh prophet, was sent up to the capital by an anxious courtier, Sir John Gresham. Davy was very desirous to see the king, and content to face prison and death if what he foretold did not prove true. Gresham opined: ‘he is but a “werysh” [that is insipid or, perhaps, weak and unimaginative] person to have any such learning of prophecy’. The incident seems to encapsulate the state of ancient prophecy in the sixteenth century: espoused by the marginal or deranged, a threat to order and stability, and either benignly dismissed or savagely punished by an ever more incomprehending elite. Yet if this was the case, why did Gresham not deal with the issue summarily on the spot? Why inform the king's chief minister and send Davy to London? And read closely, Gresham's comments might imply that some, weightier and more worthy people properly understood prophecy and might thereby be useful and not necessarily dangerous. It is therefore necessary in this chapter to ask further questions. Who was involved in the culture of ancient prophecy in the sixteenth century? Was it a minority, and an increasingly marginalized one at that, as the historiography might lead us to expect? What influence, in practical terms, did ancient prophecy have on political life? What political agendas did prophecy traditions serve? And if, as will be argued here, ancient prophecy retained a wide currency, influencing the political agenda in many areas, to what extent did its circulation begin to be influenced, and even controlled, by the means of its circulation, possibly in manuscript, certainly in print?