William Percy, minor poet and dramatist, is an obscure figure who might have been long forgotten were it not for the historical interest of his connection with another, better-known Elizabethan poet, Barnabe Barnes. In addition, Percy's plays, while most remain unpublished, offer details of Elizabethan stage practices that have attracted the attention of theater and stage historians.

Although Percy was born into an aristocratic family, the recorded details of his life are far from clear, particularly as he has often been confused with other people with the same or similar names. He was the third son born to Henry Percy, eighth Earl of Northumberland, and Catherine Neville Percy. His date of birth is usually given as 1575, and his birthplace was probably in or near Durham. He appears to have had an unsettled childhood, living as he did in troubled, turbulent times. In 1583 he may have been sent to...