Sir Lewes Lewknor (c.1560–1627) was an English courtier, M.P., writer, soldier, and Judge[1][2] who served as Master of the Ceremonies to King James I of England.

[3] His career has been described as a "tortuous trajectory rich in false starts, byways and rather nebulous interludes...[with] slippery religious and political allegiances".

Particularly important was the translation of Gasparo Contarini's account of the Venetian republic, The Commonwealth and Government of Venice, which influenced contemporary writers including Shakespeare.

He attempted a career as a soldier, serving as a captain in the Duke of Parma's army, but suffered a disabling injury to his right arm.

In the same year he escorted the Moroccan ambassador Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud, suggested to be the inspiration for Shakespeare's Othello.

The Venetian ambassador Zuane Pesaro described the Lord Chamberlain, William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke as 'a man of good intention,' but one who was 'influenced by being related to the Master of the Ceremonies.

'[12] At the summoning of James I's first Parliament Lewknor's uncle, Richard (chief justice of Chester and a prominent member of the Council in the Marches) secured his return for Bridgnorth.

He translated from French, Spanish and Italian, and is credited with coining "cashiering" from the Flemish "Kasserren"; "unnobly";[13] "well-expressed";[14] "unrefusable"[15] and "Sinonical".

Lewknor's version of this chivalric allegory has recently been interpreted as "a subtle, perceptive but scathing criticism of the Elizabethan court in the 1590s".

[3][20] Despite the initials, it has also been sometimes incorrectly attributed to Lewes' brother Samuel Lewkenor, who had returned from Europe in 1594 and published an account of his travels.

[citation needed] His 1599 translation of Gasparo Contarini's De Magistratibus et Republica Venetorum (as The Commonwealth and Government of Venice) demonstrates "the admiration Englishmen could express towards aristocratic republics".

Among the dedications are poems by Edmund Spenser, Maurice Kyffin, Sir John Astley (Master of the Revels) .The book influenced the portrayal of Venice in literature, notably in Shakespeare's plays, Othello especially, and Ben Jonson's Volpone.

Lewknor's last official engagement was on Sunday 29 November 1626, when Charles I dispatched him to attend François de Bassompierre: "Lucnar came to bring me a very rich present from the king, of four diamonds set in a lozenge, and a great stone at the end; and the same evening sent again to fetch me to hear an excellent English play".