The surname Tye was well known in East Anglia in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, whether in its predominant orthography of ‘Tey’ in Essex, or ‘Tye’ in Cambridgeshire. Since Christopher Tye appears to have spent so much of his life in the Fens, and the first ascertainable facts about him are in Cambridge, it is reasonable to suppose that he was also born in the area. The main obstacle to detailing Tye’s life with any precision is the haphazard survival of series of official records of the establishments with which he was connected and which might have outlined his career with greater certainty. The first sure reference we have to him is in the University of Cambridge. During the academic year 1536/7, Tye received the degree of MusB from the university, and for two terms he is recorded among the lay clerks of King’s College. The entries in the university Grace Book for this period are undated, and the accounts of King’s College are to be found in two series: ‘Mundum’ Books and ‘Commons’ Books.