Hoccleve, Thomas

Hoccleve or Occleve, Thomas (hŏk`lēv, ŏk`–), c.1368–c.1450, English poet, an imitator of Chaucer. He was a clerk in the office of the Privy Seal. His longest work, The Regiment of Princes, a didactic poem on the virtues and vices of a ruler, was addressed to the future King Henry V. Hoccleve's main importance is historical. His typically medieval lyrics to the Virgin, his ballades to patrons, and his versified moral tales are characteristic of his times.

Bibliography

See study by J. Mitchell (1968).