
Thomas Hoccleve - sometimes spelled Occleve - was probably born in 1368-69 and died in London in 1426. Little is known of his life beyond what is mentioned in his poems. As was the better-known Lydgate, Hoccleve was certainly an admirer of Chaucer's work. He is thought to have been of north-country parentage, deriving his name from the viUage of Hocciough in Northumberiand. One of his minor poems, addressed to Richard duke of York, cannot weil have been written before I448, since the young prince Edward (bom in 1441) and his French tutor Picard are mentiontd in it. Occleve must therefore have lived to a great age, but the precise year of his death is unknown. His principal poem, De Regimine Principum, was written in 1411 or 1412. The ascertainable dates of his minor poems, of which oniy a portion has been printed, range between 1400 and 1448.
1368 - 1426