Thomas Hoccleve

Matthew Boyd Goldie (Rider University)

Ed. by Hugh Magennis, Queen's University Belfast
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Dates

Born c. 1369
Died 1426
Activity 1402-1426

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Poet
Translator

Other

Autobiographer

Resources

Hoccleve's Works

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Poet, Privy Seal clerk, and scribe, Thomas Hoccleve (1367?–1426) produced short religious and secular poems as well as two major long works,

The Regiment of Princes

and what is called the “Series”. A contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer, William Langland, John Gower, and John Lydgate, Hoccleve claims to have known Chaucer during his lifetime (1343?–1400) and wrote some of the earliest praise for his contemporary and literary predecessor. He is also known for his autobiographical style, anti-Wycliffite (or Lollard) writings, his association with the Ricardian and Lancastrian governments of his day, his descriptions of London, and the fact that three manuscripts of his poetry survive in his own hand.

Although we know a lot about Hoccleve's life from his poems and from government

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2261 words

Citation: Goldie, Matthew Boyd. "Thomas Hoccleve". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 October 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2158, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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