Christopher Ocland facts for kids
Christopher Ocland was an English writer and a school leader who lived a long time ago. He died around 1590.
Christopher Ocland was born in a place called Buckinghamshire, England. He was the head teacher (or "headmaster") at St Saviour's Grammar School in Southwark from 1562 to 1579. A grammar school was a type of school back then that taught subjects like Latin. Around 1574, he also became the first head teacher of another grammar school in Cheltenham, started by Richard Pate.
Contents
Ocland's Famous Poems
In 1580, Christopher Ocland published his most important work. It was a long Latin poem called Anglorum proelia, which means ‘The Battles of the English’. This poem was about England's military history. It covered battles from the time of King Edward III all the way to Queen Mary I. The poem was very long, with almost 3500 lines!
Updating the Poem
Ocland later added more to his poem in 1582. This new part was called Eirēnarchia, sive, Elizabetha. It included special descriptions of important people from the time of Queen Elizabeth. These descriptions celebrated their achievements.
Why His Work Was Important
Queen Elizabeth's court really liked Ocland's strong love for his country, which is called patriotism. Because of this, both of his poems were published together in one book in 1582.
A Royal Command
The new book started with a special command from the Queen's advisors, called Her Majesty's Privy Council. They ordered that Ocland's poem should be taught in every grammar school and free school across England. This shows how important his work was considered at the time.
English Translations
In 1585, a person named John Sharrock translated Ocland's two poems into English. The first part became The Valiant Actes and Victorious Battails of the English Nation. The second part was called Elizabeth Queene. This made Ocland's work available to more people who didn't speak Latin.
