AP Euro Important People

Thomas Aquinas

1225–1274 – Scholastic theologian/philosopher and Saint, fused Aristotle’s ideas with Christian teachings

Desiderius Erasmus

1466–1536 – Dutch humanist, theologian and scholar, advocated for moderate reform of the Church

Joan of Arc

1412 – 1431 – Soldier who defended France against English domination on behalf of Charles VII, received visions from heaven and was burned at the stake and later made into a Saint herself

Walter Tyler

died 1381 – Leader of the Peasant’s Revolt in England, which opposed the universal taxation of British citizens and advocated for peasants’ freedom

Machiavelli

1469–1527 – Italian historian, politician, and humanist, author of The Prince, which discussed mechanisms for gaining political power through manipulation and self–interest

Christine de Pisan

1364–1430 – Italian & French writer and poet who, as a widow, supported her family through her writing, wrote poetry and nonfiction describing period fashion, codes of behavior, and social realities

Dante

1265–1321 – Italian writer and poet, called “The Supreme Poet” by Italians and author of The Divine Comedy

Shakespeare

1564 – 1616 – British poet and stage writer, responsible for many classic plays such as Romeo and Juilet and Othello, invented many words and satirized current events of his day

Francesco Guicciardini

1483–1540 – Political writer and contemporary of Machiavelli, he wrote The History of Italy and was one of the first to use government sources to back up his writing

Nicholas of Cusa

1401–1464 – German theologian and humanist, developed the idea of “learned ignorance” and rose to a high position in the Catholic Church while promoting the teachings of Renaissance humanism

Meister Eckhart

1260 – 1327 – German theologian and philosopher during the time of the Avignon Papacy, worked with lay religious groups but was tried by the Church as a heretic

Raphael

1483 – 1520 – Italian painter and architect of the Renaissance, painted for the Vatican, designed buildings, and trained many great artists as pupils

Jan van Eyck

1390 – 1441 – Painter from the Netherlands, painted portraits and Biblical scenes as altarpieces

Masaccio

1401 – 1428 – Italian Renaissance painter famous for his use of linear perspective and realism

Leon Battista Alberti

1404 – 1472 – Italian scholar of many talents or “Renaissance Man”, painter, architect, linguist, theologian, poet and cryptographer, wrote treatises on artistic design and invented his own written codes

Alfonso X (Castile/Spain)

1252 – 1284 – King of Castile (part of Spain), responsible for the rise of Castilian as an academic language and supported the development of science and literature during his reign

Frederick I (Barbarossa/Redbeard–Germany)

1122 – 1190 – Roman Emperor/King of Italy, used divine right to rule and amass more territory and greatly increased size of the Roman Empire

Charles V (France)

1500 – 1558 – Son of the Hapsburg and Valois–Burgundy ruling lines and husband of the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, Holy Roman Emperor and political leader of the Catholic Counter–Reformation

John Wyclif

1320 – 1384 – British theologian and scholar who opposed the Catholic Church and papal authority before Martin Luther’s rise to fame

Guillaume Dufay

1397–1474 – Flemish (French/Belgian) composer, the most famous of the 15th century, wrote both religious and secular music

Lorenzo de Medici

1449 – 1492 – de facto head of Florence, Italy, patron and sponsor of many artists and peaceful ruler of Florence during the High Renaissance

Petrarch

1304–1374 – Italian scholar, writer, and poet who endorsed the ideas of Humanism very early, and whose writing style is considered a model for the Italian language

Castiglione

1478 – 1529 – Italian diplomat, soldier, and Renaissance writer who favored the ideas of Humanism, wrote The Book of the Courtier

Boccaccio

1313 – 1375 – Italian writer and poet responsible for Decameron and On Famous Women, espoused Humanist ideas and corresponded with Petrarch

Copernicus

1473 – 1543 – Prussian (Polish) mathematician and astronomer who proposed that the Earth orbited the Sun, but his theories did not anger the Catholic Church until much later when Galileo was persecuted

Poggio Bracciolini

1380 – 1459 – Italian Renaissance Humanist writer and scholar responsible for rediscovering many lost Classic manuscripts, debated linguistics and philosophy with Lorenzo Valla

Leonardo Bruni

1370 – 1444 – Italian Humanist writer and historian, famous for his writing of history (unintentionally) without a religious bias, wrote A History of the Florentine People

Paracelsus

1493 – 1541 – rebellious and independent Swiss German scholar who focused on medicine and scientific study, examined psychosomatic illness, founded the discipline of toxicology and promoted observation–based learning rather than relying on previous scholars’ work for medical guidance

Gerard Groote

1340 – 1384 – Dutch Roman Catholic deacon who founded the Brethren of the Common Life, a lay religious group based on Christian values that grew to widespread popularity in the 14th century

Donatello

1386 – 1466 – Italian Renaissance sculptor, used bas–relief techniques, responsible for “David” and “St. Mark” as well as many other realistic sculptures

Hans Holbein

1497 – 1543 – German Renaissance/Reformation artist, famous for his portraits and his propaganda contributions to the Protestant Reformation

Paolo Uccello

1397 – 1475 – Late Gothic painter from Italy who focused on using perspective to create the illusion of depths in paintings, favored colorful designs rather than realism

Giovanni di Dondi

1330 – 1338 – Italian clockmaker who attempted to design a mechanized model of the solar system, called the “astrarium”, considered a pioneer in the field of engineering

Edward III (England)

1312 – 1377 – Warlike ruler of England, fought the Hundred Years’ War for control of France, expanded English military and territory and allowed for the evolution of the English Parliament

John Huss

1369 – 1415 – Czech theologian and scholar, predecessor to Martin Luther and John Calvin but shared many of the same ideas, burned at the stake as a heretic but his followers remained faithful and defeated Catholic crusaders five times in the Hussite Wars

Albrecht Durer

1471 – 1528 – German painter and engraver famous for his detailed woodcutting artwork and his watercolors, creator of Melencolia I

Charles IV (Germany)

1316 – 1378 – King of Luxembourg and Holy Roman Emperor, supported the Catholic Church against the rivalry of Louis IV

Lorenzo Valla

1407 – 1457 – Italian Humanist, writer, rhetorician (persuasive writer), and teacher, debunked Church doctrine such as the “Donation of Constantine” as false/forged

Pico della Mirandola

1463 – 1494 – Italian Renaissance philosopher, wrote the Oration of the Dignity of Man which is regarded as a manifesto for the Renaissance, and contributed to the teachings of Humanism

Peter Paul Vergerio

1498 – 1565 – Italian proponent of the Reformation of the Church, promoted ecclesiastical (critical/scholarly) study of the Church and its teachings, arrested and exiled as a heretic by the Church

Geoffrey Chaucer

1343 – 1400 – English writer, diplomat, and scientist, most famous for the Canterbury Tales but contributed many other works to the development of English literature

Cosimo de Medici

1349 – 1464 – Wealthy Italian banker and politician who became the de facto ruler of Florence, Italy, and began the Medici Dynasty, sponsored and funded the development of artists and their work during the Italian Renaissance

Cassandra Fedele of Venice

1465 – 1558 – Most renowned female scholar of the Italian Renaissance, wrote in Italian, Latin, and Greek and delivered powerful speeches until her intellectual life ended with marriage

Dr. Faustus

1480 – 1541 – German Renaissance scientist, alchemist, astrologer, and student of the occult, mythologized and rumored to have sold his soul to the devil for knowledge, inspiration for several plays including Goethe’s Faust.

Leonardo da Vinci

1452 – 1519 – Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, inventor, mathematician, and man of many other talents, famous for his flying machine designs, the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, The Vitruvian Man, and many scientific discoveries and inventions

Michelangelo

1475 – 1564 – Italian Renaissance man like Leonardo da Vinci, sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer, sculpted the Pietà and David, and painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling most famously, but produced a large body of diverse other works

Giotto

1266 – 1337 – Italian painter and architect who lived during the Late Middle Ages/Early Renaissance, painted many biblical works and portraits in a more realistic style than what was popular during his lifetime

Brunelleschi

1337 – 1446 – Italian Renaissance architect and designer of many buildings, invented and experimented with types of hydraulic machinery, clockwork, and theater technology

Johannes Gutenberg

1398 – 1468 – German blacksmith, metalworker, and printer who invented movable type and revolutionized the printing press and made mass communication possible during the Renaissance

Philip IV the Fair (France)

1268 – 1314 – King of France and other possessions, responsible for transforming France into a more centralized, less feudal state, and responsible for the Pope of Avignon situation after his relationship with the clergy became strained

Philip VI (France)

1293 – 1350 – Highly disputed and contested king of France, lost the Hundred Years’ War to the English while France was overcome by the Black Plague