Renaissance

CROTUS RUBIANUS To DEVOTIO MODERNA (Renaissance)

CROTUS RUBIANUS (Johannes Jäger, 1480-ca. 1545). German humanist, one of the circle of Erfurt humanists who were close to Mutianus Rufus. Born to a peasant family in Thuringia, Crotus (a classicized name he adopted in 1509) studied at the University of Erfurt, where he was acquainted with young Martin Luther and became a close friend […]

DIAS, BARTOLOMEU To ERASMUS, DESIDERIUS (Renaissance)

DIAS, BARTOLOMEU (ca. 1450-1500). Portuguese explorer, the first European captain to round the Cape of Good Hope (1487-1488) and to realize that he had reached the southernmost point of Africa. His accurate reports facilitated the voyage by Vasco da Gama that reached India in 1498. Dias also supervised the construction of the four ships specially […]

ESTE, HOUSE OF To FICINO, MARSILIO (Renaissance)

ESTE, HOUSE OF Princely dynasty which ruled the city of Ferrara from 1240 to 1598 and played an important part in Italian diplomacy and warfare. Originally ranked as marquises, they were made dukes of Modena and Reggio by an imperial grant of 1452 and in 1471 were elevated by the pope to the rank of […]

FILELFO, FRANCESCO To FUGGER FAMILY (Renaissance)

FILELFO, FRANCESCO (1398-1481). Italian humanist, noted for his excellent command of Greek language and his valuable collection of rare Greek manuscripts. A native of Tolentino, he studied law and rhetoric at the University of Padua and taught there for a time. In 1420 he travelled to Constantinople to perfect his knowledge of Greek. He stayed […]

GABRIELI FAMILY To GHIBELLINES / GUELFS (Renaissance)

GABRIELI FAMILY Prominent musicians of Venice, closely connected with the basilica of St. Mark and distinguished as performers, composers, and teachers. Andrea Gabrieli (ca. 1520-1586) may have begun as a singer at St. Mark’s as early as 1536, but the first solidly documented event of his career there is his becoming second organist in 1564; […]

GHIBERTI, LORENZO To GREEK LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (Renaissance)

GHIBERTI, LORENZO (1378-1455). Florentine goldsmith and sculptor, known in his own time for his skill in casting bronze statues. His workshop trained a number of leading younger artists, notably Donatello and Paolo Uccello. Though trained as a goldsmith, he established his reputation as a sculptor by winning the competition held in 1401-1402 for the design […]

GROCYN, WILLIAM To GUTENBERG, JOHANNES (Renaissance)

GROCYN, WILLIAM (ca. 1446-1519). English humanist. Educated at New College, Oxford, where he matriculated in 1481, he became reader in divinity at Magdalen College. In 1488 he went to Italy for further education, studying Greek at Florence and Rome under Angelo Poliziano and Demetrios Chalcondylas. Ordained as a priest after his return, he taught Greek […]

HABSBURG DYNASTY To HOWARD, HENRY, EARL OF SURREY (Renaissance)

HABSBURG DYNASTY Multinational European ruling family, originally regional counts in the duchy of Swabia. Their importance increased greatly when they inherited the frontier mark of Austria in 1246, but their broader importance began with the election of Count Rudolf as Holy Roman Emperor in 1273 at the end of the Interregnum, a period of nearly […]

HUMANISM/HUMANIST To ISABELLA, QUEEN OF SPAIN (Renaissance)

HUMANISM/HUMANIST Humanism was the principal intellectual movement of the European Renaissance; a humanist was a teacher or follower of humanism. In the simplest sense, the term "humanism" implies that a certain group of school subjects known since ancient times as the studia humanitatis (humanistic studies) provides the best preparation for life and should become the […]

JANUS PANNONIUS To LATERAN COUNCIL, FIFTH (Renaissance)

JANUS PANNONIUS (1434-1472). Hungarian humanist. His vernacular name was Janus of Czezmicze. He was a nephew of János Vitéz, bishop of Oradea, an early Hungarian humanist who directed the education of his nephew and in 1447 sent him to Italy for further study. He remained in Italy for 11 years, starting in the school of […]