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Period: 1265 to 1321
Dante
In the Late Middle Ages, most poetry was written in Latin, making it accessible only to the most educated readers. In De vulgari eloquentia (On Eloquence in the Vernacular), however, Dante defended the use of the vernacular in literature. He would even write in the Tuscan dialect for works such as The New Life (1295) and the Divine Comedy; this highly unorthodox choice set a precedent that important later Italian writers such as Petrarch and Boccaccio would follow. -
Period: 1347 to 1357
Black Death
The Medieval black plague that ravaged Europe and killed a third of its population. It was due to the plague which is caused by a bacterium (Yersinia pestis) transmitted to humans from infected rats by the oriental rat flea. ... The Black Death was characterized by gangrene of the fingers, toes, and nose. -
Period: 1468 to 1549
Pope Paul the 3rd
Pope Paul III, born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation. -
Period: 1469 to 1527
Niccolo Machiavelli
was an Italian diplomat, politician, historian, philosopher, writer, playwright and poet of the Renaissance period. He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science. For many years he served as a senior official in the Florentine Republic with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He wrote his best-known work The Prince (Il Principe) in 1513, having been exiled from city affairs. -
Period: 1483 to 1546
Martin Luther
Martin Luther, O.S.A., was a German professor of theology, composer, priest, monk, and a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation. Luther was ordained to the priesthood in 1507. He came to reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church; in particular, he disputed the view on indulgences. -
Period: 1509 to 1564
John Calvin
He was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism, aspects of which include the doctrines of predestination and of the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation of the human soul from death and eternal damnation, in which doctrines. -
Period: 1534 to
The Church Of England
Henry wanted to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and marry Ann Boleyn. When the Pope did not allow Henry an annulment of his marriage to Catherine, Henry renounced the Pope's authority over the Church of England and made himself its sovereign. -
Period: 1564 to
Shakespeare
was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist.He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.