Scholars

Huldrych Ulrich Zwingli was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the University of Vienna and the University of Basel, a scholarly center of Renaissance humanism. He continued his studies while he served as a pastor in … Read more

Philip Melanchthon was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems. He stands next to Luther and John Calvin as a reformer, theologian, and molder of Protestantism. Philip Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560) the disciple … Read more

Martin Luther was a German priest, theologian, author, composer, and former Augustinian friar, and is best known as a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation and as the namesake of Lutheranism. Martin Luther It was natural that the Reformation, which was a revolt in favor of more inward and spiritual worship, should begin in Germany, … Read more

Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli rarely rendered Nicholas Machiavel was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher, and historian who lived during the Renaissance. He is best known for his political treatise The Prince, written about 1513. He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science. Niccolo Machiavelli By the end of … Read more

The tendencies of the later part of the medieval period were reflected in the doctrines of John Wycliffe  (1320-1384) in England and Jan Hus (1369-1415) in Bohemia, and in the national, anti-papal, and democratic movements for which their teachings were held responsible. While both Wycliffe and Hus devoted themselves mainly to theological questions, they were … Read more

In the third part of his Dialogues, William of Ockam briefly dealt with Marsilius of Padua’s theory of conciliar infallibility. By contrast, none of the contemporary papal responses to the Defensor pacis discussed the Marsilius anti-papal conciliar program. Marsilius of Padua The greatest and most original political treatise of the Middle Ages was the work … Read more

The most logical and systematic statement of the imperial theory was that of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321 ). Dante had considerable experience in the politics of his city (Florence); and in his wanderings from city to city and from court to court during his long exile, he gained valuable knowledge and experience. He was interested chiefly … Read more

Saint Thomas Aquinas, an Italian Dominican theologian, and Roman Catholic saint is the foremost medieval Scholastic. He was responsible for the classical systematization of Latin theology, and, as a poet, he wrote some of the most gravely beautiful Eucharistic hymns in the church’s liturgy. Saint Thomas Aquinas The thirteenth century was marked by the culmination … Read more

St. Bernard and John of Salisbury. Two of the leading writers of the twelfth century who dealt with the relations of church and state were St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153) 32 and John of Salisbury (1115-1180). St. Bernard was the most influential churchman of the period, although he declined all ecclesiastical honors and never became … Read more