Philosopher, Scholar, Writer (1355 – 1415)
A pioneer of the Renaissance, he disseminated the Greek studies in Italy and from there to the entire Europe. He was born about one century before the Fall of Constantinople. He became a student of Georgios Plethon – Gemistus, the leading figure of the Renaissance and founded a school in Constantinople, where prominent humanists from all over Europe studied.
In 1391 he was sent to Italy as a delegate of the Byzantine Emperor to seek help against the invading Turks. Even though his efforts failed due to the indifference of the West, he was wholeheartedly welcomed in Italy by the humanists.
In 1397 he settled in Florence, Italy where he became professor of Greek language and classical studies. He was the first one to hold a public teaching office of Greek language in Italy. His prominence attracted numerous enlightened Italian humanists, namely Niccolo Niccoli, Guarino da Verona, Roberto Rossi, Leonardo Bruni, Jiacopo Angeli da Scarperia, Pier Paolo Vergerio, Poggio Bracciolini etc, all of which became well known figures of history. Moreover, he taught in Pavia, Venice and Rome. Chrysoloras translated Plato’s Republic together with his students and wrote a Greek grammar, which became a widely used textbook in universities.
Following his successful career as a scholar, Chrysoloras left Italy and became a diplomat of Manuel Palaiologos. He travelled throughout Europe in an attempt to reunite the two churches during the West-East Schism.
For his polymathy and for his method of disseminating his vast knowledge to his students, Chrysoloras played a very important role in the development of the Greek studies in Italy and was compared to as the “sun”, according to Guirano da Verona, his most loyal student, “who illuminated Italy, which was drowned in the darkness”.
Bibliography
- ”Chrysoloras, Manuel”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens. 1946. Print.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. ”Manuel Chrysoloras.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.