Famous People

Why are they famous?

• People gained fame from their actions. Whether it was creating a wonderful piece of art to conquering a nation, doing something that people would recognize you for would gain you fame in the medieval world.

Famous Kings

• There were many famous kings in the middle ages. They are remembered for their wars, conquests, laws, and some are remembered for being cruel rulers with high taxes and bad decisions.

Justinian and Charlemagne• Justinian became well

known because of organizing the laws of Byzantium and forming Justinian's code.

• Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, is remembered because of how he conquered so many lands, making his empire the largest in Europe.

William the Conqueror and Sundjata

• William the Conqueror, with 600 ships full of horses, soldiers, and servants, went to England and conquered it, and William was crowned the new king of England.

• Sundjata, the Lion Lord, founded the Malian Empire in Africa. He helped the region become wealthy, and even though he was a king, he lived equally with the members of his tribe as a farmer.

Famous Women• Some famous women of

the era include Theodora, wife of Justinian, who handled most political matters. Other women were Wu Zetian, who was known for killing those who didn’t support her, and Eleanor of Aquitaine, who governed for Richard Lionheart while he fought in the crusades.

Famous Fighters• Charles Martel: Nicknamed

“Charles the Hammer”, Charles stopped the Muslims from trying to conquer France.

• Saladin: He led many great battles during the crusades, and took back Jerusalem for the first time in almost 100 years.

• Genghis Khan: He was a fierce warrior from Mongolia with much knowledge of military strategy, which helped him on his conquests.

Children• Otto III: named king of Germany at the

age of three. He began serving as emperor at age 14. He died at age 22 planning an attack on Rome

• Baldwin IV: Baldwin became king at 13 after his father, the previous king, passed away. He was a fierce fighter, but he suffered from leprosy. He defeated Saladin while he was trying to capture Jerusalem.

• Joan of Arc: at the age of 12, Joan started hearing voices, who told her to help save France from England. She became a knight, but was captured and battle. She was put found guilty of heresy, because people believed her to be a witch, and she was burned at the stake.

Leaders of Religion• Saint Benedict of Nursia: St. Benedict

was born in Nursia, Italy. He invented Benedictine Rule, which asked monks to be obedient to God. It told when and how monks should pray, work, study, bathe, eat, dress, and sleep. It was adopted by many monasteries, and is still used today by some of them.

• Muhammad: Born in the middle east, Muhammad became the founder of Islam. He claimed to receive a message from Allah, saying he was destined to be the Prophet. At first, what Muhammad was telling people was rejected, but over the next 200 years, Islam became the major religion of many places.

More Leaders of Religion• Saint Francis of Assisi: In his early

twenties, Saint Francis had a vision that inspired him to devote his life to God. He founded the Franciscan Order of friars in 1209. They lived in towns, spreading the word of god, and helping the sick and poor. In 1212, Francis established the Poor Clares, which was an order for women.

• Saint Catherine of Siena: At the age of six or seven, Catherine saw her first vision of Jesus. Hoping to see more from him, she secluded herself in her room, almost always praying. At 23, she claimed to have had a vision in where God told her to rejoin public life. She helped nurse the sick and poor. She was named as one of Italy’s patron saints in 1461.

Scholars• Avicenna: He was a physician, philosopher,

and a scientist. He was born in the center of Muslim learning. He was educated by his father and many philosophers who visited his homes. He learned how to use herbs as a medicine, and became a prince’s personal physician. He wrote 300 books, many about treating illnesses.

• Hildegard of Bingen: Hildegard was a German nun who became the leader of a monastery founded near the city of Bingen. She advised popes and kings, and composed musical plays that praised gods. She is the only woman of the middle ages known to have written music for church.

• Thomas Aquinas: He is considered the greatest religious thinker and philosopher of the Catholic Church. He became a Friar and dedicated his life to preaching around Italy. He studied Theology, science, philosophy, and logic at the University of Paris. He used logic to prove that god existed

Artists• Abbe Suger: Abbe was a Benedictine monk,

who became an abbot in an abbey in France. He redesigned the church in the Gothic style. He used pointed arches and thin tall columns along with stained glass to allow more light into the church

• Giotto: An Italian master painter and architect. He became the apprentice to Cimabue, a great artist, as a young boy. Giotto is best known for his church frescoes, painting on plaster, most relating to the bible or St. Francis.

• Leonardo da Vinci: One of the greatest painters of all time. He became more skilled than his master very quickly, and he painted many famous works, such as The Last Supper and Mona Lisa.

Inventors• Su Sung: He built a water clock

larger and more accurate than ever before.

• Roger Bacon: Roger Bacon is famous because he invented the magnifying glass and the earliest version of the telescope. He also studied Alchemy, which was sometimes considered witchcraft, so he was imprisoned for his work

• Johannes Gutenberg: He invented the printing press, making it easier to copy and decorate books.

Explorers• Leif Eriksson: He was a Viking, and one

of the first to set foot on North America. He voyaged North and discovered and island he named Helluland. He then went south, where he founded Markland and Vinland, both in northern regions of Canada.

• Marco Polo: He and his father and uncle travelled throughout the empire of Kublai Khan, reporting to him everything they discovered.

• Christopher Columbus: He led people to settle in North America. He never did achieve the goal of finding a new trade route to Asia, and he never found anything as good as he did on his first voyage to America.

Criminals• Erik the Red: Erik Thorvaldson, known as Erik the

Red because of his red hair, was a Viking from Iceland. He killed two men in quarrel around 980, and was exiled for three years. He set sail with his family to Greenland. When he returned to Iceland, he convinced twenty five ships of people to come to Greenland. Only 14 were said to have arrived safely.

• Hereward the Wake: He was a rebel leader in eastern England. In 1070, he stole treasure from Peterborough Abbey to keep it from the king.

• The Murderers of Thomas Becket: King Henry II complained for many years about the disloyal archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. Four knights heard of this, and mistook this as an invitation to kill Becket. On December 29, 1170, the knights rode to Canterbury, where they stabbed and beheaded the archbishop.

• Robin Hood: Robin Hood was an outlaw who was said to steal from the rich and attack the kings soldiers who passed through Sherwood forest. Over time, it has been changed to Robin Hood stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, but nobody is even sure if Robin Hood was even a real person.