Famous Medieval People



Famous Medieval People

|Person |Dates |Why Famous? |Other Information |

|[pic] |742 –814 |A great Frankish king, who defeated the Saxons, Lombards, and Moors|While fighting the Moors of Spain, Charlemagne lost one of his |

|Charlemagne | |of Spain and he appointed missi dominici to ensure that the laws |best soldiers Roland. Roland leading the rearguard of twenty |

| | |were carried out. |thousand Christians was ambushed by a vastly superior force, |

| | | |numbering four hundred thousand. The Franks fight valiantly, but|

| | | |they are killed to the man. |

|[pic] |688 – 741 |He was a Frankish military and political leader, who served as |Charles set the pattern for the remainder of his military |

|Charles Martel | |Mayor of the Palace, and was known as the "Hammer" who crushed the |career: first, he appeared where his enemies least expected him,|

| | |Muslim army at the battle of Tours in 732. |while they were marching triumphantly home and far outnumbered |

| | | |him. He also attacked when least expected, at midday, when |

| | | |armies were resting. |

|[pic] |1343 –1400 |He was known as the "Father of English Literature” along with |The news of an original copy of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales made |

|Geoffrey Chaucer | |authoring The Canterbury Tales, where pilgrims narrated their |it to the Guinness Book of World Records in 1998. The Canterbury|

| | |stories which fit their character and social standing. |Tales were printed in 1477. Only one of these first copies is |

| | | |still in private hands and was sold in an auction in 1998, for |

| | | |£4,621,500. |

|[pic] |1122 or 1124 –1204 |One of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Europe. She was |Eleanor and Louis married while both were still teenagers in a |

|Eleanor of Aquitaine | |involved in the 2nd Crusade. Queen of both France, and England, and|bid from the French at securing the vast tracts of land |

| | |gave Henry II five children. |belonging to Aquitaine. It was rumored that Eleanor had an |

| | | |affair with Raymond, Prince of Antioch. This caused much discord|

| | | |between Louis and Eleanor. Marriage annulled. |

|[pic] |1070’s |An embroidered cloth, with fifty scenes using colored wool that |The pictures in the scenes depicted show: 623 people, 202 |

|Bayeux Tapestries | |depicted the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England. |horses, 55 dogs, 506 other birds and animals (some mythical), 49|

| | | |trees, 41 ships, 37 buildings, 57 Latin inscriptions containing |

| | | |nearly 2000 letters and only three women. |

|[pic] |1022 –1066 |He was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England. Ruled from January | The Bayeux Tapestry clearly shows Harold's death. There is a |

|Harold Godwinson | |until October in 1066 when he was killed and his forces were routed|picture of a soldier being hit by an arrow, and the word |

| | |at the Battle of Hastings. |"Harold" is right above him (see images on the left). Under the|

| | | |Latin words 'Interfectus Est' (was killed) we see a soldier |

| | | |being hacked down by a sword. Go to |

| | | | |

|[pic] |1412 - 1431 |A French national heroine, a Catholic saint who claimed divine |1. Born on January 6, 1412 |

|Joan of Arc | |guidance, she led the French army to victories during the 100 |2. In May 1428 Joan had visions that told her to find the true |

| | |Years' War. Burned at the stake. |king of France and help him reclaim his throne from the British.|

| | | | |

| | | |3. Military victories brought Charles VII to the throne. |

| | | |4. In 1431 tried as a heretic and found guilty. |

| | | |5. Burned alive on 1431. |

|[pic] |1166 –1216 |This King of England was forced to sign the Magna Carta, basis for |John is today usually considered a "hard-working administrator, |

|King John Lackland | |English citizens’ rights, which greatly reduced the king's power |an able man, an able general". However, he also had many faults |

| | |and allowed for the formation of a powerful parliament. |as king, such as pettiness, spitefulness and cruelty. John |

| | | |remains as a villain in films and stories depicting the Robin |

| | | |Hood legends. |

|[pic] |1215 |The revolt of the barons led to the signing of this document, often|No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his |

|Magna Carta | |considered to be an early step in the evolution of the constitution|rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled nor will we |

| | |of the United Kingdom. |proceed with force against him, except by the lawful judgment of|

| | | |his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to|

| | | |no one deny or delay right or justice. |

|[pic] |1254 –1324 |As one of the first Europeans to travel into Mongolia and China he |Marco Polo spent 17 years in China, where he seems to have been |

|Marco Polo | |became famous as an author for the story of his travels along the |a favorite of Kublai Khan. He was sent on missions by the Khan. |

| | |Silk Road to China. |Each time the Polo’s asked to return to Venice, the Khan |

| | | |refused. At last, the Khan gave in but when in Venice their |

| | | |stories were not believed. |

|[pic] |1138 –1193 |Renowned for his knightly virtues while involved with the Christian|Saladin was nicer person than Richard the Lionheart. Here's why:|

|Saladin | |Crusaders, he signed a truce allowing Christians to visit the holy |When Richard was sick with a fever, Saladin, supplied with |

| | |places without tribute. |delicacies, sent him a gift of the choicest fruits of the land. |

| | | |When Richard's horse had been killed in battle, Saladin sent a |

| | | |fine Arabian steed as a present. |

|[pic] |1181/1182 –1226 |He preached poverty on the streets, and soon amassed a loyal |Francis was a street brawler and soldier. He was captured during|

|Saint Francis of Assi | |following by which he founded the men's Franciscan Order that was |a conflict between Assisi and Perugia, he over a year as a |

| | |endorsed by Pope Innocent III in 1210. |prisoner of war. He had a conversion experience, including a |

| | | |reported message from Christ calling him to leave this worldly |

| | | |life. |

|[pic] |1035 –1099 |He was known for starting the First Crusade (1096–1099) and setting|At Clermont, the Pope announced to his assembled listeners a |

|Pope Urban II | |up the modern day Roman Curia, in the manner of a royal court, to |shocking number of abuses of Eastern Christians and Christian |

| | |help run the Church. |holy places in the East including the rape of women and clergy, |

| | | |torture, and desecration. Those going would receive a plenary |

| | | |indulgence |

|[pic] |1028] –1087 |First Norman King of England, who created a feudal state that |In 1065, Duke William met with Harold Godwinson. It is believed |

|William the Conqueror | |brought order, peace and law to England, promoted commerce, and |that there was a sacred oath of allegiance to the Duke William. |

| | |created a strong central government. |When Edward the Confessor died, Harold Godwinson claimed the |

| | | |English throne and is crowned the King of England. Duke William |

| | | |stakes his claim on the English throne and receives support from|

| | | |many of the French nobles and the Pope. |

|[pic] |1157 –1199 |As King of England he was good looking, charming, but he was also |When Richard arrived at the Holy City he could not look at it |

|Richard the Lionheart | |ruthless. He started the 3rd Crusade, conquered Acre, and |saying, "They who are not worthy to win it are not worthy to |

| | |slaughtered 3,000 men and women. |behold it." With a shortage of men, and the news from home |

| | | |revealed that King Philip and his own brother, John, were doing |

| | | |all the mischief they could. He made a peace for three years |

| | | |with the Saracens. He hoped to return to rescue Jerusalem. |

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