People in History: before 1500

French mediaeval philosopher (1079–1142) who had a legendary love affair with his student Heloise; they had a child which she named Astrolabe			Peter Abelard
English philosopher and Franciscan friar (1214–94) – made the earliest known European references to gunpowder			Roger Bacon
Wife of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, and mother of Henry VII: daughter of the 1st Duke of Somerset – a grandson of John of Gaunt – making her a great–great–grand–daughter of Edward III; Oxford University's first college for women (founded in 1898) was named after her			Margaret Beaufort
Popular name (not used until 1568, almost 200 years after his death) for the eldest son of Edward III, and father of Richard II: born in 1330 at Woodstock Palace, Oxfordshire, and known during his lifetime as Edward of Woodstock; died (possibly of cancer) in 1376, a year before his father			The Black Prince
Introduced the three ostrich feathers as the emblem of the Prince of Wales – said to have been taken from the helmet of John of Bohemia, his enemy at Crecy
French minstrel to Richard I of England; accompanied him on the Third Crusade; according to tradition, searched Europe for him during the reign of King John			Blondel de Nesle
Famous translator who introduced the printing press to Britain in 1476			William Caxton
Nickname given by the Moors to Rodrigo (or Ruy) Díaz de Vivar, (1040–99), known to the Spaniards as El Campeador ('the Champion'); essentially a mercenary, he fought both with and against the moors; he also fought against the King of Navarre, and killed his champion in single combat			El Cid
Captured the city of Valencia from the Moors, in 1094, after a two–year siege; ruled it as his personal fiefdom for five years, until it was besieged by the Almoravids (a Berber Muslim dynasty, centred on Morocco), when he died – probably as a result of the deprivations caused by the siege
Brother of Edward IV and Richard III, drowned (according to tradition) in a butt of malmsey in the Tower of London, 1478, on Edward's orders			George, Duke of Clarence
Chinese philosopher and teacher (551–479 BC), whose thoughts received official sanction more than 250 years after his death, and were further developed into an ethical and philosophical system (sometimes described as a religion) named after him			Confucius
The first Lord Mayor of London (1189)			Henry FitzAilwyn
'Favourite' of King Edward II: summarily and brutally executed in 1312 (aged 26) for violating the terms of the so–called Ordinances of 1311, which had been imposed upon Edward by the peerage and the clergy to restrict the power of the king			Piers Gaveston
Born in Domrémy, in north–eastern France, c. 1412; persuaded the uncrowned Charles VII that she had a divine mission to expel the occupying English forces from northern France and secure his coronation; he sent her to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission; the siege was lifted only nine days later. After she led French troops to victory at Patay, Charles was crowned at Reims – boosting French morale and paving the way for the final French victory; but she failed to take Paris, and was sold to the English by the Burgundians; found guilty of witchcraft and heresy, by a trial of French ecclesiastics who supported the English; executed by burning in 1431, declared a martyr in 1456, beatified in 1909, canonised in 1920			Joan of Arc
1st Duke of Lancaster; third surviving son of Edward III, and younger brother of Edward the Black Prince			John of Gaunt
Father of Henry IV; also of Queen Philippa of Portugal and Queen Catherine of Castile
Acted as regent for Richard II (his nephew) in the early years of his reign
Married Blanche of Lancaster, Constance of Castille, Katherine Swynford
All Scottish monarchs from 1437 onwards were descended from him through his son John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, whose daughter Joan married James I (John Beaufort's mother was Katherine Swynford; he was born illegitimate, but legitimised after his parents married)
Patron and close friend of Geoffrey Chaucer (Katherine Swynford was the sister of Chaucer's wife Philippa de Roet)
The last independent Prince of Wales – led an uprising against Henry IV, formed a parliament in 1404			Owain Glyndwr
Wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, born c. 1040 (the famous legend probably has no basis in fact)			Lady Godiva
Leader of the group that assassinated James I of Scotland in 1437			Sir Robert Graham
Born in Mainz (modern Germany), c. 1400: introduced the printing press (with moveable type) to Europe, in 1439			Johannes Gutenberg
Leader of the baronial opposition to Henry III, culminating in the Second Barons' War; became de facto ruler of the country after capturing the King at the Battle of Lewes in 1264, and summoned the first English parliament in January 1265; but was brutally murdered later that year, by a twelve–man squad of men loyal to the King, during the Battle of Evesham			Simon de Montfort
Fought the above in support of Henry III, eventually killing him at the Battle of Evesham (1265) and sending his head to his wife as a gift (along with "other parts of his anatomy")			Roger (de) Mortimer
Grandson of the above (same name): reputedly the lover of Isabella, consort of Edward II, with whom he plotted to murder Edward, and arranged his murder at Berkeley Castle in 1327; subsequently (with Edward's son, Edward III, coming to the throne aged 14) he effectively ruled England for three years; hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, by Edward III, in 1330
Wife of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York (famous for giving battle in vain): bore him four daughters and eight sons, two of whom went on to be Kings of England			Cecily Neville
Prince of Novgorod (1236–52), Grand Prince of Kiev (1236–52) and Grand Prince of Vladimir (1252–63): commonly regarded as a key figure of medieval Rus'; grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest; his military victories over German and Swedish invaders – including the Battle of the Ice (1242) – while agreeing to pay tribute to the powerful Golden Horde, gave him legendary status. Canonized as a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1547; subject of a 1938 film by Eisenstein, with music by Prokofiev			Alexander Nevsky
Half–brother of William I (the Conqueror), Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux: took part in the Battle of Hastings, and is believed to have commissioned the Bayeux Tapestry to adorn his cathedral			Bishop Odo
Led a group of paupers in the first Crusade			Peter the Hermit
Kurdish military leader: born in Tikrit (modern Iraq) in 1138; Sultan of Egypt from 1175 until his death in 1193 – succeeding the Atabeg of Mosul, on whose behalf he conquered Egypt 1164–74; subsequently conquered Syria (1174–87), and precipitated the Third Crusade by recovering Jerusalem from the Christians in 1187; renowned for knightly courtesy, he made peace with Richard I of England in 1192			Saladin
Scottish patriot: victor of the Battle of Stirling, 1297; made Guardian of Scotland (de facto head of state – one of eight appointed in the 'Second Interregnum', 1296–1306); defeated at Falkirk in 1298; hung, drawn and quartered in 1305, after being found guilty of high treason and crimes against English civilians			William Wallace
Claimant to the English throne in opposition to Henry VII (claimed to be the Duke of York, son of Edward IV); some say he was in fact Edward's illegitimate son; executed as a traitor in 1499 (see also Lambert Simnel, 1500s)			Perkin Warbeck
Duke of Bohemia, from 921 to 935 when he was murdered by a group of nobles in league with his younger brother Boleslaus; posthumously declared to be a king, and came to be seen as the patron saint of the Czech state			Wenceslaus I
Lord Mayor of London, 1397–1423; also elected Mayor of Calais in 1407			Richard Whittington
Dutch printer and publisher who worked with Caxton and commercialised the printing industry by creating low–priced books for the mass market			Wynkyn de Worde

You are here:

People in History: before 1500