Medieval
225 people
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'Ali ibn al-'Abbas al-Majusi
10th century Persian physician and psychologist
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Abbas Ibn Firnas
9th century astronomer and physician
Abbot Suger
French abbot-statesmen, historian and the influential first patron of Gothic...
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Abd Allah ibn Abbas
7th-century Islamic scholar
Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi
Persian astronomer (903-986)
Abraham ibn Ezra
12th-century Sephardic rabbi and astrologer
Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti
andalusian geographer (1100–1165)
Abu Bakr al-Razi
Persian polymath, physician, chemist and philosopher (854-925)
Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi
Persian astrologer and philosopher (787–886)
Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani
Arab historian, writer, poet and musicologist (897–967)
Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi
Arab Andalusian physician, surgeon and chemist (936–1013)
Abu al-Wafa Buzjani
Persian mathematician and astronomer (940–998)
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Abu-Mahmud Khujandi
10th-century Persian astronomer and mathematician
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Abulfeda
geographer and leader (1273–1331)
Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī
Muslim instrument maker, astrologer, and astronomer
Abū Ḥanīfa Dīnawarī
Persian Islamic polymath (died 895)
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Adam of Bremen
11th-century German historian and chronicler
Adelard of Bath
12th-century English natural philosopher
Aesop
ancient Greek storyteller (619 BC–563 BC)
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Agathias
Byzantine poet and historian
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Ahmad ibn Arabshah
Arab writer
Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Muslim jurist and theologian (780–855)
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Al-Bakri
Arab Andalusian geographer and historian (c. 1040–1094)
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Al-Baladhuri
Abbasid-era Muslim historian (820-892)
Al-Battani
Islamic astronomer and mathematician (died 929)
Al-Biruni
11th-century Persian scholar and polymath (973–1048)
Al-Dhahabi
Syrian Islamic historian and Hadith scholar (1274–1348)
Al-Ghazali
Persian Sunni Muslim scholar and mystic (c.1058–1111)
Al-Jahiz
Arabic writer (776–869)
Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi
Iraqi lexicographer, philologist and poet (718 – 786 CE)
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Al-Khazini
astronomer, philosopher and mechanician (1100-1200)
Al-Kindi
Muslim Arab philosopher, mathematician and physician (c.801–873)
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Al-Maqrizi
Egyptian historian (1364–1442)
Al-Mas'udi
10th-century Arab historian, geographer, and traveller
Al-Mawardi
Arab Muslim jurist of the Shafi'i school
Al-Zamakhshari
Persian scholar
Al-ʻIjliyyah
Syrian scientist, mathematician, and astronomer, astrolabe maker
Albertus Magnus
German-Dominican friar and saint (c. 1200–1280)
Alcmaeon of Croton
5th-century BC Greek physician and philosopher
Alcuin
8th-century Northumbrian scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher
Alfonso X of Castile and Leon
King of Castile from 1252 to 1284
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Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari
Persian scholar and physician
Amir Khusrau
Indian poet, writer, singer and scholar (1253–1325)
Anania Shirakatsi
Armenian scientist
Anaximander
pre-Socratic Greek philosopher
Anaximenes of Miletus
Greek Ionian Pre-Socratic philosopher (c.586–c.526 BC)
Anna Komnene
Byzantine princess and historian
Anselm of Canterbury
11th‑century Benedictine monk, Archbishop of Canterbury, philosopher and theologian
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Ari Þorgilsson
Icelandic writer
Ata-Malik Juvayni
Iranian historian
Attar of Nishapur
Persian Sufi poet (c. 1145 – c. 1221)
Avempace
Arab Andalusian polymath (c. 1085 – 1138)
Averroes
Arab Andalusian Muslim writer and philosopher (1126–1198)
Avicenna
Persian polymath, physician and philosopher (c. 980–1037)
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Bar Hebraeus
Primate of Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch (1226–1286)
Bede
Anglo-Saxon monk, writer and saint (672/3–735)
Bernard of Clairvaux
Burgundian saint, abbot and theologian (1090-1153)
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Bhartṛhari
Indian linguist, poet and writer
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Bhaskara-I
7th-century Indian mathematician
Bonaventure
Franciscan, bishop, cardinal, Doctor of the Church, Catholic saint
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Brahmagupta
Indian mathematician and astronomer (c. 598 – c. 668 CE)
Bridget of Sweden
Swedish nun, mystic, and saint (c.1303–1373)
Catherine of Siena
Italian Dominican saint (1347-1380)
Christine de Pizan
French poet and author (1364 – c. 1430)
Ciriaco de' Pizzicolli
15th-century Italian humanist and antiquarian
Clare of Assisi
Italian saint (1194–1253)
Confucius
5th-century BCE Chinese philosopher and politician
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Cosmas Indicopleustes
6th-century Greek traveller and merchant
Cosmas of Prague
Bohemian priest (c.1045–1125)
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Ctesias
ancient Greek historian
Dante Alighieri
Florentine poet, writer, and philosopher (c. 1265–1321)
Duns Scotus
Scottish Franciscan friar and philosopher (c. 1265/66–1308)
Einhard
Frankish scholar and courtier (c. 775 – 840)
Eugene IV
pope of the Catholic Church from 1431 to 1447
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi
12th-century Sunni Muslim theologian and philosopher
Farabi
10th century Persian philosopher and jurist
Fibonacci
Italian mathematician (c.1170–c.1240/50)
Fujiwara no Teika
poet and court noble (1162–1241)
Geoffrey Chaucer
14th century English poet and author (1343–1400)
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Historian and Bishop of St Asaph, Wales (c.1095–1155)
Geoffrey of Villehardouin
knight and historian
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George Akropolites
Byzantine Greek historian, diplomat (1217–1282)
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Georgios Kedrenos
Byzantine historian (11th century)
Georgios Pachymeres
Byzantine scholar (1242–1310)
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Georgios Syncellus
9th century Byzantine historian, philosopher and writer
Gerald of Wales
medieval clergyman and historian
Gerard of Cremona
Italian translator and astrologer (c. 1114 – 1187)
Gildas
6th-century British monk, writer and saint
Giovanni da Pian del Carpine
Roman Catholic archbishop and traveller (1182–1252)
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Gottschalk of Orbais
German theologian
Gregory VIII
Pope of the Roman Catholic Church in 1187
Gregory of Tours
Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours
Guo Shoujing
Chinese astronomer and mathematician (1231–1316)
Han Yu
Chinese historian, poet, philosopher and politician (768–824)
Hasan-i Sabbah
The founder of the Ismaili state of Alamut and the Imam of the Nizari Ismailis (1081–1124)
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Hecataeus of Miletus
Greek historian and geographer (c.550–c.476 BC)
Henry Suso
German Dominican friar and mystic
Heraclitus
Greek philosopher (late 6th/early 5th-century BC)
Hermann of Reichenau
German 11th-century Benedictine monk
Hildegard of Bingen
German Benedictine abbess, polymath, mystic and Doctor of Church (1098–1179)
Hippasus
5th-century BC Pythagorean philosopher
Hunayn ibn Ishaq
Arab Christian scholar, physician and scientist (809–873)
Ibn Arabi
Sufi scholar and Sunni philosopher (1165–1240)
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
Egyptian Islamic scholar (1372–1449)
Ibn Hazm
Andalusian Muslim polymath, historian, jurist, philosopher and theologian (994–1064)
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Ibn Hišām
Muslim scholar and historian (died 833)
Ibn Ishaq
Arab hagiographer and historian (704–767)
Ibn Kathir
Syrian Islamic historian, exegete and scholar (c.1300–1373)
Ibn Khaldun
Arab historiographer and historian
Ibn Khordadbeh
Persian geographer and official (died 913)
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Ibn Miskawayh
Persian philosopher and historian ( 932–1030)
Ibn Tufayl
Arab Muslim polymath (c. 1105–1185)
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Ibn Yunus
Egyptian mathematician (c. 950–1009)
Ibn Zuhr
Arab physician, surgeon and poet (1094–1162)
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Ibn al-Athir
Islamic historian, theologian and geographer (1160–1232/3)
Ibn al-Baitar
Andalusian Arab pharmacist, botanist, physician and scientist (1197–1248)
Ibn al-Haytham
Persian physicist, mathematician and astronomer (c. 965 – c. 1040)
Ibn al-Nafis
Arab polymath and physician (1213–1288)
Innocent V
185th Pope of the Catholic Church
Isidore of Seville
Hispano-Roman scholar, theologian and bishop (c. 560–636)
Jabir ibn Hayyan
8th-century Islamic alchemist and author
Jamshīd al-Kāshī
Persian astronomer and mathematician
Jan Hus
Czech theologian, philosopher and preacher (1369-1415)
Jean Froissart
French writer
John Skylitzes
Greek historian (early 1040s – after 1101)
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John Tzetzes
Byzantine poet and writer (c.1110–1180)
John VI Kantakouzenos
Byzantine emperor from 1347 to 1354 (1292–1383)
John Wycliffe
English theologian and dissident in the Roman Catholic Church
John XXI
pope (1276-1277)
John Zonaras
12th century Byzantine chronicler and theologian
John of Damascus
Christian monk, priest, hymnographer and apologist (675/6-749)
Judah Halevi
Spanish-Jewish philosopher, poet and physician (c.1075–1141)
Kabir
15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint
Konstantinos VII
Byzantine emperor
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Kumārila Bhaṭṭa
Master alchemist who documented rasayana (mercurial processing) and metal purifications.
Kūkai
Japanese Buddhist monk and calligrapher, the founder of the Shingon school (774–835)
Laozi
6th-century BC semi-legendary Chinese philosopher, founder of Taoism
Leonardo Bruni
Italian humanist historian (c. 1370–1444)
Leucippus
5th-century BCE Greek philosopher
Li Bai
Classical Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty (701–762)
Lu You
Chinese historian and poet (1125–1210)
Mahmud al-Kashgari
Turkic scholar and lexicographer
Meister Eckhart
German philosopher and theologian
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Meton of Athens
5th century BC Greek astronomer
Michael Psellos
11th-century Byzantine monk, writer and court official
Moshe ben Maimon
Medieval Jewish philosopher from Spain (1135–1204)
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Iranian scholar, historian and commentator on the Qur'an (839–923)
Murasaki Shikibu
Japanese novelist and poet (c.973–c.1014)
Muḥammad ibn Ismaeel al-Bukhārī
Persian Islamic scholar (810-870)
Muḥammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi
9th-century Persian mathematician and astronomer
Nahmanides
13th century Catalonian rabbi and scholar
Nasir Khusraw
11th-century Persian Isma'ili poet, scholar, philosopher, and missionary
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi
Persian astronomer (1201–1274)
Nestor the Chronicler
Saint and chronicler of Kievan Rus'
Nicephorus Gregoras
Byzantine astronomer and scholar
Nicole Oresme
14th century French philosopher and bishop
Nikephoros I of Constantinople
patriarch of Constantinople
Niketas Choniates
Greek historian (1155-1217)
Nizami Ganjavi
Persian poet
Omar Khayyám
Persian mathematician and poet (1048–1131)
Orderic Vitalis
English monk and historian (1075 – c. 1142)
Otto of Freising
Austrian medieval chronicler
Ouyang Xiu
Chinese poet, historian and statesman (1007–1072)
Panini
ancient philologist who standardized classical Sanskrit through grammatical rules
Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli
Florentine astronomer
Parmenides
late 6th/early 5th century BC Greek pre-Socratic philosopher
Paul the Deacon
8th century Benedictine monk, scribe and historian
Paulinus II of Aquileia
Patriarch of Aquileia and saint
Peter Abelard
French scholastic philosopher, theologian and preeminent logician (c.1079-1142)
Petrarch
Italian scholar and poet (1304-1374)
Pierre d'Ailly
French theologian and astrologer (1351–1420)
Pietro d'Abano
Italian physician, philosopher and philologist
Poggio Bracciolini
Italian scholar, writer and humanist (1380–1459)
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Procopius
6th-century historian
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
Greek philosopher
Pythagoras
Greek philosopher and mathematician (c. 570 – c. 495 BC)
Rabia of Basri
Iraqi sufi and poet
Ramon Llull
Majorcan writer and philosopher (c.1232–1315/6)
Rashid-al-Din Hamadani
Persian physician and historian (1247-1318)
Robert Grosseteste
English bishop and philosopher
Roger Bacon
English polymath, philosopher and friar (c.1219/20–c.1292)
Rumi
Iranian poet
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Samuel ibn Naghrillah
Spanish poet, vizier, and general
Saxo Grammaticus
Danish historian
Sei Shōnagon
Japanese author and court lady
Sejong the Great
fourth king of Joseon (Korea), creator of Hangul
Shen Kuo
Chinese scientist and statesman (1031-1095)
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Shri Bhaskara II (Bhaskaracharya)
Indian mathematician and astronomer Mathematical genius who discovered early...
Shri Ramanujacharya
12th-century Iconic indian social reformer and proponent of the Vishishtadvaita...
Sibawayh
Persian grammarian from Basra (c.760–796)
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Sidi Boushaki
Algerian theologian, exeget, linguist and sufi
Sima Guang
Chinese politician, writer, and historian during the Northern Song dynasty (1019–1086)
Snorri Sturluson
Icelandic historian, poet and politician (AD 1179–1241)
Solon
Athenian legislator
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Stephanus of Byzantium
6th-century Byzantine grammarian and geographer
Su Shi
Chinese writer and politician (1037–1101)
Su Song
Chinese polymath and statesman (1020–1101)
Sun Tzu
6th century BCE Chinese general and military strategist
Suśruta
ancient Indian physician, father of surgery
Thales
ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician
The Buddha
Indian philosopher and the founder of Buddhism (623 or 563 BCE – 543 or 483 BCE)
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Theano
6th-century BC Pythagorean philosopher
Theophanes the Confessor
Byzantine aristocrat, monk and historian (c.758/60–c.817/8)
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Theophylact Simocatta
early 7th-century Byzantine historian
Thietmar of Merseburg
German bishop and historian (975–1018)
Thomas Aquinas
Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church (1225–1274)
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Thābit ibn Qurra
Mesopotamian astronomer and mathematician
Toghon Temür
Yuan and Northern Yuan emperor from 1333 to 1370
Ulugh Beg
Timurid sultan, astronomer and mathematician (1394–1449)
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Varāhamihira
6th-century Hindu polymath, author of Brihat samhita
Vitello
Polish-German scholar
Wace
12th-century Norman poet and chronicler
Wang Anshi
Song Dynasty chancellor and poet (1021-1086)
William of Malmesbury
English monk and chronicler (c.1095 – c.1143)
William of Ockham
English Franciscan friar and theologian (c.1287–1347)
William of Tyre
medieval prelate and chronicler, archbishop of Tyre
Xenophanes
Greek Pre-Socratic philosopher (c.570–c.478 BC)
Xuanzang
7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar (602–664)
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Yaqut al-Hamawi
Arab bibliographer and geographer (1179–1229)
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Zeami Motokiyo
Japanese aesthetician and playwright
Zhu Xi
Chinese historian, neo-Confucian philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song...
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Ziryab
9th-century poet and musician
al-Jazari
mathematician and engineer from Jazira, Artuqid State (1164–1206)
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al-Yaʿqubi
9th-century Arab geographer and historian
Ādi Shankara
An Indian philosopher and theologian who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta...