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1. Petrarch: He was a great poet and historian of Italy. He was a poet of Renaissance. He criticizes the weakness of the society of his times through his poems which were written in the Italian language. He is also considered the first Humanist.

2. Michelangelo: He was a great artist of Renaissance. His creations 'The fall of the man' and 'The last judgement', are considered to be the masterpieces of art throughout the world. His paintings give a deep interpretation to human life and humanity.

3.Raphael: He was a great artist of Italy. He did his paintings in the times of the Renaissance in Italy. He is counted among the best artists of the world. His most famous work is the painting of 'Madonna'.

4.Thomas Moore: He was a great writer and scholar of England of the Renaissance period. His literary masterpiece called 'Utopia'. In this book, he has ridiculed the bad practices of the contemporary society.

5.Machiavelli: He was a famous historian of Florence. He is regarded as the 'Father of the Modern Political Science'. In his notable book 'The Prince' he painted the picture of an imaginary state. He was in favour of keeping separate, the politics and religion.

6.Leonardo-da-Vinci: Leonardo was a great artist of Italy. He was a man of multiple talents. He was a poet, singer, painter, sculptor, philosopher, scientist and engineer.

He knew many languages also. He painted many pictures during the Renaissance period. His two paintings i.e. 'The Last Supper' and 'Mona Lisa' are still admired throughout the world.

7.Gutenberg: He was a great scholar of Germany. He invented the printing press during the Renaissance period. The Bible of Gutenberg was probably the first book which was printed in Europe.

His invention of the printing press proved very much helpful in the spread of education and knowledge in Europe.
8.Martin Luther: He was a German Clergyman. He was one of the greatest exponents of the Protestant Movements. He was unhappy to see the corruption in the Roman Catholic Church.

Therefore he openly opposed and criticised the corrupt practices of the Priests. He translated Bible into the German language.

9.Wycliffe: He was a reformer clergyman of England. He was unhappy to see corruption in the Roman Catholic Church. He exposed the immoral a luxurious living of the priests of his times. He also condemned the interference of the Church in secular affairs. He translated the Bible into the English language.

10.Galileo: He was an Italian scientist. He was the inventor of the telescope. He discovered several astronomical truths by looking through his telescope. He accepted the principle of Copernicus that the earth rotates on its axis and revolves around the sun.

11.Copernicus: He was the first European scientist of the Renaissance period. He was a resident of Poland. He discovered that the earth rotates on its axis and revolves around the sun. As this invention of Copernicus was contrary to the contemporary Christian beliefs, he had to suffer at the hand of the Catholic Church.

12.Dante: He was a great poet of Italy. He wrote his poems in Latin as well as Italian.

In his famous epic poem 'The Divine Comedy' he ridiculed the religious beliefs and practices of his age. He is considered one of the greatest poets among the Renaissance poets.

13.John Huss: He was a professor at the Prague University. He preached among the people the corrupt practices of the Church and said that the Church should not interfere in the personal activities of human beings.

In 1415 the Pope called him to attend a religious conference there he was burnt alive by the Pope's orders for his criticism of the Church.

14 Francis Bacon: He was a great scholar and author of England of the Renaissance Age. He wrote many scholarly essays on the topics of the contemporary interest. He enlightened the people with his writing.


15. Henry VIII: He was the ruler of England from 1509 to 1512 A.D. He was instrumental in bringing the reformation movement to England over the question of divorcing his wife Catherine.
He broke all the connections with the Pope when the latter tried to put him off. In this connection, he got various Acts passed by the Parliament. By the Act of Supremacy, he himself became the head of the State. By the Act of Appeal, he forbade the practice of sending appeals to the Pope from the Court of England.