Born in the year 330 AD in the northern Asian minor, Basil the Great's childhood consisted of his grandmother lecturing him on the work and teachings of Gregory the Wonderworker, Bishop of Neocaesarea. Soon after, Basil began his rhetoric teaching with his father in Neocaesarea. Basil then moved on to Caesarea, Cappadocia to continue his studies. Later, Basil traveled to Athens to continue his studies in rhetoric. Notably, he studied for five years with his good friend, Gregory of Nazianzus who became a theologian and Cappadocia father. Before Basil returned to Caesarea, he journeyed to countries such as Palestine, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Syria, where he studied the rise of ascetics, or the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention. Basil, returning to Caesarea, entered a monastic life. Between 357-365 AD, Basil remained monastic. At the same time, a number of aesthetic communities began growing around him, "seeking his guidance". Basil rose through the ranks, first designated as a reader in 360, then a priest in 362. Basil made a name for himself in 379 when he preached for...
He was well educated, fluent in both Hebrew and Aramaic and spoke but could barely write in Greek and Latin. By the age of 14, he was being consulted by high priests in the matters of Jewish law. He was a very intelligent, young man. He was a Jewish priest, a scholar, and a historian.
The most famous work about Charlemagne is a book entitled The Two Lives of Charlemagne which consists of two separate biographies published into one book and tells the story of Charlemagne's life as two different people experienced it. Apart from this, there are many other places you can turn to learn more about the life of the king of the Franks, including letters, capitularies, inventories, annals, and more. However, each of these sources seem to paint a different picture of Charlemagne. In one, he seems to be a very average guy; in another, a mythical being, almost god-like; and a strong and firm political leader in yet another. It is because of this of this that we will never really know exactly who Charlemagne was or what he was like, but we do have an idea of what he did and how he lived thanks to those who decided to preserve it.
The two lives of Charlemagne as told by Einhard and Notker are two medieval sources about the accounts of the life Charlemagne. Modern sources by Matthew Innes and Rosamond Mckitterick discuss how history was recorded during the medieval period and how it was suppose to be viewed in the early ages. Observing each of these sources helps get an understanding of how the writing of history is important in recorded history and how it affected how the history of Charlemagne was recorded.
Saint Gregory of Tours was born around the year 538 at Arverni, which is now Clermont-Ferrand. He belonged to the Gallo-Roman family, which was a very prestigious family. He was also related to the houses of Gaul. Gregory’s original name was Georgius Florentius. He took the name Gregory to honor his late grandfather who was named Gregory. His Grandfather was the Bishop of Langres. When Gregory was young, his father died and he went to live with his Uncle. His uncle, Gallus, was the Bishop of Clermont. Gallus educated him until his death in 554. Gregory’s mother left to live with friends in Burgandy and left her son to Avitus who became Bishop of Clermont after Gallus. Avitus taught Gregory all about the Scriptures. Gregory was not too impressed with the scriptures. Gregory got seriously ill and wasn’t supposed to recover. He did recover though and this made him more mindful of God and the scriptures. Gregory then became a friend with the Bishop of Tours whose name was Euphronius. Euphronius died in 573 and Gregory succeeded him as Bishop of Tours.
Charlemagne also known as Charles the Great, created a legacy that is greatly honored still to this day. He is seen as one of the greatest conquerors ever because of territories he conquered, the diversity he created, and the building of one of the greatest empires known to mankind. Since the fall of Rome, most of the continent of Europe has not been ruled by someone, until Charlemagne came along. Charlemagne was the founder of the Holy Roman Empire and was the one person to practically lead Europe out of the Dark Ages.
His education was at the University of Poitiers, where he took practice of law in his hometown. Soon he rose to prominence by the astute legal services to prominent people (Parshall 1).
Catherine of Siena was born in Italy in 1347 at a time when political and religious changes were affecting the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Dedicating her life to the Holy Spirit from a very young age, Catherine pursued a life of purity and simplicity that served as a background to her great literary work, The Dialogue of the Divine Providence . Her work focuses on the importance of prayer and its transcendent power in human life.
Leonardo Da Vinci could be argued as one of the most famous persons in the Renaissance Era and one of the greatest painters to ever live. Leonardo is talented and has made many contribution throught his life. He did so many things such as painting, anatomy , mechanics, and architecture. And he is one of the reasons why the Renaissance era could be regarded at one of the greatest time periods in history.
St. Francis of Assisi has been known throughout the world as a lover of nature. In fact, many artistic portrayals of the Saint show him in lavish natural settings, but it was not until 1979 that Pope John Paul II declared Francis the Patron Saint of the Environment. It wasn't until late into St. Francis' life that he was truly able to find a connection with god, who he referred to as the creator, in all aspects of life.
The Life of Saint Faustina was very different from how we live today. She saw many things that most people couldn't even imagine of. The stories Faustina tells us still amazes me till this day. Faustina was born on August 25, 1905. She was the third child out of ten in her family. She was very poor and lived with her siblings. She was baptised and her name was actually used as Helena. This was very weird to me on how she lived but in the end she obeyed god and whatever he told her to do. In Faustinas childhood, she spent her whole life praying, going to church, and pulling her full focus into God. Putting God over all is not easy to do, whats her story?
The novel The Natural is written by Bernard Malamud. Bernard was a famous author mainly known for writing short stories and novels. He was considered one of the great American Jewish authors of the 20th century. Bernard was born in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Russian Jewish immigrants and he had a brother named Eugene. Unfortunately, Malamud entered his adolescence when the Great Depression began. The Natural is one of his more famous books, which was written in 1952. This novel is about a baseball prodigy named Roy Hobbs. He has a bat that he made himself, which he calls Wonderboy. Roy plans to join the major leagues and break all the records. However, his plans are put on hold when a woman he meets shoots. After fifteen years after the tragedy Roy goes back to baseball and is drafted to the New York Knights. Along his journey to becoming a superstar he is distracted from his goal by the women in his life. The Natural is very much similar to the mythological story of Perceval, the Story of the Holy Grail. Roy Hobbs is comparable to Perceval, Pop Fisher to the Fisher King and the pennant to the Holy Grail.
Saint Catherine of Siena is the saint that I have chosen to be my saint. She was very interesting to me, and her story was very intriguing. She is the patron saint of fire prevention, bodily ills, sick people, miscarriages, nurses, and illness. She was canonized in 1461 by Pope Pius II. Her feast day is now celebrated on April 29.
Saint Augustine of Hippo was born on November 13, 354, in the town of Thagaste, which is now located in Algeria. His father was a pagan who converted on his death bed, and his mother was Saint Monica, whom was a devout Christian. In 370, he went to the University at Carthage to study rhetoric and wanted to become a lawyer. He gave up on law, and later on abandoned his Christian faith. He had a mistress with who he lived with for fifteen years and he had a son out of wedlock as well. He later, returned to his Christian faith, and on the death of his mother he returned to Africa, sold his property, gave all of his income to the poor, and founded a monastery at Tagas...
During his early adult live, he worked as a personal aide for Marcus Thermus, who at that time was the governor of the Asian Province. He was then later sent to King called Bithynia by Thermus, to fetch a fleet. And was later suspected of having a false deal with the king of Bithynia. In his early political life he served for Serviliys Isaricus in Cilicia. His exposure to the military made him popular and made him...
Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most well-known geniuses in human history. This man masters knowledge of all kind: painting, architecture, music, geology, philosophy, biology, math, physics, chemistry, etc. His probably most famous painting, Mona Lisa, fascinated millions of people around the world and the amazing and mysterious details in the painting attracted a number of scientists and scholars to devote their whole career in studying them. Born and lived in Italian Renaissance age, which is a period of time when arts flourished and knowledge was valued, Leonardo was surrounded by many great contemporary artists and a perfect creative environment. These favorable factors supported him to fully exercise his talents.