Pope Leo X: Did you mean...?

Many scholars, without concrete evidence, believe that Leo Africanus 1485-1554 was the inspiration behind William Shakespeare’s Othello, shown here with Desdemona in an 1849 painting by Théodore Chassériau, currently in the Louvre Museum...

A gold solidus (nomisma) coin of Byzantine emperor Leo V the Armenian (r. 813-820 CE). The reverse side shows his son Constantine. (Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com)

An illustration from a 12th century CE manuscript depicting the proclamation of Leo V the Armenian, emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 813 to 820 CE. (Madrid Skylitzes, National Library, Madrid)

A penitent Leo VI, Byzantine emperor 886-912 CE, from a mosaic in the Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.

Martin Luther (l. 1483-1546) was a German priest, monk, and theologian who became the central figure of the religious and cultural movement known as the Protestant Reformation. Even though earlier reformers had expressed Luther's views, his...

The Carolingian Dynasty (751-887) was a family of Frankish nobles who ruled Francia and its successor kingdoms in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. The dynasty expanded from Francia as far as modern Italy, Spain, and...

The relationship between the Byzantine Empire and ancient Armenia was a constant and varied one with an equal mix of wars, occupations, treaties of friendship, mutual military aid, and cultural exchange. Regarded as a vital defence to the...

Henry VIII of England ruled as king from 1509 to 1547. The second Tudor king after his father Henry VII of England (r. 1485-1509), Henry had inherited a kingdom which enjoyed both unity and sound finances. Famous for his six wives as he searched...

Leo Lesquereux, 19th-century paleobotanist, image by an unknown artist, published in Popular Science Monthly April 1887.

Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal Archbishop of York (l. c. 1473-1530 CE) served as Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII of England (r. 1509-1547 CE) from around 1513 CE to 1529 CE. Wolsey rose to become the most powerful man in England after the king, he...