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Bessarion

Type Figure Region Byzantine Empire Time c. 1403–1472 Also known as John Bessarion、Bessarion, Archbishop of Nicaea

A Byzantine Greek scholar and Catholic cardinal (c. 1403–1472), originally Orthodox metropolitan of Nicaea, who converted to Catholicism at the Counc…

Timeline

  1. c. 1403–1438Trebizond; Constantinople; Mistra · Black Sea coastBessarion was born in the Empire of Trebizond (modern Turkish Black Sea coast), studied in Constantinople in his youth under renowned scholars, entered a monastery as a monk, then went to Mistra (Peloponnese) to study under the Neoplatonist philosopher George Gemistos Plethon, delving into ancient Greek philosophy. Around 1437 he was appointed metropolitan of Nicaea, and the following year accompanied Byzantine emperor John VIII Palaiologos to Italy for the union council.
  2. 1439–1450Florence; Rome · Papal StatesAt the Council of Florence-Ferrara in 1439 the decree of union between the Latin and Greek churches was passed, and Bessarion was among the most steadfast supporters of union in the Byzantine delegation. After the council he chose to remain in Italy, and in December 1439 was made cardinal by Pope Eugenius IV, thereafter active in the Roman curia as a senior Catholic prelate. He widely received Greek scholar refugees, acquired Greek manuscripts, and became a central figure in the revival of Greek in Italy.
  3. 1451–1460Bologna; Rome; Vienna · Papal States territoriesIn the 1450s Bessarion was appointed papal legate to Bologna and governed the city effectively. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453 he wrote Orationes ad princes, lamenting the fall of Eastern Rome and urging Western monarchs to form a crusade. In the 1455 papal election he was a leading candidate but was resisted by some cardinals for being Greek, and Callixtus III was ultimately elected. He continued diplomatic activity, serving as envoy to the Holy Roman Empire and the French court, advocating resistance to the Ottomans.
  4. 1461–1472Ravenna · Papal StatesIn his later years Bessarion devoted himself to writing and manuscript collecting, completing philosophical works such as In calumniatorem Platonis, laying the foundation for the spread of Platonism in the West. He systematically catalogued his collection of over 900 precious Greek and Latin manuscripts and donated them all to the Republic of Venice in 1468, forming the core of today's Biblioteca Marciana in Venice. He died in Ravenna on 18 November 1472.

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