CRISOLÓRA, MANUELE. — Greek humanist of the 14th–15th century, born in Constantinople around 1350, died at Constance during the Council on 15 April 1415. He was the first Greek to hold a chair in his language in Italy. He landed in Venice for the first time around 1394–1395 “with the mission of soliciting the aid of the powerful Republic against the Turks.” In March 1396, at the instigation of Coluccio Salutati, he was invited to teach Greek grammar and literature in Florence, where he remained until 1400. Virtually all Italian humanists were in some measure his disciples, both because for a time they learned Greek from the grammar, in the form of questions and answers (Erotemata), which he compiled at that time, and because the translation into Latin of Greek authors—a mission and aspiration of the 15th century—took its starting point from his school.
“C.,” says one of his scholars, “has a genuine theory of the art of translation: he is concerned not only to preserve fidelity to the Greek text, but also to respect the requirements of Latin, thus adhering to a sound artistic criterion.” From Florence he moved to Milan at the invitation of Giangaleazzo and of his emperor Manuele II Paleologo, who entrusted him with several embassies to the Western sovereigns to obtain aid against the Turks. He was subsequently seen in Genoa, London, Paris, and Rome, where the Pope entrusted him with a message to the ecumenical patriarch Matteo I (died in 1410) concerning the question of the union of the Churches; this should not be surprising, because Manuele
was Latin-speaking, indeed Catholic. In 1413, Pope Giovanni XXII assigned him as companion to the two cardinals sent to the emperor Sigismondo to prepare the Council of Constance. The following year he accompanied the Pope to the Council. He was buried at Constance in a chapel of the Dominican convent.