14th Century

Dante Alighieri

Dante was from a noble family, orphaned as a boy and educated by the Dominicans. (According to the Encarta Encyclopedia his father did not die until he was 18, which would put him beyond th... [more]

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Gaveston, Piers

It has always been taken for granted that Gaveston, executed in 1312, was the lover of King Edward II. He had been introduced to the court by Edward I and brought up in the royal household ... [more]

Gertrude the Great

Gertrude was an oblate , taken to the convent of Hefta in Thuringia at the age of five, and she remained a nun for life. From the age of 25 she was subject to mystical experiences, especia... [more]

Janissaries

These were members of the elite infantry of the Turkish sultans in the middle ages. For part of their history, starting in the 1380s under Sultan Murad I, until 1638, they were recruited... [more]