1400-1464

German Philosopher, Mathematician, Astronomer, and Futurist

Nicholas Cryfts (or Krebs), known as Nicholas of Cusa (the German city Cues or Kues, his birthplace), was one of the first great polymathic (learned in many areas) minds of the early Renaissance, and one of the first "Renaissance men" with all the spirit implied in the title. Cleric, statesman, philosopher of seminal humanism, mathematician, astronomer, and futurist, Nicholas's early schooling included the universities of Heidelberg, Padua, and Bologna (1416-1423). Although he studied law for a short time, he turned to the clerical life with a move to theology at the University of Cologne (1425). Then followed diplomatic and administrative duties on behalf of the church, which led to his being honored with the designation cardinal priest (1449) by Pope Nicholas V, although he declined at first.

Nicholas of Cusa had begun formulating a theory of knowledge based on...