George of Trebizond

   Humanist; one of the great translators of Greek texts into Latin. His parents were from Trebizond (q.v.), but he was born in Crete (q.v.) in 1395. He embraced Catholicism and emigrated to Venice (q.v.) in 1415 where he taught Greek and studied Latin. When Pope Nicholas V (q.v.) became his patron he attached himself to the papal academy, headed by Bessarion (q.v.), that translated Greek works into Latin. George translated 11 major Greek texts, some of them never before translated, in addition to other texts from a variety of authors, including Ptolemy, Aristotle, Plato (qq.v.), and the Greek church fathers. He authored a treatise on rhetoric (q.v.), which became the chief text on the subject for the Italian humanists, as well as a treatise on logic. He passionately argued the superiority of Aristotle over Plato, criticizing Bessarion, Plethon, and Theodore Gaza (qq.v.) for their contrary views. He supported the papacy (q.v.) at the Council of Ferrara-Florence (q.v.) and was an ambassador of Pope Paul II to Mehmed II (q.v.).