The German prelate and humanist Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464) was active in conciliating various schisms in the 15th-century Church and was a strong advocate of Church unity. The son of a fairly prosperous boat owner and landholder, Nicholas was born in...

Nicholas of Cusa was a leading churchman, philosopher, and theologian of the fifteenth century. His career as canon lawyer, conciliarist, papal advocate, cardinal, and reformer placed him at the center of the political turmoil of his age. One of the...

NICHOLAS OF CUSA (1401–1464), German canonist, Christian theologian, and philosopher. Nicholas was born at Kues (present-day Bernkastel-Kues) on the Moselle, and studied at Heidelberg, Padua, and Cologne. At the Council of Basel, with his...

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...

1401-1464 German Mathematician and Philosopher Nicholas of Cusa is a figure difficult to assess within the context of mathematics. Certainly he wrote extensively about the subject, in particular on the properties of circles, but it is primarily as a...

1401-1464 German scholar and humanist who created the first modern map of Germany in 1491. Also known as Nicholas of Cusa and Nicholas Cusanus, Krebs entered the priesthood in 1433 and rose to the position of cardinal in 1448. He wrote and studied...

Nicholas of Cusa (1401 – August 11, 1464) was a German cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, a philosopher, jurist, mathematician, and an astronomer. He is widely considered as one of the greatest geniuses and polymaths of the 15th century. He is...

In the following essay, Biechler discusses Cusanus's role in the conciliar movement and examines his treatise on the subject, De Concordantia Catholica. Biechler argues that personal concerns and the influence of Italian humanism, which tended toward the creation of a cultural elite, were key factors in his move away from more democratic ecclesiastical reforms.

In the following essay, Gómez reviews Cusanus's efforts to find or create an accurate name for God, tracing his progress from De Docta Ignorantia through the last years of his life.

In this excerpt from his edition of De Docta Ignorantia, Hopkins explicates the Cusan concept of “Maximum Absolutum.” Hopkins also provides a brief introduction to the whole work and its emphasis on the human inability to know any given thing perfectly, although limited knowledge is possible.