Top 10 Most Iconic People of the Middle Ages

The period of European history extending from about 500 to 1400-1500 CE is traditionally known as the Middle Ages, starting from the collapse of the Roman civilization in the 5th century CE to the period of the Renaissance.

During the Middle Ages, many people left a lasting impact on the world and left their mark, so much so that we still talk about them to this day. Here is a list of the most iconic people who lived in this time period.

The Top Ten

Charlemagne

Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, was a member of the Carolingian Dynasty. He was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy Roman Emperor from 800 until his death in 814. He is considered to have been a strong leader and a good administrator.
He united most of Western Europe for the first time since the collapse of the Roman Empire, which earned him the nickname "Father of Europe." He was also the first Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and played a vital role in the spread of Christianity across Europe.
Charlemagne believed education was very important and ordered the creation of many schools. He is essentially the reason why you get an education today.
Marco Polo

Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant, explorer, and citizen of the Republic of Venice. His travels are recorded in Livres des merveilles du monde, or Book of the Marvels of the World, also known as The Travels of Marco Polo. The book introduced many Europeans to Central Asia and China during the 13th century... read more

Marco Emilio Polo was a Venetian merchant, explorer, and writer who traveled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. He spent 17 of those years in China. Though not the first European to explore China, he became famous for his travels thanks to a popular book he co-authored while languishing in a Genoese prison.
Marco Polo is also given much credit for opening up trade routes to East India and China.

Marco Polo helped connect China and Europe by writing a book that contained legends, stories, and facts about his travels.
Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great was King of the West Saxons from 871 to c. 886 and King of the Anglo-Saxons from c. 886 until his death in 899. He was known as a brave, resourceful, and pious man who was generous to the church and anxious to rule his people justly.
He is considered one of the most famous Anglo-Saxon kings of England. Despite overwhelming odds, he successfully defended his kingdom, Wessex, against the Vikings.
Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan (c. 1162 - August 1227), born Temüjin, was the founder and first Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death. He united the Mongol tribes and launched a series of military campaigns that conquered vast territories across Asia and... read more

Genghis Khan, born Temüjin, was the founder and first Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death. It spanned the entire Asian continent from the Pacific Ocean to modern-day Hungary in Europe.
His massive empire was able to challenge the powerful Jin dynasty in China.

Genghis Khan was a Mongol warlord who conquered a large part of East Asia and created an empire larger than Rome in half the time.

Genghis Khan was born in 1162 near Lake Baikal. He conquered 9.27 million square miles of land, and his empire stretched through Central Asia, the Aral Sea, the Caspian Sea, Iran, the Caucasus, Eastern Europe, and east of Turkey.
He died in Xingqing prefecture on August 25, 1227, because of his health not recovering. His empire collapsed into three empires and one nation. His burial place, named Burkhan Khaldun, is hidden in the peak of the Khentii mountains. A statue of him was built in 2008 in Nalaikh, Mongolia.
Johannes Gutenberg

Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (c. 1398 - February 3, 1468) was a German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher who introduced printing to Europe. His introduction of mechanical movable type printing started the Printing Revolution. This invention is widely regarded as one of the... read more

Johannes Gutenberg is famous for having designed and built the first printing press. His greatest accomplishment was the first print run of the Bible in Latin, which took three years to print around 200 copies. This was considered a miraculously fast achievement at the time, as books had to be copied by hand.
Although he didn't get to see the impact his invention had on the world, the success of his invention meant that books soon became cheaper, and ever-wider parts of the population could afford them.
William the Conqueror

William I, usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman King of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. A descendant of Viking raiders, he had been Duke of Normandy since 1035. After a prolonged struggle to establish his authority, his control... read more

Before he became the king of England, William I was one of the mightiest nobles in France as the Duke of Normandy. However, he is best remembered for leading the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, which changed the course of English history and earned him the name William the Conqueror.
He was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. He was a descendant of the Viking chieftain Rollo, who was the first ruler of Normandy in France.
Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans," is considered a heroine of France for her role in the final phase of the Hundred Years' War. She claimed visions of saints including St. Michael the Archangel, St. Catherine of Alexandria, and St. Margaret of Antioch, who urged her to lead French forces against... read more

Joan of Arc is considered a heroine of France. She was a peasant girl who, believing she was acting under divine guidance, led the French army to a momentous victory at Orléans in 1429. This repulsed an English attempt to conquer France during the Hundred Years' War.
She is also famous for her tragic death. After she was captured and exchanged to the English, she was put on trial by the pro-English bishop, Pierre Cauchon, on a charge of heresy. She was declared guilty and burned at the stake on May 30, 1431, dying at about 19 years of age.
In 1456, Pope Callixtus III authorized an inquisitorial court to investigate the original trial. The court nullified the trial's verdict, declaring it was tainted by deceit, and Joan was exonerated. She was canonized in 1920 and declared a secondary patron saint of France in 1922.
Richard the Lionheart

Richard I was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He is remembered for being a chivalrous medieval king, battling Saladin during the Crusades, and rebelling against his father, Henry II. He was considered a hero in his day and has often been portrayed as one in literature.
He is also famous for his capture and imprisonment during his return from the crusade. Bad weather drove him ashore near Venice, and he was imprisoned by Duke Leopold of Austria before being handed over to the German emperor Henry VI, who ransomed him for the huge sum of 150,000 marks. In February 1194, the ransom was paid and Richard was released.
Dante Alighieri

Durante degli Alighieri, commonly known as Dante, was a major Italian poet of the Late Middle Ages who lived from approximately 1265 to 1321. He is best known for his narrative poem The Divine Comedy, which explores the realms of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The work is widely regarded as the greatest... read more
Filippo Brunelleschi

The Newcomers

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Klaus Störtebeker
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Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor

The Contenders

Saladin

Saladin was a Sunni Muslim Arab who became the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria and was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. He led the Muslim military campaign against the Crusader states in the Levant.
Saladin's army was defeated during the Crusades by Richard the Lionheart. It is said that the two men's relationship had been one of chivalrous mutual respect as well as military rivalry.
Albertus Magnus
Hildegard of Bingen
Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer, born around 1343 and deceased on October 25, 1400, is often called the Father of English literature. He is widely regarded as the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages. Chaucer was the first writer to be buried in what later became Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey.

Geoffrey Chaucer was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for works such as "The Parlement of Foules," "Troilus and Criseyde," and "The Canterbury Tales." He has been called the "father of English literature" because he was the first to write well-known and recognized poems and stories in the language of the common people of his time, medieval English.
William Wallace

William Wallace was a freedom fighter and Scottish commander during the First Scottish Wars of Independence. He defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297 and was appointed Guardian of Scotland. He served in this role until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in July... read more
Vlad the Impaler

Vlad III, also known as "Vlad the Impaler" or "Vlad Dracula", was born in 1431 and served as a Romanian monarch. He ruled the principality of Wallachia three separate times before his death in either 1476 or 1477. Vlad is most famous for his reputation as a brutal and authoritarian ruler, especially... read more
Leif Erikson

Leif Erikson, also spelled Leif Ericson, was a Norse explorer who is believed to have been born in Iceland. He was the first known European to have set foot on continental North America, centuries before Christopher Columbus. He is believed to have established a settlement called Vinland around AD 1000... read more

Leif Erikson was the son of Erik the Red and a Norse explorer from Iceland. He is believed to have been the first European to set foot on continental North America, approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus.
Skanderbeg
Francis of Assisi

Francis is one of the most esteemed religious figures in Roman Catholic history. He founded the Franciscan orders, including the Poor Clares and the lay Third Order.
He and St. Catherine of Siena are the patron saints of Italy, and he is also the patron saint of ecology and of animals.
Frederick Barbarossa
Fibonacci
El Cid
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Wolfram von Eschenbach
Otto the Great