The Treatise of Lorenzo Valla on the Donation of Constantine

Lorenzo Valla was an Italian humanist of the 15th century who is considered one of the most important figures in the development of Renaissance humanism. He was born in Rome in 1406 and studied in Padua, where he became interested in classical scholarship and philology. He later moved to Rome and worked for the papal court, where he became known for his critical scholarship and rhetorical skills. Valla is best known for his critical analysis of the "Donation of Constantine," a document that purported to grant the pope temporal power over the Western Roman Empire. Valla proved that the document was a forgery using philological and historical evidence, marking one of the first times in history that a document was proven to be a forgery using critical textual analysis. His analysis of the "Donation of Constantine" was groundbreaking and contributed to the development of humanist scholarship and textual criticism. In addition to his analysis of the "Donation of Constantine," Valla was a prolific writer and scholar. Overall, Lorenzo Valla was an important figure in the development of humanist scholarship and a key figure in the intellectual history of the Renaissance.