LORENZO VALLA

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• Died: August 1, 1457
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Lorenzo Valla was an Italian Renaissance humanist, rhetorician, educator, scholar, and Catholic priest. He is best known for his historical-critical textual analysis that proved that the Donation of Constantine was a forgery, therefore attacking and undermining the presumption of temporal power claimed by the papacy. Subsequently, he was put on trial before the Catholic Inquisition in 1444; he was saved by the King of Naples, Alfonso V of Aragon.