Claim profile
1100–1199

The 12th century

Whose working lives fell in the 12th century. Books are measured from 1800 and readers from 2015, so for this period we can say who lived then, not who was talked about then.

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 12th century, ranked where Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.

CountryAll🇫🇷 France🇯🇵 Japan🇩🇪 Germany🇬🇧 United Kingdom🇳🇴 Norway🇮🇹 Italy🇪🇸 Spain🇸🇪 Sweden🇨🇳 China🇹🇷 Turkey
FieldAllHistorical FiguresWritersPoliticiansReligious FiguresAcademicsModelsActorsArtistsMusiciansDoctors
  1. 1AverroesAverroes1126–1198 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Writers22 decades
  2. 2MaimonidesMaimonides1138–1204 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  3. 3Muhammad al-IdrisiMuhammad al-Idrisi1110–1166 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientists0 decades
  4. 4Alfonso VIII of CastileAlfonso VIII of Castile1155–1214 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Models21 decades
  5. 5Isidore the LaborerIsidore the Laborer1079–1130 · 🇪🇸 Spain22 decades
  6. 6Ibn TufailIbn Tufail1110–1185 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics0 decades
  7. 7Benjamin of TudelaBenjamin of Tudela1130–1174 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Historical Figures13 decades
  8. 8Urraca of LeónUrraca of León1081–1126 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Models0 decades
  9. 9Judah HaleviJudah Halevi1075–1141 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics0 decades
  10. 10Alfonso VII of CastileAlfonso VII of Castile1105–1157 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Models0 decades
  11. 11Abraham ibn EzraAbraham ibn Ezra1092–1167 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Writers0 decades
  12. 12Petronilla of AragonPetronilla of Aragon1136–1174 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Models0 decades
  13. 13DGDominicus Gundissalinus1115–1190 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Writers12 decades
  14. 14Judah ben Saul ibn TibbonJudah ben Saul ibn Tibbon1120–1190 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Writersnot measured—
  15. 15AAzriel1160–1238 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  16. 16Pedro AnsúrezPedro Ansúrez1100–1117 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Politicians15 decades
  17. 17Maria TorribiaMaria Torribiadied 1175 · 🇪🇸 Spain22 decades
  18. 18DODurand of Huesca1160–1224 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Writers2 decades
  19. 19San IllánSan Illándied 1199 · 🇪🇸 Spain0 decades
  20. 20IIIsaac ibn Ezra1114–1158 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Writers16 decades

How this is measured

  • Placing people in time. Each person belongs to the century in which they were most active — around age 35, and never after their death.
  • Who ranks highest. Within a century, people are ranked where two independent signals agree: how many of the world’s Wikipedia language editions cover them, and how many people actually read about them. Article counts alone can be lifted by a person’s own circle; readers cannot.
  • Fame in print. The curves count how often a name appears in Google Books from 1800 to 2019, as a share of all the words printed each year, in the person’s own language wherever that corpus exists. Those decades are over, so each measurement is made once and kept.
  • What is left out. A lifetime is measured only from 1820, when there is enough print to judge; the five years after a death are skipped as obituaries; and a name shared with someone equally notable is credited to neither.