Claim profile
1400–1499

The 15th century

Whose working lives fell in the 15th 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 15th century, ranked where Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.

CountryAll🇫🇷 France🇩🇪 Germany🇮🇹 Italy🇹🇷 Turkey🇬🇧 United Kingdom🇪🇸 Spain🇯🇵 Japan🇸🇪 Sweden🇵🇹 Portugal🇨🇭 Switzerland
FieldAllHistorical FiguresPoliticiansWritersArtistsReligious FiguresAcademicsModelsMusiciansArchitectsScientists
  1. 1François VillonFrançois Villon1431–1463 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers20 decades
  2. 2Charles, Duke of OrléansCharles, Duke of Orléans1394–1465 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers22 decades
  3. 3Catherine of ValoisCatherine of Valois1401–1437 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers0 decades
  4. 4Maria of ClevesMaria of Cleves1426–1487 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers0 decades
  5. 5Olivier de la MarcheOlivier de la Marche1425–1502 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers8 decades
  6. 6Claude des ArmoisesClaude des Armoises1407–1449 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers4 decades
  7. 7Jean MolinetJean Molinet1435–1507 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers22 decades
  8. 8Jean Bilhères de LagraulasJean Bilhères de Lagraulas1434–1499 · 🇫🇷 France · Writersnot measured—
  9. 9Jean V de BueilJean V de Bueil1406–1478 · 🇫🇷 France · Writersnot measured—
  10. 10Pierre de Foix, le vieuxPierre de Foix, le vieux1386–1464 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers18 decades
  11. 11ADAliénor de Poitiers1444–1509 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers2 decades
  12. 12Jean JouffroyJean Jouffroy1412–1473 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers11 decades
  13. 13PEPaolo Emili1460–1529 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers5 decades
  14. 14OBOlivier Basselin1403–1470 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers1 decades
  15. 15JCJean Castel1384–1425 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers18 decades
  16. 16PCPietro Cirneo1447–1506 · 🇫🇷 France · Writersnot measured—

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.