Iacobus Piso

Born at Medgyes, in Transylvania, Piso travelled to Italy, where he studied at Bologna under Filippo Beroaldo. He continued his education in Rome and received a legal doctorate in 1501. When back to Hungary, he become a member of King Vladislav VII’s retinue. He probably took holy orders in 1505 or 1506 and in 1507 he was sent to Italy as royal ambassador. At Rome, he met Erasmus in 1509: this haevily affected his intellectual experience. Jacobus Piso was one of the main channelsm through which Erasmian ideas entered Hungary. Piso’s house in Buda became a centre of humanistic influence, in which a number of Hungarian scholars as well as members of the royal court met to discuss Erasmus’ writings and thought. Known for the elegance of his Latinity and the beauty of his poetry, Piso was crowned poet laureate by Maximilian I.