Lorenzo Valla

Lorenzo Valla (Italian: [loˈrɛntso ˈvalla]; also latinized as Laurentius; c. 1407 – 1 August 1457) was an Italian Renaissance humanist scholar, rhetorician, educator, and Catholic priest. He is best known for his historical-critical textual analysis that proved that the Donation of Constantine was a forgery, therefore impugning and undermining the presumption of temporal power claimed by the papacy. Lorenzo is sometimes seen as a precursor of the Reformation.

Notable works: De falso credita et ementita Constantini donatione declamatio, Confutatio in Morandum, Elegantiarum linguae latinae libri sex, Confutatio altera in Morandum, Fabelle Aesopi, Apologus seu actus scenicus in Poggium, Encomion sancti Thomae Education: University of Pavia

Source: Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_Valla