John VIII Palaiologos
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John VIII Palaiologos was the penultimate Roman emperor to rule in Constantinople. Ruling from 1425 to 1448, he attempted to bring about the reunification of the Orthodox and Catholic churches and pri
Detail from The Middle King by Benozzo Gozzoli, in the Magi Chapel of Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Florence, 1459–1461. Balthazar is represented as John VIII; the portrait is based on contemporary drawings made in Italy.
Miniature depicting a young John VIII (far left) with his family, c. 1404.
A famous portrait medal by Pisanello made in Florence, 1438
Sketches of John VIII at the Council of Florence, by Pisanello
Maria Megale Komnene, known as Maria of Trebizond, was Byzantine Empress by marriage to the Byzantine emperor John VIII Palaiologos. She was the last crowned Byzantine empress.
John VIII Palaiologos
…Valois. Her maternal grandparents were John II of France and Bonne of Bohemia. His third marriage, arranged by the future cardinal, Bessarion, was to Maria of Trebizond in 1427. She was a daughter of Alexios IV of Trebizond and Theodora Kantakouzene. She died in the winter of 1439, also from plague. None of the marriages…
Possible depiction of Maria in the fresco Saint George and the Princess by Pisanello