born 0441; 1280, Padua, Kingdom of Italy
died 0441; 1343, Munich
Italian political philosopher.
He was consultant to the Ghibellines until condemned as a heretic (1327) after writing Defensor pacis (132024) and fleeing to the court of Louis IV of Bavaria. He helped declare Pope John XXII a heretic, install Nicholas V as antipope, and crown Louis emperor (1328). In his secular concept of the state, the power of the church is limited, and political power lies with the people, a theory that influenced the modern idea of the state.