Nicephorus Gregoras

Nicephorus Gregoras, who lived from about 1295 to about 1360, was a Byzantine scholar recognized above all as an astronomer, historian and theologian, best known for a thirty seven volume Roman History covering the years 1204 to 1359 that stands as a primary documentary source for the fourteenth century. He served as chartophylax, or archive keeper, under Emperor Andronicus II, proposed a calendar reform in 1326 that anticipated the later Gregorian reform, and accurately predicted the total solar eclipse of July 16, 1330. He was also a prominent opponent of Gregory Palamas in the Hesychast theological controversy, and he endured monastic confinement and house arrest for refusing to recant his position, continuing to write extensively on astronomy, theology and classical commentary, most of which remains unpublished.