Lamb, Adoration of theSee GHENT ALTARPIECE
Lambert, Francis (1486–1530) French-born religious
reformer
The son of a papal official at Avignon, Lambert joined the
Franciscan Order there (1507) and became famous as a
preacher. After 1517 he traveled through France, Italy, and
Switzerland, and his study of the Bible and the religious
reformers he encountered caused him to abandon his
order and travel to Wittenberg (1523), where he was as-
sisted by LUTHER. On moving to Strasbourg (1524) he met
such hostility that he was forced to move on. In 1526 he
was summoned by PHILIP OF HESSE, who entrusted Lam-
bert with the setting up of a state Lutheran Church in his
domains and appointed him as professor of exegesis at his
new university of Marburg (1527). In 1529 Lambert
openly adopted the Zwinglian line (see ZWINGLI, ULRICH)
in the debate over the Eucharist, thus alienating his
Lutheran supporters. The following year he died of the
plague, leaving a number of works that include a polemic
against ERASMUS(1525) and commentaries on the Song of
Songs (1524) and the Book of Revelation (1528).
Landini, Francesco (Francesco Landino) (c. 1325–
1397) Italian composer
A Florentine by birth, Landini was a leading exponent of
the 14th-century musical style known as the ARS NOVA. Al-
though he was blind (and was therefore referred to by
contemporaries as “il Cieco”), he was famous as an organ-
ist and also played the lute and other instruments. He
spent most of his life in Florence but also visited Venice,
where he was highly acclaimed. As a composer he is re-
markable for his madrigals and his caccie (canons for two
voices), both forms that later underwent considerable de-
velopment.
Landino, Cristoforo (1424–1492) Italian humanist
scholar
Born in Florence, Landino was one of the group of able
men who gathered around Lorenzo de’ MEDICIin the PLA-
TONIC ACADEMY. He became professor of poetry and
rhetoric (1457), and later of Latin literature, a post which
he held until his death. He published commentaries on
VIRGILand HORACEand translated Pliny’s Natural History.
His edition of Dante (1481) and lectures on Petrarch re-
veal the humanist interest in vernacular literature which
seemed to measure up to classical standards. His Camal-
dolese Disputations (c. 1480), a dialogue modeled on the
Tusculan Disputations of CICERO, gives an intimate glimpse
of the kind of discussion engaged in by members of the
Florentine Academy. The poetry of Virgil is one of the
main topics, but the interpretations are still those of the
medieval allegorists. The other subjects discussed, for ex-
ample the comparative advantages of the active and the
contemplative life, show the extent to which classical con-
cepts permeated the Medicean circle.landsknechts See MERCENARIESLanguet, Hubert (1518–1581) French writer and
diplomat
Born at Vitteaux in Burgundy, he was educated by Jean
Perrelle, a distinguished Greek scholar, and then studied
at Poitiers (1536–39), Bologna, and Padua. In 1549, after
meeting MELANCHTHON at Wittenberg, he became a
Protestant. He traveled widely in Europe before entering
the service (1559) of Augustus I, Elector of Saxony, whom
he represented at the French court (1561–72). He nar-
rowly escaped the MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEWand
later served Augustus at the imperial court (1573–77) be-
fore retiring to the Netherlands and dying at Antwerp.
Languet’s extensive correspondence is a valuable source
for 16th-century history; among his friends and corre-
spondents was Sir Philip SIDNEY. The anonymous Vindicia
contra tyrannos (1579) expounding the doctrine of resis-
tance to tyranny by constitutional means, is attributed to
him, but this attribution is still disputed. He may also
have helped WILLIAM THE SILENTdraft his Apologia attack-
ing the king of Spain (1581).Lannoy, Ghillebert de (1386–1462) Burgundian soldier
and envoy
Lannoy spent much of his life (1339–1450) traveling on
military or civil business. After taking part in the French
attack on the Isle of Wight (1403), he made a pilgrimage
to the Near East (1405–06). In 1413 he was crusading in
Prussia and the Baltic, and in 1419 he was in England as
Burgundian representative at the marriage of Henry V and
Catherine of France. PHILIP THE GOODtwice sent him to
the Near East (1421, mid-1440s) to look into the
prospects for raising a crusade, and employed him on em-
bassies to Scotland, Ireland, and the Council of Basle
(1433); he also attended the Congress of Arras (1435). He
was made a founding member of Order of the GOLDEN
FLEECEin 1430. In addition to his travel notes (Voyaiges),
Lannoy wrote Instruction d’un jeune prince (c. 1440), and
Enseignements paternels, advice to his son.La Noue, François de (1531–1591) French soldier and
writer
La Noue was born in Nantes and converted to Protes-
tantism in 1558. He fought on the HUGUENOTside in the
French Wars of Religion; his nickname “Bras de Fer”
(“Iron Arm”) derived from the replacement “arm” he wore
after an injury sustained in battle. Following the MASSACRE
OF ST. BARTHOLOMEWhe spent four years in the Huguenot
defense of La Rochelle. Fighting against the Spanish in the
Netherlands, La Noue was captured and imprisoned for
five years; he used this enforced leisure to reflect on his227700 LLaammbb,, AAddoorraattiioonn ooff tthhee