Scholar, monk, and human Google for the Byzantine age. Maximus Planudes (c. 1260–after 1305 CE) compiled, translated, and commented his way through ancient Greek texts like his life (and library) depended on it. He brought back Diophantus, introduced Europeans to the Anthology, and translated Latin into Greek — including Boethius and Cicero. His math? Solid. His scholarship? Tireless. Without Planudes, we’d be missing chunks of antiquity. With him, the past got a second edition.