Federico da Montefeltro was born in 1422 to a small-time noble family that ruled over an insignificant square of the chess-board that was then central Italy. Yet within sixty years he had become "the light of Italy" and the paradigm of Renaissance man, as skilled in letters as in arms.​

His portrait, together with his young son, Guidobaldo, by the Spanish painter Pedro Berruguete in Urbino's Ducal Palace neatly portrays this duality of scholar and warrior - studiously reading a weighty manuscript, he keeps his helmet by his side. As in all portraits of the Duke, including Piero della Francesca's famous painting in the Uffizi (below), we only see his left profile; a swordblow earlier in his life had cost him his right eye and the bridge of his nose.
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He made his money as one of the most successful condottiere, or hired generals, of his time. Always fighting on short-term contracts and strictly for cash on the nail, he displayed the timeless Italian ability of never taking sides - he managed once to fight for Florence against the Pope only to later take up the Papal banner against the Florentines.
His fortune made, he turned to the arts as enthusiastically as he had to war and settled down to create his shining court. Almost all the great names of the Quattrocento passed through his palace, and his library was reckoned amongst the largest in Europe.​

On his death in 1482, his sickly son, Guidobaldo, managed to keep alive the splendour of the court with the help of his emancipated wife Elisabetta Gonzaga. Baldesar Castiglione wrote his famous Book of the Courtier, the classic account of the Renaissance ideal, as a member of Guidobaldo and Elisabetta's retinue.
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On his death in 1508, the Dukedom passed to the Della Rovere family and Urbino's decline began; the light was finally extinguished in 1631 when the last Duke handed the Duchy to the Papal States - its palace stripped of its treasures, Urbino sank into unbroken torpor.​

I found it strikingly similar to JKR madeyemoody​

what do you think?​

madeyemoody ​

 

If you're saying that Rowling thought this up and used him as a background for Madeye, no. She doesn't put much thought in anything, and though a lot of characters seem to have historical figures as a reason for them, it's not. She says she makes up everything herself, and some things are just coincidences.

Eh, they kind of look alike, there lives seem similar. But theres is nothing too alike, just he was disfigured. That's it.

 

Bullshit

The Weird Sisters are a fictional popular rock band in the Harry Potter series

vs

The Weird Sisters, (sometimes Wyrd Sisters or Three Weird Sisters), is the Germanic mythological group name given to the Nordicfates, or Norns. The Weird Sisters were said to live at the base of the World Tree, Yggdrasil. Their name is derived from the name of the first fate, Wyrd.
In William Shakespeare's "Macbeth", they were represented by the three witches

If you want more examples just ask me

 

Dude, the Weird Sisters maybe appear once in the story. There not any central part of the story.

 

Albus Dumbledore


Dumbledore", which is an old English word for "bumblebee", was picked by the author because she imagines him wandering around the castle, humming to himself. Additionally, Dumbledore is the common name for Geotrupes stercorarius (also known as the Dor Beetle, Clock or Lousy Watchman) an insect which visits the Shire each year, as mentioned in the poem "Errantry" by J. R. R. Tolkien (published in The Tolkien Reader).

The name Albus is from the Latin word albus ("white"), a frequently used symbol for good.

The name Wulfric meaning "wolf-power", is reminiscent of the legendary hero Beowulf ("powerful bear-wolf"), who in his early years slew the monster Grendel (a name oddly reminiscent of Grindelwald, a Dark Wizard whom Dumbledore defeated). Beowulf later became king, but in his old age had to overcome another monster, a dragon, which he only did with the help of one loyal young warrior called Wiglaf, last of his family. Beowulf died from his wounds during the battle.[1]

The meaning of Brian is not known for certain but it is possibly related to the Old Celtic element "bre" meaning "hill", or by extension "high, noble". The name is more likely used just as a comical contrast to his other, more unusual names.

Percival is a name from old French, meaning 'pierce the veil'.[2] It was the name of one of King Arthur's knights, the only one who was sufficiently pure to retrieve the Holy Grail. The oldest recorded version of the story of Perceval is by Chrétien de Troyes from the 12th century. In Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory, Perceval is both hero and narrator of the tale, as is the case for Dumbledore in parts of the Harry Potter books.[3]

 

Rowling has done a large amount of research; I don't think we give her enough credit for what she has done. Sure, her characterizations need some work and her plots have holes big enough to lose a lorry in, but when it comes down to it, she is an english major with an extensive education in British folklore and history in general.

 

Eh, I'll give you that. But do you honestly think that Federico da Montefeltro is the inspiration for Madeye?

 

He seems like the perfect person to feature in a story. A mercenary, eloquent with words, disfigured, yet extremely well-respected. He must have done something right during his life, and his life does seem very similar to the little that we know about Moody's. I don't know, but I think that Rowling has incorporated a lot of different things that she's read/learned about into her characters and setting, be it history or literature.

Swimdraconian hit the nail on the head with his comment about Rowling's research. I, honestly, wouldn't doubt this character being her inspiration. I would very much like to see her answer this, and maybe give some insight into her inspirations for other almost-developed characters in the story, such as Tonks. Good find, madeye. Rep for you!

 

Moody isn't based on him, it's probably more likely that JKR wanted a "badass" character for the good guys, so she made him up. The disfigured hero/warrior isn't exactly original.

The name "The Weird Sisters" is more likely taken from the band by the same name (Wyrd instead of Weird) rather than Shakespeare.

Using a dictionary to look up translations for certain words and then finding the language that suits you best doesn't mean she puts a whole lot of thought into the names.