1

st You Need to Know

◆ In the mid-fourteenth century, traders from abroad landed in Italy infected with the
bubonic plague. Over the course of just a few years, the Black Death would claim
one of every three people in Europe.
◆ Called the last great medieval war, the Hundred Years’ War pitted England against
France over land and a dispute over the French throne in a series of raids and battles
that lasted 116 years. France finally ran English forces out of France after Joan of
Arc helped turn the tide for the French.
◆ The Church faced crisis after crisis during the High Middle Ages, including failed
crusading attempts, a period with two popes, and failure to stop the death and
destruction of medieval wars and disease.
◆ While peasants never toppled any medieval governments, they did rebel against
those in power when they ran low on food and when they believed they were being
taxed unfairly.
 2
Chapter

Civilization Reborn
In This Chapter
◆ Why the Renaissance is called the Renaissance

◆ Italy in the fifteenth century

◆ The art of the Renaissance

◆ Effects of the printing press

◆ The Northern Renaissance

The word Renaissance literally means “rebirth.” Many people know this
but, unfortunately, many people also believe that somebody during the
Renaissance declared, “This must be the rebirth of blah blah blah.” In
truth, the historical era known as the Renaissance wasn’t referred to as
such until centuries later.

Introducing the Renaissance

Historians have the distinct advantage of hindsight when examining an
historical era such as the Renaissance. Looking back on a particular era
or on particular events, historians can look for patterns and trends that
weren’t quite so apparent when they were occurring. The Renaissance is a
perfect example. To be fair, though, there is an inherent danger in trying

to compartmentalize a period of history. Many critics of the term Renaissance argue that some if not
much of the rebirth attributed to fifteenth century scholarship actually began during the Middle Ages.
Define Your Terms In terms of chronology, the Renaissance occurred after the Middle Ages and, more specifically, after
landmark events such as the Black Death and the Hundred Years’ War. However, to say that all things
The Swiss historian
were different in the Renaissance than in the Middle Ages would be a grave mistake. In fact, the
Jacob Burckhardt, who published
Renaissance is most distinguishable from the Middle Ages
The Civilization of the Renaissance
only in intellectual and cultural terms, particularly in terms of art and architecture. No vertical line
in Italy in 1860, generally gets both
the credit and the criticism for the intersects a horizontal timeline and separates one historical era from another. Historical eras often bleed
modern use of the term into one another. Such is certainly the case with the Renaissance.
Renaissance as it applies to the era
of European history.
So why do historians refer to the period following the Middle Ages as a time of rebirth? There are two primary reasons. First, following
the death and destruction that plagued Europe in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the next few centuries seem in retrospect as a
time in which civilization was reborn, was given a second chance at life. That is not to say the Renaissance was a time of peace and
stability across Europe. Italy, for example, struggled with widespread political instability and intrigue before and during the
Renaissance. Relatively speaking, though, life after plague and war seemed pretty okay.