More than ever before, the Renaissance stands as one of the defining moments in world history. Between 1400 and 1600, European perceptions of society, culture, politics and even humanity itself emerged in ways that continue to affect not only Europe but the entire world. This wide-ranging exploration of the Renaissance sees the period as a time of unprecedented intellectual excitement and cultural experimentation and interaction on a global scale, alongside a darker side of religion, intolerance, slavery, and massive inequality of wealth and status. It guides the reader through the key issues that defined the period, from its art, architecture, and literature, to advancements in the fields of science, trade, and travel. In its incisive account of the complexities of the political and religious upheavals of the period, the book argues that Europe's reciprocal relationship with its eastern neighbours offers us a timely perspective on the Renaissance as a moment of global inclusiveness that still has much to teach us today.

This Element examines the material and social mechanisms that enacted mobility in the Renaissance and offers a new way to understand the period's dynamism, creativity, and conflict. It highlights the experiences of a wide range of mobile populations, paying particular attention to the concrete, practical dimensions of moving around at this time.

Teaford (history, Purdue U.) describes efforts in twelve older central cities in the Northeast and Midwest to achieve revitalization during the period from 1940 to 1985. Focusing on local rather than state or federal perspectives, he explores the changing trends in city politics and municipal finance as well as other policies in pursuit of urban renaissance. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Bookseller of Florence captures the excitement and spirit of the Renaissance amid the technological disruption that forever changed the ways knowledge spread, from the bestselling author of Brunelleschi's Dome and Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling. The Renaissance in Florence conjures images of the dazzling handiwork of the city's skilled artists and architects. But equally important for the centuries to follow were geniuses of a different sort: Florence's manuscript hunters, scribes, scholars, and booksellers, who blew the dust off a thousand years of history and, through the discovery and diffusion of ancient knowledge, imagined a new and enlightened world. Born in 1422, Vespasiano da Bisticci became what a friend called "the king of the world's booksellers." At a time when all books were made by hand, for over four decades Vespasiano produced and sold hundreds of volumes from his bookshop, which also became a gathering spot for discussion and debate. His clients included a roll-call of popes, kings, and princes across Europe. Vespasiano reached the summit of his powers as Europe's most prolific merchant of knowledge when a new invention appeared: the printed book. By 1480, the king of the world's booksellers was swept away by this epic technological disruption, whereby cheaply produced books reached readers who never could have afforded one of Vespasiano’s elegant manuscripts. A thrilling chronicle of intellectual ferment set against the dramatic political and religious turmoil of the era, The Bookseller of Florence is also an ode to books and bookmaking that charts the world-changing shift from script to print through the life of one of the true titans of the Renaissance.

'Worldly Goods' provides a radical interpretation of the Golden Age of European culture. During the Renaissance, Jardine argues, vicious commercial battles were being fought over silks and spices, and who should control international trade.

Current research on the Renaissance has emphasized the need to look again at the original texts, documents and artefacts which, taken together, constitute the primary source of evidence for the re-evaluation of its historical significance. This volume represents one attempt to reflect this renewal of interest in returning to first principles. The Anthology presents a series of carefully selected primary sources across a wide range of disciplines, ordered thematically and reflecting the interests of scholars in a variety of fields of Renaissance studies. There are sections on humanism and its impact on philosophy and politics; Renaissance court culture, with particular emphasis on the courts of northern Italy and the Kingdom of Hungary; poetry and drama in Renaissance Britain; the Reformation; and science, magic and witchcraft. While some of the extracts are short and familiar, others appear here, in translation, for the first time, including, for example, an early sixteenth-century demonology by the Italian humanist Gianfrancesco Pico della Mirandola. The volume is illustrated throughout and each extract is introduced by a brief headnote describing the author and the source. Peter Elmer is Staff Tutor and Lecturer in the History of Science and Techology, Nick Webb is Staff Tutor and Lecturer in Art History, and Roberta Wood is Course Manager in the Arts Faculty, all at the Open University.