Renaissance

Renaissance (Fr. ‘Rebirth’) Period of European history lasting roughly from the mid-l5th century to the end of the 16th century. Late 15th-century Italian scholars used the word to describe the revival of interest in classical learning. It was helped by the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, which resulted in the transport of classical texts to Italy. In Germany, the invention of a printing press with moveable type assisted the diffusion of the new scholarship. In religion, the spirit of questioning led to the Reformation. In politics, the Renaissance saw the rise of assertive sovereign states – Spain, Portugal, France, and England – and the expansion of Europe beyond its own shores, with the building of trading empires in Africa, the East Indies, and America. The growth of a wealthy urban merchant class led to a tremendous flowering of the arts. See also Renaissance architecture; Renaissance art; Renaissance music