ABSTRACT
At very much the same time as the Renaissance was developing in Italy, major changes were occurring in other parts of Europe. We have already seen that ideas in science were being discussed in Northern Europe; and the impetus for the voyages of exploration came from Portugal and Castile, rather than from any of the Italian states, even if the explorers themselves were Italians. The term ‘Northern Renaissance’ is most frequently used with reference to the Netherlands, but it is relevant to consider Western Europe as a whole.
