ABSTRACT
In the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the conservative forces of northern European culture gradually succumbed to the enthusiasm for the new Renaissance thought of Italy. Conrad Celtis was one of the leading figures in the first generation of northern European humanists. A wandering scholar, Celtis went to Italy in order to perfect his knowledge of Greek and Latin, to collect manuscripts, and to become immersed in Italian Renaissance thought. In France, while the majority of the population remained faithful to the Catholic Church, a dedicated band of reformers spread the Protestant movement. France became the first great European power to accept the principle of religious liberty for its citizens. The fervor with which religious issues were felt in sixteenth-century France was captured by the sculpture of the French artist Germain Pilon. Religious strife within France was intensified by the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre of August 24, 1572.
