ABSTRACT
Major changes took place in many aspects of intellectual life in Europe during the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. These changes, ranging from technology and astronomy to art and music, share the name the ‘Renaissance’ because they have been described as a rebirth of concepts and values from classical times as well as the development of new ideas. Although the term was not used till the mid-nineteenth century, Italian contemporaries talked about a ‘rinascita’ and were consciously proud that they were renewing the culture of their classical ancestors. Historians debate and discuss the significance, the scope, the dating and even the existence of the Renaissance; nevertheless, the word is constantly used as a reference, as an adjective and as a definition of the period. It is therefore important to discuss when the movement began, and for how long it lasted.
