ABSTRACT
Some of the theories concerning the shift from what we call the Middle Ages to what we call the Renaissance must be rejected for the practical reason that they almost automatically eliminate the possibility of discussing the period of transition between the two. The most obvious weakness of the argument in favour of a sudden Renaissance is that it goes against common sense. The division of history into specific chronological periods is almost necessarily an arbitrary device established for the convenience of scholars. The most obvious weakness of the argument against a Renaissance is that it goes squarely against the testimony of the people who lived during the period which we have been used to call by that name. Rightly or wrongly, the intellectuals of the Renaissance seem to have been convinced that a wide chasm separated them from their ancestors and that their own age had ushered in a rebirth of art and learning.
