ABSTRACT
In fourteenth century France and England, the feudal system that had prevailed for many centuries transformed into integrated monarchies, while the German states unified under the leadership of an elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. However, by the fifteenth century Italy had largely shaken off the Holy Roman Empire. While the Papacy was strong enough to hinder national unity, it was not strong enough to bring about that unity. Italy had divided into city-states that were governed by a multitude of political units of republics and despotates. 1 Rome and the ever-decreasing Papal States were governed by the Pope, who was both the religious and secular leader. Florence was a republic; Venice had a mixed aristocratic and republican type of government, for although the structure of the government was a republic, the Doge ruled for life; while Milan was under the despotic rule of the Visconti. Naples suffered various fates from Norman rule in the thirteenth century to Spanish rule in the mid-sixteenth century. However, even the republics were fragile and by the beginning of the sixteenth century Florence had succumbed to the despotic rule of the Medici. In the mid-fifteenth century Florence was a thriving republic and there was a growing interest in history. History became a system of thought in its own right. It was no longer a branch of theological, moral or legal argument. Nor was it considered a result of God’s will, which was a belief that prevailed throughout the Middle Ages. Events were now seen as being determined by human actions. This rising interest became a cultural revolution known as Humanism. 2
