In this book, William Caferro asks if the Renaissance was really a period of progress, reason, the emergence of the individual, and the beginning of modernity.

An influential investigation into the nature of the European Renaissance

Summarizes scholarly debates about the nature of the Renaissance

Engages with specific controversies concerning gender identity, economics, the emergence of the modern state, and reason and faith

Takes a balanced approach to the many different problems and perspectives that characterize Renaissance studies

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries." (Choice, 1 August 2011)

Review

"An admirably wide-ranging and fair-minded survey of a vast body of literature."

—Christine Shaw, Swansea University

"After decades of quarrels and controversy over the meaning of the historical Renaissance in the modern world, William Caferro reminds us why all the fighting has mattered--and how much fun it has been for the participants and spectators."

—William J. Connell, Seton Hall University