LIMITS OF THE RENAISSANCE
The Renaissance, just because of its transitional character, cannot be exactly dated. Some Renaissance movements started before 1300 A.D. For instance, the study of Roman law, as a substitute for Germanic customs, began toward the close of the eleventh century. The rise of European cities, with all that they meant for industry and commerce, belonged to about the same time. Other Renaissance movements, again, extended beyond 1500 A.D. Among these were the expansion of geographical knowledge, resulting from the discovery of the New World, and the revolt against the Papacy, known as the Protestant Reformation. The Middle Ages, in fact, came to an end at different times in different fields of human activity.
ORIGINAL HOME OF THE RENAISSANCE
The name Renaissance applied, at first, only to the rebirth or revival of men's interest in the literature and art of classical antiquity. Italy was the original home of this Renaissance. There it first appeared, there it found widest acceptance, and there it reached its highest development. From Italy the Renaissance gradually spread beyond the Alps, until it had made the round of western Europe.
ITALIAN CITIES OF THE RENAISSANCE
Italy, at the beginning of the fourteenth century, was a land particularly favorable to the growth of learning and the arts. In northern Italy the great cities of Milan, Pisa, Genoa, Florence, Venice, and many others had early succeeded in throwing off their feudal burdens and had become independent, self-governing communities. Democracy flourished in them, as in the old Greek city-states. Noble birth counted for little; a man of ability and ambition might rise to any place. The fierce party conflicts within their walls stimulated mental activity and helped to make life full, varied, and intense. Their widespread trade and thriving manufactures made them prosperous. Wealth brought leisure, bred a taste for luxury and the refinements of life, and gave means for the gratification of that taste. People wanted to have about them beautiful pictures, statuary, furniture, palaces, and churches; and they rewarded richly the artists who could produce such things. It is not without significance that the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance was democratic, industrial, and wealthy Florence. [2]
INFLUENCE OF THE CLASSIC TRADITION
Italy enjoyed another advantage over the other European countries in its nearness to Rome. Admiration for the ancient Roman civilization, as expressed in literature, art, and law, was felt by all Italians. Wherever they looked, they were reminded of the great past which once had been theirs. Nor was the inheritance of Greece wholly lost. Greek traders and the descendants of Greek colonists in Italy still used their ancient language; all through the medieval centuries there were Italians who studied Greek. The classic tradition thus survived in Italy and defied oblivion.
BYZANTINE, ARABIC, AND NORMAN INFLUENCE
In the Middle Ages Italy formed a meeting place of several civilizations. Byzantine influence was felt both in the north and in the south. The conquest of Sicily by the Arabs made the Italians familiar with the science, art, and poetry of this cultivated people. After the Normans had established themselves in southern Italy and Sicily, they in turn developed a brilliant civilization. [3] From all these sources flowed streams of cultural influence which united in the Renaissance.