Renaissance

The Renaissance ( , ) is a European period of history and cultural movement, very roughly defined as covering the 14th through 17th centuries, though sometimes more narrowly defined for instance as only covering the 15th through 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by the European rediscovery and revival of the literary, philosophical, and artistic achievements of classical antiquity. Associated with great social change in most fields and disciplines, including art, architecture, politics, literature, exploration and science, the Renaissance was first centered in the Republic of Florence, then spread to the rest of Italy and later throughout Europe. The term ('rebirth') first appeared in Lives of the Artists () by Giorgio Vasari, while the corresponding French word was adopted into English as the term for this period during the 1830s.

The Renaissance's intellectual basis was founded in its version of humanism, derived from the concept of Roman and the rediscovery of classical Greek philosophy, such as that of Protagoras, who said that "man is the measure of all things". Although the invention of metal movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century, the changes of the Renaissance were not uniform across Europe: the first traces appear in Italy as early as the late 13th century, in particular with the writings of Dante and the paintings of Giotto.