What Was the Renaissance?

The Renaissance started in Italy and spread new ideas about art, science, technology, and politics throughout Europe
Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were two of the leading thinkers and artists in this new era
The word “renaissance” is French for “rebirth”

Discover all there is to know about the Renaissance, the period in history that took Europe from the Middle Ages to modern times!

Beginning in Italy, the Renaissance was a cultural movement that spread throughout Europe and affected art, science, technology, politics, and thought. From the 1300s to the beginning of the 1600s, scholars started to question what they knew and looked to literature and historical texts to develop new ideas for why things were the way they were. In just a short amount of time, the foundations for European life were uprooted and examined, leading people, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, to explore new ways of thinking and being. Readers will learn why the Renaissance was such a pivotal time in European history and how it still influences us.