Renaissance

SEMINAR STUDIES IN HISTORYGeneral Editors: Clive Emsley & Gordon Martel Seminar Studies in History...provide a means of bridging the gap between specialist articles and monographs and textbooks. They are written by acknowledged experts on the subject who are not only familiar with current thinking but have often contributed to it. Their format, well-tried and effective, combines information, analysis and assessment effectively. The selections of documents, included from the outset of the series when document work was hardly in vogue in schools, not merely illustrates points made in the text but provides an effective medium for discussion on the issues raised. The further reading guide has stimulated countless students to take their interests further. The structure of the series may not have changed through time but the format has, with attractive four-colour covers and larger pages....Seminar Studies are still, despite all the opposition, a market leader.Teaching History__________________________________________________________________________ First published in 1988, Alison Brown's Seminar Study on the Renaissance soon established itself as one of the most popular and useful books on the subject. For this expanded Second Edition the book's basic structure remains the same, but the author has taken the opportunity to rewrite the text entirely in the light of the wealth of literature which has been published over the past decade and the new directions Renaissance studies have taken. In particular, there are two new chapters, one on the rise of lordships and the impact of the Black Death and one on Renaissance theatre; the bibliography has also been thoroughlyupdated. As before, the main focus of the book is on the influence of classical ideas on Italy, and although Florence is still central to the book its uniqueness is now viewed more critically. Alison Brown argues that although the Renaissance was not a movement in isolation, it

An examination of the Renaissance focusing on the central issues and arguments. In this second edition, new chapters explore the rise of lordships, the impact of the Black Death, and Renaissance theatre.

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION. 1. The Problem of Interpretation. 2. The Concept of Revival. 3. Earlier Renaissances, 800-1300. PART TWO: THE CONTEXT OF THE RENAISSANCE. 4. Italian Communes and City-States, c.1300. 5. The Rise of Lordships and the Black Death. 6. The Paradox of Petrarch (1304-1373). 7. 'Big-Business' Florence. PART THREE: RENAISSANCE PASSIONS. 8. The Passion for Books. 9. New Schools. 10. Love of Liberty. 11. Love of Art and Architecture. 12. Self Love and the Renaissance Image of Man. PART FOUR: SOCIETY AND THE CIRCULATION OF NEW IDEAS. 13. Commerce and the Classics. 14. Europe and Beyond. 15. The Invention of Printing. 16. Representation and the Renaissance Theatre. PART FIVE: ASSESSMENT. 17. Decivilising the Renaissance. PART SIX: DOCUMENTS. Bibliography. Index.