Review
"This volume would be a useful tool in an academic library providing students of the period with a valuable source of both traditional and new thought on the Renaissance world. The essays are involved and need to be considered in some detail to fully appreciate the scholarly thought. Perhaps most useful as a stepping-stone to further study, it is an excellent volume that deserves shelf space in all non-specialist academic libraries and libraries that serve history lovers."
Louise Ellis-Barrett, Assistant Librarian, Dulwich College, London "This companion sets new agendas for research and explores some refreshing ways of thinking about the Renaissance. Contributors include scholars from many disciplines. Recommended for scholars, researchers, upper-division under-graduates and graduates students" Choice
"This most impressive volume deserves considerable praise. The editor, in his helpful and wide-ranging introduction, ensures a fascinating and valuable volume." Journal of European Studies
"This Companion (with notes, and a rich composite bibliography) is strongest on social history and literature, as well as for historical insights and literary merits" History Today
"The articles are not simply factual summaries: they all have their own arguments, and many of them suggest places where the present state of knowledge is inadequate, so that the book is rich in suggestions for further research.... Ruggiero asks his readers to "applaud if you have enjoyed our performance"; yes, it is greatly enjoyable." John Considine, University of Alberta
From the Back Cover
The idea of the Renaissance as a period of European cultural triumph in which great men flourished has been largely demolished in the last fifty years. This provocative volume brings together some of the most exciting scholars who led this attack, to suggest different ways of thinking about the Renaissance and set new agendas for research.
The contributions focus on three major themes: transformative encounters between cultures, ancient and new, high and low, within Europe and beyond; fascination with all things Italian; and social realignment. In examining these themes, the contributors look at the Renaissance from a world perspective, illuminating the negative as well as the positive, and integrating considerations of gender, sex, violence, and non-elite culture. The vision of the Renaissance that emerges is one defined by a wide range of social, political, economic, and cultural developments rather than by the actions of a small cultural elite.
