Introduction to Renaissance Florence

Widely regarded as the 'cradle of the Renaissance', in the fifteenth century especially Florence experienced a remarkable flourishing of literature and the arts: it is strongly associated with figures such as Leon Battista Alberti, Filippo Brunelleschi, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Medici family (as well as, later on, Michelangelo, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Francesco Guicciardini). But what, precisely, lay behind these developments, and was Florence really quite as isolated in its glory as its portrayal often suggests? This module will examine various aspects of Florence's history and cultural production, up to the start in 1494 of the 'wars of Italy'. It will go through the fifteenth century in chronological sequence, pausing along the way to discuss and evaluate some signal cultural developments and compare the Florentine context with what was happening elsewhere in the Italian Peninsula.

Primary readings will be available in both the original and English translation.

Overview of the Module

Foundational Reading

Professor David Lines

D dot A dot Lines at warwick dot ac dot uk