Northern Renaissance

The Renaissance was originally centered in Italy, but in time spread throughout all of Europe. In France King Francis I imported Italian art and artists, including Leonardo da Vinci. He built ornate palaces at great expense. Writers such as Rabelais also borrowed from the spirit of the Italian Renaissance. From France the spirit of the age spread to the Low Countries and Germany, and finally to England by the late sixteenth century. There the Elizabethan era saw writers such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe as well as great artists, composers, and architects.

Related Topics:
Renaissance - Italy - France - Francis I - Leonardo da Vinci - Rabelais - Low Countries - Germany - England - Sixteenth century - William Shakespeare - Christopher Marlowe - Composer - Architects

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The Northern Renaissance, unlike that of Italy, was marked by the centralization of political power as potent nation states emerged throughout Western Europe. The Northern Renaissance was also closely linked to the Protestant Reformation and the long series of internal and external conflicts that resulted between individuals and congregations on the one hand and the Catholic hierarchy on the other.

Related Topics:
Nation states - Western Europe - Protestant Reformation

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