
A Short History of the Renaissance in Northern Europe
Malcolm Vale(Author)
I.B. Tauris (Publisher)
Published on 2. April 2020
Book
Hardback
264 pages
978-1-78076-384-2 (ISBN)
Description
The concept of a 'Renaissance' in the arts, in thought, and in more general culture North of the Alps often evokes the idea of a cultural transplant which was not indigenous to, or rooted in, the society from which it emerged. Classic definitions of the European 'Renaissance' during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries have seen it as what was in effect an Italian import into the Gothic North.
Yet there were certainly differences, divergences and dichotomies between North and South which have to be addressed. Here, Malcolm Vale argues for a Northern Renaissance which, while cognisant of Italian developments, displayed strong continuities with the indigenous cultures of northern Europe. But it also contributed novelties and innovations which often tended to stem from, and build upon, those continuities. A Short History of the Renaissance in Northern Europe - while in no way ignoring or diminishing the importance of the Hellenic and Roman legacy - seeks other sources, and different uses of classical antiquity, for a rather different kind of 'Renaissance', if such it was, in the North.
Yet there were certainly differences, divergences and dichotomies between North and South which have to be addressed. Here, Malcolm Vale argues for a Northern Renaissance which, while cognisant of Italian developments, displayed strong continuities with the indigenous cultures of northern Europe. But it also contributed novelties and innovations which often tended to stem from, and build upon, those continuities. A Short History of the Renaissance in Northern Europe - while in no way ignoring or diminishing the importance of the Hellenic and Roman legacy - seeks other sources, and different uses of classical antiquity, for a rather different kind of 'Renaissance', if such it was, in the North.
Reviews / Votes
A must-read book for all those interested in the history of culture, and [it] would be great news [for it] to be translated in [other] languages ... so that it could be accessible to a greater number of readers * Medievalia (Bloomsbury Translation) *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Dimensions
Height: 218 mm
Width: 148 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
460 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78076-384-2 (9781780763842)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
04/2020
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€17.49
Available for download
Person
Malcolm Vale was, until his retirement in 2010, Lecturer in Modern History in the University of Oxford and Tutorial Fellow in Modern History at St John's College, Oxford. His books include The Ancient Enemy: England, France and Europe from the Angevins to the Tudors (2007, 2009) and The Princely Court: Medieval Courts and Culture in North-West Europe, 1270-1380 (2001, 2004).
Content
Timeline
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Chapter 1: What was the 'Northern Renaissance'?
Chapter 2: Realism and the Visual Arts
Chapter 3: Humanism in the North
Chapter 4: The Old and the New Devotion
Chapter 5: The Impact of Print
Chapter 6: Wisdom, Folly and the Darker Vision
Conclusion
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Chapter 1: What was the 'Northern Renaissance'?
Chapter 2: Realism and the Visual Arts
Chapter 3: Humanism in the North
Chapter 4: The Old and the New Devotion
Chapter 5: The Impact of Print
Chapter 6: Wisdom, Folly and the Darker Vision
Conclusion