Renaissance

The Renaissance (roughly 1300–1600) was a period of cultural and intellectual rebirth that began in the Italian city-states and spread across Europe. Inspired by the rediscovery of classical Greek and Roman texts, Renaissance thinkers developed humanism — placing human beings and their potential at the center of intellectual life rather than religious doctrine. The era produced Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Galileo, Copernicus, and Shakespeare — arguably more concentrated genius per century than any other period. The invention of the printing press (1440) spread Renaissance ideas rapidly. The Renaissance fundamentally shifted Western civilization toward reason, individualism, and scientific inquiry.