An original, illuminating history of the northern European Renaissance
in art, science, and philosophy, which often rivaled its Italian
counterpart.
It is generally accepted that the European Renaissance began in Italy.
However, a historical transformation of similar magnitude also took
place in northern Europe at the same time. This "Other Renaissance" was
initially centered on the city of Bruges in Flanders (modern Belgium),
but its influence was soon being felt in France, the German states,
London, and even in Italy itself. The northern Renaissance, like the
southern Renaissance, largely took place during the period between the
end of the Medieval age (circa mid-14th century) and the advent of the
Age of Enlightenment (circa end of 17th century).
Following a sequence of major figures, including Copernicus, Gutenberg,
Luther, Catherine de' Medici, Rabelais, van Eyck, and Shakespeare, Paul
Strathern tells the fascinating story of how this "Other Renaissance"
played as significant a role as the Italian renaissance in bringing our
modern world into being.