Page:The history of medieval Europe.djvu/643

 THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE 587 civilization, such as the modern languages and the European universities and the study of natural science, had already started in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and that many features of classical culture, such as Aristotle and other Greek learning, Roman law, and city life had also al- ready been revived at that time. We cannot, then, regard the Italian Renaissance as of such vast importance as men used to regard it. Under that name, however, we may include the movement True char- known as " Humanism," some further progress j^iian * e in Italian literature, and a period of great genius Renaissance and output in the fine arts, of which painting and sculpture now develop independently ef architecture. These are the chief peculiar features of the Italian Renaissance. It was also, however, a time when certain currents of medieval civilization continued their course of development. The invention of printing, for instance, was now added to the earlier medieval inventions, such as clocks, chimney flues, stained glass, plumbing, gunpowder, spectacles, the rudder, and the mariner's compass. The medieval geographical ex- ploration, discovery, and map-making now terminated in the discovery of America and of a sea route to India. These innovations, however, were wrought out by other lands than Italy and so are connected only chronologically with the Italian Renaissance interpreted in any strict sense. On the other hand, in most lands of Europe in the later Middle Ages many characteristic departments of medieval culture were stagnant or waning. This brought Italy into a com- manding position and gave the lead to her more recently developed and vigorous culture. It may be added that her superior city life and economic prosperity gave an urbanity and refinement of manners to her culture which was very attractive alike to the royal courts and the rising bour- geoisie of other lands. Italy, then, was soon to become for a time the schoolmistress of Europe. As was said at the beginning of this chapter, the Italian Renaissance may be regarded as opened by Petrarch (1304- 1374). Like Dante he was a citizen of Florence, the intellec-