Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
List of Maps
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Origins of the Renaissance
Ch. 1: History, Government, and Society
Ch. 2: Religion
Ch. 3: Art and Visual Culture
Ch. 4: Architecture and Urban Planning
Ch. 5: Literature and Language
Ch. 6: Music
Ch. 7: Warfare
Ch. 8: Commerce
Ch. 9: Exploration and Travel
Ch. 10: Science and Medicine
Ch. 11: Education
Ch. 12: Daily Life
Ch. 13: Conclusion: Legacy of the Renaissance

About the Author

Sandra Sider holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature, specializing in Renaissance studies, in addition to an M.A. in art history. She has taught Renaissance art history at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, in New York City. Her publications include several books and numerous articles pertaining to Renaissance history and visual culture including Bibliography of Emblematic Manuscripts (with Barbara Obrist) published
by McGill-Queen's University Press, 1992, Maps, Charts, Globes: Five Centuries of Exploration published by the Hispanic Society of America, and "Getting past 1492: the Renaissance in recent Portuguese and Spanish publications,"
An article Renaissance Quarterly online.

Reviews

Italian artist Giorgio Vasari was said to have first used the term Renaissance, meaning "rebirth," a flowing of knowledge. The movement began in Italy during the 1300s and spread through Europe until the 1600s, bringing about a period of scientific and artistic revolution and leaving an intellectual heritage still important today. Written by knowledgeable and reputable authors, both of these Facts On File resources allow students to explore the impact of this cultural revitalization. Sider (Renaissance art history, Cooper Union, New York) covers 12 aspects of the Renaissance, giving a compact description and explanation of each topic. Organized thematically, the entries vary in length from one to two paragraphs to a full page and cover geography, religion, art, architecture, language and literature, warfare, exploration, science, education, and daily life. The useful glossary describes over 185 terms, including numerous non-English words. The work also boasts 70 black-and-white illustrations and maps, listings of museums and other collections, a useful bibliography, a chronological chart, and an index. Since it is difficult to encompass such a large topic in so few entries, readers are bound to find omissions. Overall, however, this handbook is a good entry point to more in-depth study. Cook, who has written on Chaucer, Lorenzo de' Medici, and Petrarch, offers a unique guide to the works, writers, and concepts of Renaissance literature. In his own words, "this reference volume looks at literature written during the Renaissance epoch from an atypical perspective-a global one." Although the focus has always been on Europe and its literary transition, Cook boldly targets significant literary achievements at the time in other parts of the world. In more than 600 A-to-Z entries, he treats a wide variety of cultures and languages, including English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, and many more. Writers covered include Milton, Descartes, Dante, and Cervantes, among many others. Cook also investigates humanism, an important intellectual movement of the period. Other useful features include cross references, author time lines, and more. Bottom Line Both titles make for good introductory sources to the period, but more detailed resources are needed for serious research. Appropriate for public, high school, and undergraduate libraries.-Bobbie Wrinkle, McCracken Cty. P.L., Paducah, KY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.