The Renaissance by Will Durant

I've just concluded Book V of Will Durant's Story of Civilization, entitled The Renaissance. As I've written before, the Italian Renaissance was completely new historical territory for me. I've certainly heard bits and pieces here and there, but this was the first opportunity to hear the story from beginning to end.

And once again, Will Durant doesn't disappoint. He creates such a complete account, with emphasis on the cultural aspects of the period, that I feel like I'm starting to understand what it was all about.

Obviously the Renaissance represents a period of religious non-conformity as contrasted with the Middle Ages. People felt more secure, lessened their reliance upon the supernatural, and instead sought beauty in art, literature and ostentatious living. Obviously this applies mostly to the well-to-do of the era.

What was a surprise to me was the behavior of the Catholic Church and the popes of the Renaissance. Apparently the people weren't the only ones to turn from true religion, as the popes forgot their sacred traditions and took on the mantel of a belligerent, sovereign state. With it's boundaries shrinking on all sides due to wars between the Italian republics, France, England, Spain and the ghost of the Holy Roman Empire, the Church supported and launched violent wars to protect its territory.

In fact, Italy endured innumerable wars and squabbles throughout the Renaissance, as all of these factions fought for territory and the riches of the declining wealth of the seat of classical times.

The Renaissance is filled with incredible personalities. Petrarch, Boccaccio, the Medici, Savonarola, Leonardo, Caesar Borgia, Julius II, Leo X, Machiavelli, Michelangelo and countless others, who collectively brought incredible life, beauty, ugliness and pain to the time.

I can't wait to dive deeper into the Renaissance. I'm not sure what to read next, but I'm thinking about Benvenutto Cellini's famous autobiography which I've owned for years. Maybe I will re-read a biography of Leonardo da Vinci that I first read 10+ years ago.