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Module description

The Italian Renaissance has been seen as a turning point in European history. Writing in the nineteenth century, Jakob Burckhardt famously defined it as a golden age, marked above all by individualism, a love of ancient classics, amorality and antipathy to Christianity. Northern Europe, in the view of Burckhardt and his successor Johann Huizinga, was, by contrast, a society in decline. This module will compare and contrast the Italian and Northern Renaissances, examining their medieval origins and exploring themes such as religion, humanism, court and urban life, in order to test this traditional interpretation. Throughout, we will make extensive use of primary sources, both textual and visual, including works by Petrarch, Thomas à Kempis, Lorenzo Valla, Erasmus, Baldassare Castiglione, Thomas More, Hans Holbein, and Albrecht Dürer.