The renaissance was an extremely important period in European and world history. As a result, for many years historians have disagreed about what happened in the Renaissance, why it happened and how important it was.
The term "Renaissance" means rebirth. The term was first used by the French historian Jules Michelet, in his book History of France written in 1855.
Jules Michelet thought that the Renaissance saw an end to the backward thinking of the medieval period, he also thought it was a rebirth of the advanced thinking of Ancient Greece and Rome.
The Renaissance was a development which took place in italy between 1450 and the early 1500s. Italy was made up of small states based around cities, such as Milan, Venice and Florence. The rulers of this new type of city state were men with new ideas. This is why they supported the Renaissance thinkers and artists.
Hope this helps.
