The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance
Description:... The word ''renaissance'', French for ''rebirth'', perfectly describes the intellectual and cultural revival experienced in Europe, starting early in the 14th century and ending early in the 17th century. The Renaissance was a period of intense activity, the fruits of which have had a profoundiimpact on the intellectual history and culture of the whole of Europe and the wider world. Even in the Europe of today there is still much evidence of the enduring influence of the Renaissance--in thought and society as well as in art, architecture, literature, and science. Gordon Campbell, himself the epitome of the Renaissance man, with the help of his team of distinguished consultant and advisory editors, has created a unique new A-Z reference surveying all aspects of the Renaissance in Europe beginning in 1415 and ending at 1618. These dates were not chosenarbitrarily: as well as the year of the battle of Agincourt, 1415 was the year in which Jan Hus was burnt at the stake, his reforming zeal becoming a signal which was to shape the course of European affairs for centuries; 1618 marked the onset of the Thirty Years War, a conflict which sparked yetanother new direction for European history.There are about 4,000 A-Z entries in the text, ranging in length from the very short and concise to the longer and more detailed. These entries cover a wide spectrum of topics including art, literature, science, culture, philosophy, religion, economics, history, and conflict. Over half of theentries are biographical, covering artists, architects, garden designers, philosophers, explorers, royalty, cardinals, reformers, statesman, writers, poets, playwrights, soldiers, rebels, woodcarvers, silversmiths, mystics, mathematicians, sculptors, and composers. The text covers a widegeographical area including all of modern Europe (plus Eastern Europe) except for areas occupied by the Ottomans. Entries include:Biographies - artists (Master of Alkmaar, Sandro Botticelli, Jan Brueghel, Jan van Eyck, Fra Filippo Lippi, Cosimo Rosselli, Leonardo da Vinci, Rogier van der Weyden, Pieter de Witte)composers (Alexander Agricola, Thomas Browne, Peeter Cornet, Leone Leoni, Jean Mouton, Stefano Rossetto)scientists and mathematicians (Christoph Clavius, Giovanni Danti, William Gilbert, Nikolaus Copernicus)playwrights (Thomas Dekker, John Fletcher, Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, Hans Salat)poets (Anna Bijns, John Donne, Sir Richard Maitland, Niccolo Franco, Hans Sachs)reformers and thinkers (Johann Agricola, Jean Calvin, John Knox, Niccolo Machiavelli)royalty (Elizabeth I, Henry VIII, Anne of France, Mehmet II)sculptors (Donatello, Pierre Bontemps, Claus Berg, Adam Craft, Claus Sluter)others (popes, anti-popes, theologians, statesmen, explorers, navigators, humanists, Protestant reformers, bishops, botanists, herbalists, cardinals, antiquarians, diplomats, engineers, engravers, historians, Jurists, mystics, astrologers, astronomers, philosophers, soldiers, sailors, scholars,writers, rebels, bishops, Huguenot leaders, Music theorists, actors, zoologists, clock makers, clowns)Places -chateaux (Chateau d'' Amboise, Chateau de Chenonceaux, Chateau de Fontainebleau, Gaillon)cities and states (Amsterdam, Flanders, Frankfurt, Florence, Geneva, Heidelberg, Jena, London, Madrid, Naples, Oxford, Pisa, Rome, Sardinia, Savoy)countries (Algiers, Denmark, England, Estonia, France, Holland, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Wales)continents (Asia, Europe)Themes - architecture (Dutch architecture, Flemish architecture, fountains, French architecture, marble, architectural orders, Spanish architecture) art (Bohemian art, bronze sculptures, Danish art, drypoint, etching, fresco, genre painting, Italian art, landscape painting, tempera)crafts (needlework, pottery, quilting, tiles, weaving)furniture (beds, cabinets, chairs, settles, and stools)general life and culture (Barbary pirates, coins, cookery, dentistry, gypsies, hospitals, magic, playing cards, tombs and mausoleums, torture, umbrellas and parasols)drama (dance, comedy, English drama, French drama)economy (guilds, banking, interest)gardens (botanical gardens, French gardens, Knot gardens, pavilion, topiary)health and medicine (Bethlem hospital, plague, syphilis, typhus)language (French language, Greek language, Italian language, Occitan language and literature)law (civil law, Dutch law, international law, maritime law)literature (Catalan literature, English literature, French literature, poet laureate)music (claviorganum, cornett, Danish music, harpsichord, musical notation, opera, Spanish music)printing and writing (book binding, book blocks, book covers, engraving, etching, Giunti press, imprints, woodcut)religion (Baptism, Bible, Book of Common Prayer, Brownists, Calvinism, God, Holy League, Swiss Brethren)science (astronomy, geometry, logarithms, sundials, technology, trigonometry)war (arms and armour, battle of Cascina, crusades, daggers, gunpowder, musket, Thirty Years War, battle of Tunis, wars of religion)The book will be highly illustrated with 100 black-and-white integrated pictures. The main text is also supplemented with four appendices and a thematic index.
Show description