the term renaissance means rebirth. what was reborn in europe at this time
Renaissance The word Renaissance, literally meaning "Rebirth" in French, first appeared in English in the 1830s.[15] The word also occurs in Jules Michelet's 1855 work, Histoire de France. The word Renaissance has also been extended to other historical and cultural movements, such as the Carolingian Renaissance and the Renaissance of the 12th century.[16]
Italian Renaissance The European Renaissance began in Tuscany (Central Italy), and centred in the city of Florence.[1] Florence, one of the several city-states of the peninsula, rose to economic prominence by providing credit for European monarchs and laying down the groundwork for capitalism and banking.[2] The Renaissance later spread to Venice, heart of a mediterranean empire and in control of the trade routes with the east since the end of the crusades and the voyages of Marco Polo, where the remains of ancient Greek culture were brought together and provided humanist scholars with new texts. Finally the Renaissance had a significant effect on the Papal States and Rome, largely rebuilt by Humanist and Renaissance popes (such as Alexander VI and Julius II), who were frequently involved in Italian politics, in arbitrating disputes between competing colonial powers and in opposing the Reformation.