Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. The Renaissance of Empire in Early Modern Europe
  • Cited by 37
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
June 2014
Print publication year:
2014
Online ISBN:
9781139045704
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139045704
Subjects:
Area Studies, Regional and World History: General Interest, European History after 1450, History, European Studies
Information

Book description

This book brings together a bold revision of the traditional view of the Renaissance with a new comparative synthesis of global empires in early modern Europe. It examines the rise of a virulent form of Renaissance scholarship, art, and architecture that had as its aim the revival of the cultural and political grandeur of the Roman Empire in Western Europe. Imperial humanism, a distinct form of humanism, emerged in the earliest stages of the Italian Renaissance as figures such as Petrarch, Guarino, and Biondo sought to revive and advance the example of the Caesars and their empire. Originating in the courts of Ferrara, Mantua, and Rome, this movement also revived ancient imperial iconography in painting and sculpture, as well as Vitruvian architecture. While the Italian princes never realized their dream of political power equal to the ancient emperors, the Imperial Renaissance they set in motion reached its full realization in the global empires of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spain, France, and Great Britain.

Reviews

'The author draws on a wide range of both visual and written sources to create an accessible, compelling synthesis of political culture across early modern Europe. The chapters on the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and France are the book's strongest, while the inclusion throughout the book of overseas empires and architecture into a European political narrative is particularly noteworthy. Summing up: recommended.'

B. J. Maxson Source: Choice

'Ultimately, the book should be obligatory reading for anyone interested in imperial history, early modern art and architectural history, and the history of the Renaissance.'

Source: The American Historical Review

'He offers valuable insights into how Renaissance writers, ranging from Petrarch to Thomas Hobbes, confronted the legacy of the Roman Empire and turned ancient history into a usable past.'

Michael J. Levin Source: The Journal of Modern History

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

Contents

Contents

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Total number of HTML views: 0
Total number of PDF views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

Book summary page views

Total views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Usage data cannot currently be displayed.