"After decades of quarrels and controversy over the meaning of the historical Renaissance in the modern world. William Caferro reminds us why all the fighting has mattered - and how much fun it has been for the participants and spectators." William J. Connell, Seton Hall University<BR><BR>"An admirably wide-ranging and fair-minded survey of a vast body of literature." Christine Shaw, Swansca University<BR><BR>In the nineteenth century, the Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt famously defined the Renaissance as a period of progress, reason, the emergence of the individual, and the beginning of modernity. In this book, William Caferro asks how accurate Burckhardt's definition was and summarizes recent scholarly debates about the nature of the Renaissance.<BR><BR>Caferro's account engages with a range of specific controversies, including the nature of the Renaissance (wo)man; whether or not the Renaissance was a period of prosperity; and how the relationship between reason and faith altered during this period. The book takes a balanced approach to the many different problems and perspectives that characterize Renaissance studies.