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RR 2005/57 Historical Dictionary of the Renaissance Charles Garfield Nauert Scarecrow Press Lanham, MD 2004 xxxix + 541 pp. ISBN 0 8108 4867 8 £61/$80 Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras, no. 12
Keywords Dictionaries, Europe, History
Review DOI 10.1108/09504120510573963
Of all the memories from my experience studying the Italian language, my fondest ones hark back to three years in high school. I still recall the classroom festooned with emblems and pictures of Italy; deciphering argot and conjugating verbs; and the camaraderie forged among peers mastering a new tongue. Perhaps my most enduring memory from this time, however, was learning about the Renaissance. As students, we absorbed knowledge of individuals, places, events, and ideas that shaped the epoch. We envisioned Galileo's experiments, marveled at da Vinci's inventions, and plumbed the words of Dante. Yet, little did we know that, beyond the cynosure of Italy, Renaissance culture had also exerted profound influence on other regions of Europe. In the Historical Dictionary of the Renaissance, author Charles Nauert demonstrates the development of the Renaissance in Italy, and its progression across the Alps to Northern and Eastern Europe from the early 14th century to...