Flourishing in the 14th century, the Renaissance movement owes its rapid growth to political stability, cosmopolitanism, economic prosperity and the increasing sophistication of society. Influencing everything from art and architecture to music, politics and literature, this revival of Classical values is widely considered to be a bridge in time between the Middle Ages and modern history. The conceptual basis of the movement was its own adapted version of humanism, which was attained through the rediscovery...