Introduction to Renaissance - Why Renaissance?

Before we begin to talk about the fourteenth and fifteenth century we have to clarify differences in the understanding of the definition of the word "Renaissance." When directly translated from Italian and French, it is 'rebirth'. Then to say that a renaissance of any took place during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, there had to have been a period of idleness prior. However, this is not true -the middle ages gave rise to many new discoveries -the byzantine empire, the great crusades, but more so advancements in art which include: the fastidious art of manuscript illumination, and in architecture the rise of the Gothic cathedrals in Northern Europe.
In the Fifteenth century a shift was made, instead of art and culture being strictly dominated by the catholic church, man himself was now the focus. Classical Greek and Roman Antiquity served as inspiration for this descent into Humanism.
From a historical standpoint one can argue that Italy was the first regime to go about acquiring things through trade and commerce. "The regal occupation of cultivating a blossoming kingdom was becoming an increasingly expensive business." Soon enough Italy would become "a precious and desirable commodity." Summed up, Italy was up for grabs. "In this way, tremendous fortunes were to be made by merchants, turned bankers and financiers, whose name would ring out in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries with an authority previously accorded to princes, kings, or the pope himself." In this sense, the "climate" was just right for a revival in Italy.
This immense argument made by Micheal Batterberry in Art of the Early Renaissance, speaks volumes. Wealthy merchants would soon be able to yield more power through their financial connections than any soldier or knight could have with his sword. Financiers would soon become "more master than citizen." The Catholic Church is still the star player in Italian life to this very day. The church being what really became a acquirable means to an end, very importantly helped artists to break away from Byzantinian and International Gothic tradition in the upcoming centuries and create styles and techniques that would become the 'basics' for artists today. Let me be the first to introduce you to The Italian Renaissance.