The Renaissance

If you don't know what the term renaissance  refers to you may find many of the festivals and fairs that dot the western world all year round slightly confusing. They may also be in the Eastern world but at the time of writing I am unaware of any.
So just so you don't seem like a nincompoop at said fairs, here's a little taster of the Renaissance. Simply drop some of these names and facts and you should be alright. Well, left alone at least.

The Renaissance traditionally refers to the cultural, philosophical and social movement that began in Florence at the end of the 14th century (after the Black Death) and continued sometime until the middle of the 16th century. It spread through the rest of Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, England and parts of Spain.

The term itself is French and means reborn. In Italian reborn is il rinascimento. What was being reborn was the art, history, philosophy and attitude of the classical age of Greece and Rome. After the Dark Ages (or the Middle Ages, a term I prefer because if you look deeply they really weren't so dark as their reputation implies) Europe underwent a massive shift in thought and culture which permeated then through all aspects of society.

 The Birth of Venus - Sandro Botticelli c1485-7

The rediscovery of texts and manuscripts from Greece (especially after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453) and those from the Middle East (where society was undoubtably more advanced and sophisticated during the Middle Ages) brought a lot of new, and old, ideas to Europe.

Some of the key characters who were interested in this transformation and contributed to it (either willingly or unwillingly) include:

Writers - Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio
Artists - Giotto, Sandro Bottecelli, Michelangelo Buonarotti, Donatello, Rafael, Leonardo de Vinci (yes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were actually named after quite important people). There are of course many more but this is only meant to be an appetiser, not the whole main course.
Leaders - Cosimo de Medici (Florence), Lorenzo de Medici (Florence), the Sforza family - notably Ludovico and Caterina (Milan), the Este family (Ferrara, and other parts of Veneto), Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand  - of the Spanish Inquisition fame (Spain), Phillip II of Spain (Spain, Naples, Portugal), Henry VIII (England), Elizabeth I (England)
Religious Movers and Shakers - Savonarola, Martin Luther, Sir Thomas More
Popes  -  Pope Innocent VIII, Alexander VI, Julius II, Leo X
Scientists - Nicolaus Copernicus (good old Copperknickers - sorry couldn't resist), Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Galilei
Political Commentators  - Machiavelli

The Sistine Chapel (Ceiling) - Michelangelo, 1508-1512

Alright, this plate of hors d'oeuvres is starting to overflow a bit here, and as my aim is simply to whet your appetitie I'm going to stop here. Keep tuned though as I'm sure some of those mentioned here will bubble up into their own tasty portions.