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The Fifteenth Century: The Prospect of Europe
The Fifteenth Century The Prospect of Europe Author:Margaret Aston The theme of this absorbing study of the fifteenth century is the emergence of Europe as an entity. It was a period of discovery and questioning: a watershed in European history, which is all too often glossed over with the catchword "Renaissance." Here the Renaissance is seen as part of a larger context--religious, social, cultural an... more »d economic. The great events of the century were the plague, the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, the invention of the printing-press, the exploration of the world and the revival of classical studies. Each of these had a lasting effect on the fate of Europe--indeed, on the fate of the whole world--and around them the author has woven a lucid and fascinating account. Ranging throughout the Continent and drawing her most telling examples from the works of contemporary writers and observers, Mrs Aston vividly describes the momentous changes which Europe underwent and the re-assessments which these caused.« less