The book of one of the most famous French historians expresses a modern view of the Renaissance, connected by numerous threads with previous centuries and surprisingly preceding our time. In this era, for the first time, personality, woman, child, education, finance, religion and art are brought to the fore. A huge energy pushing to new shores, a passionate thirst for fame and knowledge of their own human nature - such is the era that gave rise to Erasmus and Rabelais, Luther and Thomas More, Joan of Arc and Nikolai Kuzansky, Michelangelo and Raphael. The book is designed for specialists - historians and art historians, and for the widest circle of readers.