Rather than treating the Renaissance and the Reformation as two separate eras with only tenuous connections, shows students how these two historical periods are inextricably interwoven. The volume begins with the medieval roots of the Renaissance and Reformation, demonstrating how institutional, intellectual, artistic, and religious developments coalesced over the centuries into the changes that affected the globe in the Reformation. Additional chapters explore Renaissance Italy through the Quattrocento; the rise of humanism; art, architecture, and aesthetics; the Renaissance papacy; and the spark of the Reformation. Students read about the reformed tradition; religious divisions that led to war in the sixteenth century; Portuguese and Spanish imperialism and expansion into the New World; the Thirty Years' War; and more. helps students gain an understanding not just of events that occurred centuries ago but also of the world as it currently exists. It is an exemplary textbook for courses and programs in world history.