A New History of the Renaissance
Interview with Bernd Roeck about his book The World at First Light: A New History of the Renaissance. Challenges traditional Eurocentric views of the Renaissance, exploring its global antecedents across India, Japan, China, and the Islamic world. Highlights the critical dialogue and inter-state competition in Europe as fundamental drivers of its unique development, alongside the transmission of ancient knowledge by Christian and Islamic scholars. Underscores humanism’s pivotal role in fostering man’s capacity for discovery and self-determination, weaving together themes of science, politics, and art to explain how polymathic thinkers like Leonardo da Vinci epitomised this interdisciplinary flourishing.
