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Many scholars believe that the Renaissance began after the end of the Black Plague in 1351. -
Francesco Petrarch, the Italian humanist and poet called the father of the Renaissance, died in 1374. -
Gutenberg invented the first printing press by printing many Bibles and introduced printing in England.
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In 1401, Italian artist Lorenzo Ghiberti was awarded a commission to create bronze doors for the baptistry of San Giovanni in Florence. -
In 1452, the artist, humanist, scientist, and naturalist Leonardo da Vinci was born. -
In 1453, the Hundred Years War ended, bringing stability to northwestern Europe. -
In the 15th century, Europeans began to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of new routes to China and the East, but in the process, they discovered what they labeled a "New World," although Indigenous people had lived there for centuries.
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The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559.
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The Renaissance as a unified historical period ended with the fall of Rome in 1527. -
The Italian War of 1551–1559 began when Henry II of France declared war against Holy Roman Emperor Charles V with the intent of recapturing parts of Italy and ensuring French, rather than Habsburg, domination of European affairs.