Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents ix
3. Medici Family Tree xii
4. Prologue: The Great and Terrible Renaissance xvii
5. I Machiavelli the Patriot: SPQF 1
6. PART I Why You Shouldn't Believe Anyone (Including Me) About the Renaissance
7. 2 Everybody Wants to Claim a Golden Age 17
8. 3 The Flexible X-Factor of the Renaissance 24
9. 4 Time for a Tangent About Vikings! (It's Relevant, I Swear. . .) 27
10. 5 The Quest for the Renaissance X-Factor Begins 32
11. 6 Super Sexy Secular Humanism 41
12. 7 A New X-Factor: 1he Baron 1hesis and Proto-Democracy 45
13. 8 Another X-Factor: Enter Economists! 52
14. 9 Florence:A Se!f-Fu!filling SourceB ase 56
15. 10 What Makes People Start to Study the Renaissance 61
16. 11 Lorenzo de Medici: Hero or Villain? 64
17. 12 Or Were We Brought Here by Romance? 89
18. 13 The Invention of the Middle Ages 96
19. 14 The Un-Modern Renaissance 105
20. 15 Why Did Ada Palmer Start Studying the Renaissance? 107
21. PART II Desperate Times and Desperate Measures
22. 16 Desperate Times 111
23. 17 Cruel Wars for Light Causes 120
24. 18 A Strange Peace, A Stranger War 124
25. 19 Rome: The Eternal Problem City 127
26. 20 Medieval but Ever-So-Much-More-So 131
27. 21 The Desperate Measure: Reviving Antiquity 134
28. INTERMISSION Are You Remembering Not to Believe Me? 142
29. 22 Antiquity Was Not New Either 143
30. 23 The Umanista's Rival· Scholasticism 148
31. 24 Studia Humanitatis-1he Words 1hat Sting and Bite 156
32. 25 Italian Renaissance Becomes European Renaissance 168
33. 26 The Supremacy of Antiquity 173
34. 27 Is This About Virtue or Power? 178
35. PART III Let's Meet Some People from 1his Golden Age
36. 28 Patrons and Clients All the Way Up 197
37. 29 Our Friends So Far 216
38. 30 Alessandra Strozzi: Labors of Exile 219
39. 31 Manetto Amanatini: 1here Is a World Elsewhere 227
40. 32 Francesco Filelfo: Between Republics and Monarchies 231
41. 33 Montesecco: An Assassin Fears for His Soul 241
42. 34 Ippolita Maria Visconti Sforza: 1he Princess and the Peace 248
43. 35 josquin des Prez: 1he International Renaissance 257
44. 36 Angelo Poliziano: Patronage Repays 271
45. 37 Savonarola: Saint or Demon? 282
46. 38 Alessandra Scala: 1he Girl of Our Dreams 297
47. 39 Raffaello Maffei ii Volterrano: A Scholar Fears for His Soul Too 309
48. 40 Lucrezia Borgia: Princess of Nowhere 326
49. 41 Camilla Bartolini Rucellai: Spirit of the Last Republic 361
50. 42 Michelangelo: 1he Great and Terrible 378
51. INTERLUDE Let's Ground Ourselves in Time 417
52. 43 Julia the Sibyl· A Prophetess in an Age of Science 422
53. 44 Our Friend Machiavelli 435
54. PART IV What Was Renaissance Humanism?
55. 45 What Was Behind the Curtain? Garin vs. Kristel/er 485
56. 46 Who Gets to Count as a Renaissance Humanist? 493
57. 47 Back to Our X-Factors 497
58. 48 Once Upon a Time at Vergil's House . .. 502
59. 49 Follow the Money! 510
60. 50 It's Getting Weird in Florence 518
61. 51 Scraps of Philosophia 524
62. 52 Was There Renaissance Secular Humanism? 534
63. 53 How (Not) to Dodge the Renaissance Inquisition 547
64. 54 Why We Care Whether Machiavelli Was an Atheist 555
65. 55 Was Machiavelli a Humanist? Part 1 572
66. 56 Virtue Politics 574
67. 57 Was Machiavelli a Humanist? Part 2 581
68. PART V The Try Everything Age
69. 58 An Exponential Information Revolution 585
70. 59 We Can't just Abelard Harder Anymore 591
71. 60 1he Presumptive Authority of the Past 595
72. 61 The New Philosophy 603
73. 62 A Brief History of Progress 608
74. 63 Progresses 621
75. PART VI Conclusion
76. 64 Great Forces History vs. Individual Choice History 627
77. 65 The Papal Election of 20I6 633
78. 66 Which Horseman of the Apocalypse? 641
79. 67 What Did the Black Death Really Cause? 647
80. Sources and Recommended Reading 651
81. Notes 683
82. Acknowledgments 714
83. Image Credits 719
84. Image Credits 721
85. About the Author 745