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The Other Renaissance
Through the lives of major figures from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, including Copernicus, Gutenberg, Luther, Catherine de Medici, Rabelais, van Eyck and Shakespeare, Paul Strathern tells the fascinating story of the northern European Renaissance, which rivalled its Italian counterpart.
There is no denying that many of the first developments of the Renaissance took place in Italy. However, a revolution of similar magnitude was also occurring across northern Europe, which would forever alter European culture in its own unique fashion. Initially centred on the city of Bruges, its influence was soon felt in France, the German states, England and even in Italy itself.
By vividly bringing to life the key players of the northern Renaissance, Paul Strathern explores some of the most significant advances of the whole era, revealing how they not only introduced new ways of thinking in art, literature, science, philosophy, mathematics and medicine, but also allowed for the evolution of an entirely different concept of life.
In this compelling and original history, Strathern shows how the 'Other Renaissance' would play a role at least as significant as the Italian Renaissance in shattering the constraints of medieval life and bringing our modern world into being.
There is no denying that many of the first developments of the Renaissance took place in Italy. However, a revolution of similar magnitude was also occurring across northern Europe, which would forever alter European culture in its own unique fashion. Initially centred on the city of Bruges, its influence was soon felt in France, the German states, England and even in Italy itself.
By vividly bringing to life the key players of the northern Renaissance, Paul Strathern explores some of the most significant advances of the whole era, revealing how they not only introduced new ways of thinking in art, literature, science, philosophy, mathematics and medicine, but also allowed for the evolution of an entirely different concept of life.
In this compelling and original history, Strathern shows how the 'Other Renaissance' would play a role at least as significant as the Italian Renaissance in shattering the constraints of medieval life and bringing our modern world into being.
Paperback
First published January 1, 2023
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684 people want to read
About the author
Paul Strathern
160 books544 followersPaul Strathern (born 1940) is a English writer and academic. He was born in London, and studied at Trinity College, Dublin, after which he served in the Merchant Navy over a period of two years. He then lived on a Greek island. In 1966 he travelled overland to India and the Himalayas. His novel A Season in Abyssinia won a Somerset Maugham Award in 1972.
Besides five novels, he has also written numerous books on science, philosophy, history, literature, medicine and economics.
Besides five novels, he has also written numerous books on science, philosophy, history, literature, medicine and economics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
April 10, 2023
Maybe it’s because I have previous to this book read The West a New History of an old idea but I found the tone of this book and the choice of largely predominantly male persons if interest to include jarring. When he did discuss Catherine di Medici and Elizabeth I I felt the tone derogatory and sexist - focusing sections on their appearance (didn’t with the male figures in the book) their deviousness and shrill voices. With it being a broad sweep of history the chapters don’t go into detail but as I teach ELizabeth I at alevel I found their to be inaccuracies in this chapter which makes me feel their could be inaccuracies in the other personalities I know less of. It’s an ok read to an introduction to some of the personalities for you to go away and study them in more depth - the theme seems to be when there are wars and religious persecutions then great ideas are born. The tone and assumptions and the male gaze on the very few female figures made me uncomfortable and frustrated in places.
August 24, 2023
I have read and enjoyed three books from the author but this book is a disappointment. In fact, this book is a mess. The idea of a “Northern Renaissance” as a framework to introduce this interesting cast of historical characters has promise, but the promise is unfulfilled. The early chapters are in a jumbled order that denies the book the narrative thread it needs to hold framework together. The author often swings into random, unnecessary detours that distract from the story, and confuse the reader. Finally, the editing is poor. In several places, dates are off by an entire century, and there are other factual mistakes. Terrific author. Not his best effort.
March 12, 2023
Another great book by this author.
Once again it is amazing to learn how much that we thought about the first people to invent things like the telescope are not strictly true.
The short biographies of the influential characters of the period are excellent and will have you seeking out more about their extraordinary lives.
Like the best of history books it turns some preconceptions on their head. It entertains us as it educates.
Once again it is amazing to learn how much that we thought about the first people to invent things like the telescope are not strictly true.
The short biographies of the influential characters of the period are excellent and will have you seeking out more about their extraordinary lives.
Like the best of history books it turns some preconceptions on their head. It entertains us as it educates.
September 5, 2023
As someone from Northern Europe, this wasn't necessarily such a mind-blowing entry as many of the characters and events discussed were indeed taught to us just as much as Renaissance as what is offered here as somehow distinct from "Southern Renaissance", but despite this it was an interesting and insightful collection of people and their histories. I believe I'm not the only one to usually read history in a more nationally framed packages, or even through histories of individuals (still mostly in the context of their national-political sphere), so for someone else to have done the work of putting so many significant events and people together in a same book in a pan-european manner and across all spheres of politics, business ventures, scholars and arts was a great read. The personal histories and how they cross around Europe makes this both easily approachable and inspiring, as it reminds one of how all discoveries and inventions before have also been made by just some dudes. Especially the account on Luther basically being just an uninspired student feeling a bit lost in his 20s to changing the course of European history because he got a sudden existential crisis from a minor inconvenience was quite refreshing. Easy and quick read, can recommend.
Only notes I have are that I find the emphasized and repeated distinction from "Southern Renaissance" both artificial and unnecessary - after establishing what we are talking about here it seemed somewhat bitter at times the way Italy's impact was mentioned, for example. I also wish that the European ventures to the "New World" would have been presented with little bit more nuance and acknowledgment of as much as they meant success for the European nations at the time, we can by no means see them as accomplishments from todays perspective when we know what the cost of that was and still is today. Just a simple acknowledgment of this goes a long way as it contributes to the deconstruction of the colonial idea that this was somehow inevitable.
Only notes I have are that I find the emphasized and repeated distinction from "Southern Renaissance" both artificial and unnecessary - after establishing what we are talking about here it seemed somewhat bitter at times the way Italy's impact was mentioned, for example. I also wish that the European ventures to the "New World" would have been presented with little bit more nuance and acknowledgment of as much as they meant success for the European nations at the time, we can by no means see them as accomplishments from todays perspective when we know what the cost of that was and still is today. Just a simple acknowledgment of this goes a long way as it contributes to the deconstruction of the colonial idea that this was somehow inevitable.
Want to read
May 27, 2023WSJ review:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-othe...
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
Excerpt:
"He has no doubt that the Renaissance was real, and that it transformed the world. In particular, he sees the invention of printing as “arguably the most significant extension of democracy in Europe since the establishment of democracy itself.”
In his preface he plunges straight in, introducing us to one of the most colorful, flamboyant and controversial of his subjects, the physician and showman known as Paracelsus—his full, glorious name was Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, and he was born, not to say hatched, in the village of Egg in northern Switzerland. Mr. Strathern considers Paracelsus an exemplary figure, being a revolutionary chemist and scientist who nevertheless retained “incongruous remnants of earlier medieval preconceptions.”
This was the case with many, if not all, of the great figures who stride through the pages of this book. But should we be tempted to look on them condescendingly for their stubborn faith in quaint superstitions, we should recall that the man who forged the laws of the universe in which we live, Isaac Newton, spent the greater part of his career conducting alchemical experiments and seeking to solve the arcane codes he believed to be hidden between the lines of the Bible."
å
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-othe...
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
Excerpt:
"He has no doubt that the Renaissance was real, and that it transformed the world. In particular, he sees the invention of printing as “arguably the most significant extension of democracy in Europe since the establishment of democracy itself.”
In his preface he plunges straight in, introducing us to one of the most colorful, flamboyant and controversial of his subjects, the physician and showman known as Paracelsus—his full, glorious name was Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, and he was born, not to say hatched, in the village of Egg in northern Switzerland. Mr. Strathern considers Paracelsus an exemplary figure, being a revolutionary chemist and scientist who nevertheless retained “incongruous remnants of earlier medieval preconceptions.”
This was the case with many, if not all, of the great figures who stride through the pages of this book. But should we be tempted to look on them condescendingly for their stubborn faith in quaint superstitions, we should recall that the man who forged the laws of the universe in which we live, Isaac Newton, spent the greater part of his career conducting alchemical experiments and seeking to solve the arcane codes he believed to be hidden between the lines of the Bible."
å
April 9, 2024
An easy page turner. Big fan of Strathern and his efforts to popularise philosophy. Sad to think that this might be his last book.
September 24, 2023
Really interesting read that explores the Renaissance through impact of Northern Europe ground breakers. Covering topics from art to commerce, to politics, to map making and printing to name but a few it really has something of interest for everyone. Very readable and explores the impact of missed opportunities -especially how Russia's history could have taken a very different turn if Elizabethan England had acted differently !
January 5, 2024
Informative while painting some of the “greats” as real people. Who would have thought Durer was such a good time boy? But then again why shouldn’t he have been?
Unusual mix of science and alchemy, insight and ignorance. Probably we will seem just as odd and naive to people 500 years hence.
Unusual mix of science and alchemy, insight and ignorance. Probably we will seem just as odd and naive to people 500 years hence.
March 18, 2024
I fine overview of the personages and themes that helped to create a modern world.
May 1, 2024
Strathern attempts to show that things happening in Northern Europe during the 'Renaissance' (which he fails to define but I presume he means the period from about 1450 to 1600) were on a par with, or more important, things happening around the Mediterranean: "three of the most significant events of the entire Renaissance era would take place north of the Alps" (Prologue), those three being: the invention of movable-type printing, Protestantism, and a heliocentric universe.
To prove his thesis, he provides a number of mini-biographies of mostly well-known figures such as Gutenberg, Luther and Copernicus. Such a cherry-picked sample can't prove anything. Indeed, some of his selections (Paracelsus, for example) seem self-defeating. At one stage he suggests that “The entire Renaissance can be seen as bursting free from the constraint of systematic medieval thought.” But this is in his chapter on Montaigne and on the very next page he points out that Montaigne’s philosophy saw belief in God as a precondition and science as superficial, both attitudes which I would suspect Strathern would regard as typically mediaeval.
He also repeatedly makes the point that much of what he would characterise as Renaissance behaviours were accompanied by a background of strife, such as the religious wars catalysed by the Lutheran revolution: “Civil turmoil has frequently been accompanied by historic transformations.” (Ch 16) But other renaissances, such as that in twelfth century Europe which led to the first universities and the explosion in demotic literatures, depend on stability (in this case the reduction in threat from Viking raids from the north, Islamic invasion from the south, and Huns and Mongols from the east).
I also think he minimises the intra-Europe links. For example, amongst other contributors to the Northern Renaissance he lists John Cabot, who was born in Genoa, Pietro Torrigiano, from Florence, and Catherine de' Medici, another Florentine. Others such as Copernicus and Nicholas of Cusa were educated or worked in Italy.
On the other hand, if his intention is to show that developments in northern Europe were equally significant to those south of the Alps, I think he has succeeded.
The selection of biographies seemed eclectic. As I have said, some were so well known that it scarcely seemed worthwhile rehashing the details. But there are plenty of others about whom I knew nothing, such as Dietrich of Freiburg (although he scarcely fits the time frame), François Viète, and Etienne de La Boétie, or little, such as Nicholas of Cusa, the Fuggers, Mercator, and Vesalius. Unfortunately, for some of these relative unknowns, such as Rabelais (quoted as saying both ‘If you don't want to see a fool, then break your mirror.’ and ‘A child is not a vase to be filled but a fire to be lit.’), and Montaigne, I wished there had been more information. I definitely want to read them both. Strathern can't win! He's wide-ranging but this inevitably comes at the price of an element of superficiality.
The asterisks used to indicate a footnote were extraordinarily small and so very easy to miss. This was a shame since the footnotes sometimes provided fascinating information (see the Selected Quotes below). Otherwise, it is well written (although there are a couple of typos where a date in the 1500s has suddenly been put back 100 years), easy to read and enjoyable. Overall, it is an excellent introduction to the subject.
To prove his thesis, he provides a number of mini-biographies of mostly well-known figures such as Gutenberg, Luther and Copernicus. Such a cherry-picked sample can't prove anything. Indeed, some of his selections (Paracelsus, for example) seem self-defeating. At one stage he suggests that “The entire Renaissance can be seen as bursting free from the constraint of systematic medieval thought.” But this is in his chapter on Montaigne and on the very next page he points out that Montaigne’s philosophy saw belief in God as a precondition and science as superficial, both attitudes which I would suspect Strathern would regard as typically mediaeval.
He also repeatedly makes the point that much of what he would characterise as Renaissance behaviours were accompanied by a background of strife, such as the religious wars catalysed by the Lutheran revolution: “Civil turmoil has frequently been accompanied by historic transformations.” (Ch 16) But other renaissances, such as that in twelfth century Europe which led to the first universities and the explosion in demotic literatures, depend on stability (in this case the reduction in threat from Viking raids from the north, Islamic invasion from the south, and Huns and Mongols from the east).
I also think he minimises the intra-Europe links. For example, amongst other contributors to the Northern Renaissance he lists John Cabot, who was born in Genoa, Pietro Torrigiano, from Florence, and Catherine de' Medici, another Florentine. Others such as Copernicus and Nicholas of Cusa were educated or worked in Italy.
On the other hand, if his intention is to show that developments in northern Europe were equally significant to those south of the Alps, I think he has succeeded.
The selection of biographies seemed eclectic. As I have said, some were so well known that it scarcely seemed worthwhile rehashing the details. But there are plenty of others about whom I knew nothing, such as Dietrich of Freiburg (although he scarcely fits the time frame), François Viète, and Etienne de La Boétie, or little, such as Nicholas of Cusa, the Fuggers, Mercator, and Vesalius. Unfortunately, for some of these relative unknowns, such as Rabelais (quoted as saying both ‘If you don't want to see a fool, then break your mirror.’ and ‘A child is not a vase to be filled but a fire to be lit.’), and Montaigne, I wished there had been more information. I definitely want to read them both. Strathern can't win! He's wide-ranging but this inevitably comes at the price of an element of superficiality.
The asterisks used to indicate a footnote were extraordinarily small and so very easy to miss. This was a shame since the footnotes sometimes provided fascinating information (see the Selected Quotes below). Otherwise, it is well written (although there are a couple of typos where a date in the 1500s has suddenly been put back 100 years), easy to read and enjoyable. Overall, it is an excellent introduction to the subject.
October 13, 2025
I'm becoming increasingly interested in history. History, I find, is a bit like doing a massive jigsaw puzzle. At the beginning when you know very little, there's way too much information, and it's all just a bit overwhelming. But the more I know, the more I'm able to make connections between things which I enjoy.
Linked to history, I'm also more interested in the history of art. Which is what sparked my interest in the northern renaissance in particular.
This book by Paul Strathern is essentially a collection short biographies about key figures that Strathern claims were key to the northern renaissance. To be honest, I'm unsure how established the concept of a "northern renaissance" is, and to what extent Strathern is instead laying out an argument that we SHOULD think there was a renaissance in northern Europe too.
The people covered span a very broad range of disciplines: art (van Eyck, Durer, Bruegel the Elder), technological innovation (Gutenberg), religion (Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation), astronomy (Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler), literature and philosophy (Rabelais, Montaigne, Shakespeare), medicine (Paracelsus, Vesalius), politics and money (the Fuggers, Francis I, the Rise of England, Catherine de' Medici, Elizabethan England), exploration (e.g. England's journeys into Russia at the time of Ivan the Terrible's reign, Mercator and map-making). So it's a strange sort of book in a way. It's not advancing any argument or grand narrative. It's literally jumping around between the lives of these various people, detailing both their achievements but also the personal situation they found themselves in.
To be honest, I don't read many biographies as I'm generally more interested in ideas than people. But I did enjoy this book, and along the way you get a real insight into the times, and the historical currents going on.
There's also some really interesting tidbids of information - like his argument that if England had engaged more with 16th century Russia, Russia would've been more connected to Europe, and history might have panned out very differently.
If you're interested in 16th century European history and innovations, and like biographies, I'm sure you'll enjoy this sweeping set of biographies of the northern Renaissances biggest movers and shakers. Strathern writes well - and is crisp and interesting.
Linked to history, I'm also more interested in the history of art. Which is what sparked my interest in the northern renaissance in particular.
This book by Paul Strathern is essentially a collection short biographies about key figures that Strathern claims were key to the northern renaissance. To be honest, I'm unsure how established the concept of a "northern renaissance" is, and to what extent Strathern is instead laying out an argument that we SHOULD think there was a renaissance in northern Europe too.
The people covered span a very broad range of disciplines: art (van Eyck, Durer, Bruegel the Elder), technological innovation (Gutenberg), religion (Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation), astronomy (Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler), literature and philosophy (Rabelais, Montaigne, Shakespeare), medicine (Paracelsus, Vesalius), politics and money (the Fuggers, Francis I, the Rise of England, Catherine de' Medici, Elizabethan England), exploration (e.g. England's journeys into Russia at the time of Ivan the Terrible's reign, Mercator and map-making). So it's a strange sort of book in a way. It's not advancing any argument or grand narrative. It's literally jumping around between the lives of these various people, detailing both their achievements but also the personal situation they found themselves in.
To be honest, I don't read many biographies as I'm generally more interested in ideas than people. But I did enjoy this book, and along the way you get a real insight into the times, and the historical currents going on.
There's also some really interesting tidbids of information - like his argument that if England had engaged more with 16th century Russia, Russia would've been more connected to Europe, and history might have panned out very differently.
If you're interested in 16th century European history and innovations, and like biographies, I'm sure you'll enjoy this sweeping set of biographies of the northern Renaissances biggest movers and shakers. Strathern writes well - and is crisp and interesting.
May 7, 2023
Enlightening
A generous thoughtful and interesting account of the Renaissance north of the Alps. Very readable. Up there with the author's previous work
A generous thoughtful and interesting account of the Renaissance north of the Alps. Very readable. Up there with the author's previous work
August 21, 2023
Solid overview, interesting dives into the period via the biographies of key figures. In particular liked the pieces on Vesalius, Mercator and Copernicus; the mapmakers of the human body, the earth and the universe (as far as it was known at the time) respectively.
July 16, 2023
As a book it was decidedly mediocre. It was underbroad in the sense that it wasn’t remotely comprehensive and overbroad in the sense that he included unnecessary details like the happiness of someone’s marriage or his potential secret homosexual proclivities. It didn’t explain well why these disparate scholars, some of whom knew (of) each other and some of whom didn’t, constituted a movement. And the historical judgments were speculative and based on pop history rather than academic scholarship.
But behind the quality of the writing was the quality of the editing and publishing, which was awful. Illustrations that would have been apt had the wrong captions. Dates were wrong throughout the work. Grammar was frequently abominable. For a book that I think cost $28 it was inexcusable.
But behind the quality of the writing was the quality of the editing and publishing, which was awful. Illustrations that would have been apt had the wrong captions. Dates were wrong throughout the work. Grammar was frequently abominable. For a book that I think cost $28 it was inexcusable.
August 23, 2023
3.5 stars, but I'm feeling kind and rounding up (despite some misgivings).
It's an easy to read bit of pop history, which mostly goes over twice told tales and tells them again. That's not a knock (that's largely a goal of pop history, telling these tales to a hopefully wider audience). While generally engaging, it bugged on occassion and left me uncertain if the author was fully up to the challenge of righting this book.
Example: He notes (p.81) how Jan Hus was burnt at the stake for opposing Catholic theology in 1415 - then says how this all happened just two years before Martin Luther's 95 Theses. ..... . (slumps head onto desk). Er, no. Luther did that in 1517, 102 years before. Look, this is just a math error and being careless with numbers. Lots of expects can goof up numbers - but not knowing that Hus and Luther were a few generations apart on the timeline is a pretty jarring error. Makes me wonder what else he missed. For example, at the end of the book when he notes how a British mission to Russia is a great lost opportunity to westernize Russia -- I can't help but feel the author is extremely overblown here, and he doesn't really have the credibility established to give him the benefit of the doubt.
He's read those twice told tales a few times, but I'm not really clear if he really knows them well enough for this book.
Beyond that, what's considered to be the Renaissance was a bit blurry to me. It's stuff that happened in northern Europe in the 1400s and 1500s, I guess. So the Reformation? That counts. Columbus? That counts. Shakespeare? That counts. I mean - it's anything that happened in this time period, and neither the time period nor the Renaissance itself if that well defined.
Yet I'm giving it four stars! This era isn't an era of special knowledge for me, so many of the were new to me. (Even though I'm not sure he knows enough, he knows more than I do).
Some elements in this book: Jan van Eyck helped create the first notable oil-based paintings in Europe, based on a practice that came from India. Nicholas of Cusa showed that the Donation of Constantine was a forgery. There was no commonly agreed on algebra notation and thinkers in this era helped push for it. The UK under Henry VIII began building up the navy - there were just 15 ships in the roayl navy when he was crowned. The Fuggers helped learn and popularize double bookkeeping, which helped them with their profits. You get Copernicus, Erasmus, and a little of Thomas More & Machiaveilli. (Why's Machiaveilli here on a book on the Northern Renaissance? Because people in the north read him). Paracelseus iolated four elements, and pushed for empircal science based on experience, not just recourse to "Aristotle said." He also beleived in magic. Mercator was a great mapmaker. Vesalius was the father of anatomy. Catherine d'Medici had a big impact on France. There's a nice bit on Montaine, calling him "a philospoher without an answer, whos though was undeniabley systematic in its pursuit of truth - yet he neither produced nor adhered to any system" (250). Also: the word essay came from a French word meaning attempt. Huh. There's also Queen Liz, Martin Luther, Shakespeare, British explorers, the 30 Years War and Richlieu.
It's an easy to read bit of pop history, which mostly goes over twice told tales and tells them again. That's not a knock (that's largely a goal of pop history, telling these tales to a hopefully wider audience). While generally engaging, it bugged on occassion and left me uncertain if the author was fully up to the challenge of righting this book.
Example: He notes (p.81) how Jan Hus was burnt at the stake for opposing Catholic theology in 1415 - then says how this all happened just two years before Martin Luther's 95 Theses. ..... . (slumps head onto desk). Er, no. Luther did that in 1517, 102 years before. Look, this is just a math error and being careless with numbers. Lots of expects can goof up numbers - but not knowing that Hus and Luther were a few generations apart on the timeline is a pretty jarring error. Makes me wonder what else he missed. For example, at the end of the book when he notes how a British mission to Russia is a great lost opportunity to westernize Russia -- I can't help but feel the author is extremely overblown here, and he doesn't really have the credibility established to give him the benefit of the doubt.
He's read those twice told tales a few times, but I'm not really clear if he really knows them well enough for this book.
Beyond that, what's considered to be the Renaissance was a bit blurry to me. It's stuff that happened in northern Europe in the 1400s and 1500s, I guess. So the Reformation? That counts. Columbus? That counts. Shakespeare? That counts. I mean - it's anything that happened in this time period, and neither the time period nor the Renaissance itself if that well defined.
Yet I'm giving it four stars! This era isn't an era of special knowledge for me, so many of the were new to me. (Even though I'm not sure he knows enough, he knows more than I do).
Some elements in this book: Jan van Eyck helped create the first notable oil-based paintings in Europe, based on a practice that came from India. Nicholas of Cusa showed that the Donation of Constantine was a forgery. There was no commonly agreed on algebra notation and thinkers in this era helped push for it. The UK under Henry VIII began building up the navy - there were just 15 ships in the roayl navy when he was crowned. The Fuggers helped learn and popularize double bookkeeping, which helped them with their profits. You get Copernicus, Erasmus, and a little of Thomas More & Machiaveilli. (Why's Machiaveilli here on a book on the Northern Renaissance? Because people in the north read him). Paracelseus iolated four elements, and pushed for empircal science based on experience, not just recourse to "Aristotle said." He also beleived in magic. Mercator was a great mapmaker. Vesalius was the father of anatomy. Catherine d'Medici had a big impact on France. There's a nice bit on Montaine, calling him "a philospoher without an answer, whos though was undeniabley systematic in its pursuit of truth - yet he neither produced nor adhered to any system" (250). Also: the word essay came from a French word meaning attempt. Huh. There's also Queen Liz, Martin Luther, Shakespeare, British explorers, the 30 Years War and Richlieu.
October 4, 2023
This is simply a wonderful and important book, which I will be happy to re-read.
Strathern argues that while many of us locate the Renaissance in Italy, many of the things that laid the foundation of the modern world originated in northern Europe. This is history told through the entertaining biographies of original thinkers and explaining the contributions they made.
For example:
* Gutenberg who effectively democratised knowledge
* Copernicus whose heliocentric idea would also have a subtle but profound effect not only on science but on Western psychology and our self-understanding.
* The commercial innovation of the Dutch East India Company and the invention of the bourse, which Strathern locates in Belgium - but also the role of the Fugger's in Augsburg who may have been the richest private citizens in history
* The pragmatic political philosophy of Machiavelli and it's application by Catherine de Medici
* Luther's championing of the individual conscience against the hegemony of the Catholic Church and the ensuing creation of 'individuality'
* The creation of modern medicine by figures such as the Flemish physician Vesalius and the eccentric Paracelsus
* France's Montaigne whose essays would introduce an entirely new way of examining of the human condition
* Thinkers such as Erasmus and Nicholas of Cusa
* Van Eyck's whose use of oil rather than fresco techniques for paintings such as the Ghent Altarpiece changed the world of art
* Mercator's Atlas containing his cylindrical projection map of the world
* Mathematicians such as Regiomontanus and the Frenchman François Viète
* Statesmen such as Richelieu who contributed to the concepts of the nation state and international law
Strathern describes the Renaissance as a paradigm shift across an entire culture:
"... the analogous transformations that took place in such a wide range of fields. The self-understanding implicit in humanism, the realism of art, the understanding of human anatomy, the mapping of the globe, the attempted standardization of symbols in mathematics, the host of rationalisations and interlocking processes involved in printing, and more… many of the transformations in these different fields exhibit an unmistakable resemblance to each other. And it is only a short step to recognizing this as the evolution in western European humanity of an entirely new mental vision, or concept of life.
One coherent world view was being replaced by another."
It's a wonderful and engaging book!
Strathern argues that while many of us locate the Renaissance in Italy, many of the things that laid the foundation of the modern world originated in northern Europe. This is history told through the entertaining biographies of original thinkers and explaining the contributions they made.
For example:
* Gutenberg who effectively democratised knowledge
* Copernicus whose heliocentric idea would also have a subtle but profound effect not only on science but on Western psychology and our self-understanding.
* The commercial innovation of the Dutch East India Company and the invention of the bourse, which Strathern locates in Belgium - but also the role of the Fugger's in Augsburg who may have been the richest private citizens in history
* The pragmatic political philosophy of Machiavelli and it's application by Catherine de Medici
* Luther's championing of the individual conscience against the hegemony of the Catholic Church and the ensuing creation of 'individuality'
* The creation of modern medicine by figures such as the Flemish physician Vesalius and the eccentric Paracelsus
* France's Montaigne whose essays would introduce an entirely new way of examining of the human condition
* Thinkers such as Erasmus and Nicholas of Cusa
* Van Eyck's whose use of oil rather than fresco techniques for paintings such as the Ghent Altarpiece changed the world of art
* Mercator's Atlas containing his cylindrical projection map of the world
* Mathematicians such as Regiomontanus and the Frenchman François Viète
* Statesmen such as Richelieu who contributed to the concepts of the nation state and international law
Strathern describes the Renaissance as a paradigm shift across an entire culture:
"... the analogous transformations that took place in such a wide range of fields. The self-understanding implicit in humanism, the realism of art, the understanding of human anatomy, the mapping of the globe, the attempted standardization of symbols in mathematics, the host of rationalisations and interlocking processes involved in printing, and more… many of the transformations in these different fields exhibit an unmistakable resemblance to each other. And it is only a short step to recognizing this as the evolution in western European humanity of an entirely new mental vision, or concept of life.
One coherent world view was being replaced by another."
It's a wonderful and engaging book!
December 26, 2024
*4.44 Stars
Notes: I found this book to be very informative, in that I couldn’t stop reading it at all sometimes, from how good it simply was. I have been trying to find more nonfiction books that I have been interested in lately, especially should something include history topics several centuries in the past. This one was just so captivating to me that I read it mostly all the way through.
Multiple historically well-known figures get featured in several chapters. Some of the main ones that were included are Gutenberg, Martin Luther, Copernicus, Erasmus, Kepler (who was quite interesting to me), and Montaigne. I had learned many various new and useful facts on these people who were alive in the past, that had made great advancements that then changed things a lot.
Anyways, this book may delve into the category of historical scientific nonfiction. There are going to be advanced scientific topics explained throughout multiple chapters, which was why I read this book over a few months to understand as much as I could. Since this novel has longer paragraphs and some lengthy explanations on things that are necessary to read through to try to understand historical content more, this could get difficult to read through at a faster pace, unless someone really understands content that’s in the chapters, or has done a lot of past research before. I’ve been looking up several research articles online before reading through this book in its entirety, which was also how I knew of its existence.
I was glad that I ended up completing most of the chapters. I wouldn’t have skipped reading this book in favor of reading another book. The historical information in it was just too well-researched - I really liked how everything was formatted. The pacing was good enough, so that I never really was too distracted, and could nearly always comprehend what was being explained. The descriptions were simple enough to read through in the beginning, so that I could understand precisely what was described.
I would recommend this to those interested in it from the description. This needs a longer attention span for it to be entirely read through, though if the reading time is enjoyed, I can promise that it’ll be entirely, definitely worth it.
Notes: I found this book to be very informative, in that I couldn’t stop reading it at all sometimes, from how good it simply was. I have been trying to find more nonfiction books that I have been interested in lately, especially should something include history topics several centuries in the past. This one was just so captivating to me that I read it mostly all the way through.
Multiple historically well-known figures get featured in several chapters. Some of the main ones that were included are Gutenberg, Martin Luther, Copernicus, Erasmus, Kepler (who was quite interesting to me), and Montaigne. I had learned many various new and useful facts on these people who were alive in the past, that had made great advancements that then changed things a lot.
Anyways, this book may delve into the category of historical scientific nonfiction. There are going to be advanced scientific topics explained throughout multiple chapters, which was why I read this book over a few months to understand as much as I could. Since this novel has longer paragraphs and some lengthy explanations on things that are necessary to read through to try to understand historical content more, this could get difficult to read through at a faster pace, unless someone really understands content that’s in the chapters, or has done a lot of past research before. I’ve been looking up several research articles online before reading through this book in its entirety, which was also how I knew of its existence.
I was glad that I ended up completing most of the chapters. I wouldn’t have skipped reading this book in favor of reading another book. The historical information in it was just too well-researched - I really liked how everything was formatted. The pacing was good enough, so that I never really was too distracted, and could nearly always comprehend what was being explained. The descriptions were simple enough to read through in the beginning, so that I could understand precisely what was described.
I would recommend this to those interested in it from the description. This needs a longer attention span for it to be entirely read through, though if the reading time is enjoyed, I can promise that it’ll be entirely, definitely worth it.
November 12, 2025
I gave this book a two star rating, but I felt it was more of a 2.5. It is relatively well written, interesting, engaging and it is readable. However, a history book that has errors in dates and pictures mislabeled is simply unacceptable. In addition, the author titled his book The Other Renaissance. He never explains what was "other" about it. Just that it took place north of the Alps? That it evolved later than the Renaissance in Italy? The Renaissance in the North saw the rediscovery of classical writing, moved away from a purely religious view of the world to a more humanistic one, saw the growth of a middle class and witnessed a rebirth and realignment of knowledge and allowed this new knowledge to be shared with and understood by the masses. Sounds alot like what was going on south of the Alps. If the author wanted to talk about an other renaissance, he might have considered the writing about the flowering of Muslin thought, science, mathematics and medicine that occurred while Western Europe was in the midst of the Dark Ages. I also found the author's grasp of certain historical concepts to be superficial and without nuance. I searched for the author's bona fides but really didn't find any.
This is not a bad book, but it is not a great one. It lacks cohesion. While presumably the author's intent is to present a thesis about the "Other Renaissance", this is never achieved. Rather he gives the reader a litany of biographies. These are short and succinct but, lack depth. I did like the idea that people like the Fuggers, Paracelsus, Nicholas of Cusa, Brahe and Vesalius were discussed in addition to the usual suspects like Kepler, Copernicus and Erasmus.
This is not a bad book, but it is not a great one. It lacks cohesion. While presumably the author's intent is to present a thesis about the "Other Renaissance", this is never achieved. Rather he gives the reader a litany of biographies. These are short and succinct but, lack depth. I did like the idea that people like the Fuggers, Paracelsus, Nicholas of Cusa, Brahe and Vesalius were discussed in addition to the usual suspects like Kepler, Copernicus and Erasmus.
March 1, 2024
There is a delightful collection of short readable biographies of significant protagonists of the Northern Renaissance (defined as North of the Alps) buried beneath a hot mess of erroneous timelines and what must be the worst proofread history book I've ever come across.
Often, the author is off by a 100 years which could simply be explained by typos. But "Francis I would reign over France for over forty years (1515-1547)" was one of those weird mathematical aberrations. And some mistakes are comedic: e.g. having Rosso Fiorentino working alongside Raphael in Rome in 1523 (Raphael couldn't have been very productive at that time having died 3 years earlier in 1520) or describing Jakob Fugger lending vast amounts to Pope Leo X in 1500 (pretty sure that Pope Alexander VI would have been upset to hear that Leo X had already usurped the papal throne 13 years ahead of his time).
I like Strathern's writing style, but honestly, get some proofreading done to avoid publishing a mess like this.
Often, the author is off by a 100 years which could simply be explained by typos. But "Francis I would reign over France for over forty years (1515-1547)" was one of those weird mathematical aberrations. And some mistakes are comedic: e.g. having Rosso Fiorentino working alongside Raphael in Rome in 1523 (Raphael couldn't have been very productive at that time having died 3 years earlier in 1520) or describing Jakob Fugger lending vast amounts to Pope Leo X in 1500 (pretty sure that Pope Alexander VI would have been upset to hear that Leo X had already usurped the papal throne 13 years ahead of his time).
I like Strathern's writing style, but honestly, get some proofreading done to avoid publishing a mess like this.
March 3, 2024
This is the third Strathern book I've read, two just in this past week. I started with The Medicis, then moved to The Other Renaissance. Between the two, I've received a good education about the Renaissance.
While The Medicis focuses on the Italian Renaissance and how the Medicis essentially financed it, The Other Renaissance looks at Northern Europe. Strathern tells us about some of the best known "Renaissance Men," like Copernicus, Kepler, Montaigne, Vesalius, and Shakespeare, but also some of the lesser known: Paracelsus (medicine), Brahe and Nicholas of Cusa (astronomy), and the Fuggers (finance). All these mini biographies are told in a conversational tone that makes Strathern such a joy to read.
One note about the edition I read: It contains errors in the second set of color plates, which is unfortunate. This is not the fault of the writer. I was at first disconcerted, but then I figured out what had happened. You can look up the right plates online.
While The Medicis focuses on the Italian Renaissance and how the Medicis essentially financed it, The Other Renaissance looks at Northern Europe. Strathern tells us about some of the best known "Renaissance Men," like Copernicus, Kepler, Montaigne, Vesalius, and Shakespeare, but also some of the lesser known: Paracelsus (medicine), Brahe and Nicholas of Cusa (astronomy), and the Fuggers (finance). All these mini biographies are told in a conversational tone that makes Strathern such a joy to read.
One note about the edition I read: It contains errors in the second set of color plates, which is unfortunate. This is not the fault of the writer. I was at first disconcerted, but then I figured out what had happened. You can look up the right plates online.
August 20, 2025
Really disappointed. I've read other Strathern books and loved them, so I bought this one as soon as I saw his name. I couldn't make it past page 50. This book is terribly written and edited. For example, in the middle of a paragraph, he will start to talk about a completely different topic or person, then eventually get back to his main point. It just seemed so disjointed and scattered. There was also erroneous information within the book. So when I read things I know are wrong, it makes me wonder how reliable the rest of the information is. The topic of the book and the organization of the chapters seem like a good idea, but the publishing company should be embarrassed for releasing this sloppy book.
February 19, 2024
So poorly written that many sentences read as if they were ineptly translated from another language, and with paragraph after paragraph of unrelated thoughts and cobbled-together observations, this might be the single least-well-written book I've recently come across. The text reads like a dashed-off first draft of a school textbook--the information is shallow and often factually incorrect: the wording is often graceless and downright odd. The whole is just a series of potted biographies with commonplaces ('The Renaissance was a time of great turmoil,' for instance) repeated often throughout. The quality of the writing was a frank distraction to reading.
February 27, 2024
I absolutely love the information in the book. However the editing is terrible. In a few sections, years for events that take place in the 1500s are written as the 1400s. The photo pages are great, however some of the photos are with completely incorrect captions (or captions with images). The first few chapters seemed super disjointed and disorganize that I almost stopped reading. But then I got some good info, and not being familiar with many of the discussed figures (except for the basics), it led me to see how Southern Europe gets a lot of credit for the Renaissance, but so much was happening elsewhere in Europe, both in and outside of the arts.
July 25, 2024
3 1/2 stars rounded down. The details were interesting enough, but this is essentially just an episodic take on the period, featuring the regular cast of characters (Gutenberg, Luther, Kepler, Shakespeare) without any broader thesis. Also, I'm not sure how groundbreaking it is to call it the "Other" Renaissance — the Northern Renaissance has generally been considered part of the Renaissance for a long time now without much controversy. So this book is basically, "The Renaissance You Know, Without All the Italians."
June 23, 2023
This is an interesting book about the Renaissance in northern Europe from Copernicus to Shakespeare. The lay historian will read about commonly known historical figures and some they may never have heard of, many of whom influenced the more famous. There are however some mistakes in the book- dates differing from a preceding paragraph and missing and mislabeled pictures in the illustrations sections. The editors may have rushed to publication for some reason.
February 8, 2025
The Other Renaissance is a book that gives a very useful reminder about the main figures of the Renaissance while introducing less known characters that allowed to shape the ideas of these times. The micro biographies were quite easy to read, they are short and accessible. However, I feel like this book does not really hold its promises. The idea of another Renaissance is quite blurred because there is nothing truly groundbreaking about the author’s outtake which felt more like a rather traditional depiction of the time. Moreover, this book clearly lacked of structure. The biographies were in no particular order which made it difficult to see a real progression within the disciplines and to understand the exchanges between the humanists from all over Europe.
June 5, 2025
A fascinating journey through northern Europe and the giants on whose shoulders later geniuses would stand. At times it felt a little disjointed, jumping from a solitary character to a country, a movement or a theme, but each chapter is filled with a rich knowledge built around human foibles, contradictions, endurance and inspiration. Another welcome addition to Paul Strathern's admirable exploration of the early modern period.
May 10, 2025
I think this book succeeds less in its stated goal (that the Northern Renaissance rivaled the Southern), and more so succeeds in explaining their inextricable link. Points off for frequently wrong dates in the chapter on Francis I (like the French establishing a colony in the Americas in the mid 1400s, pre-Columbus).
January 2, 2024
This book was very interesting from the standpoint of Northern Europe in the same time as the Renaissance in Italy. The author needs to proof-read it again. It had several pictures duplicated and mismatched to the caption. Also some dates were off - like a Cartier date was 100 years off.
February 3, 2025
Like all Strathern books, this is very readable and has a couple of sections that cover ground rarely found elsewhere (in this case, the rise of the Fuggers). It's not going to go into the depth of an individual histpory or biography, but it nicely illustrates its period.
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