in the hands of a relative elite disqualifies the era from being truly humanistic or free in any universal sense.
Of course, the Renaissance must be considered in its historical context, and in that context the three centuries under study comprise a truly extraordinary period. In addition, the advances which were made in the political sphere were necessary requisites for what came to eventually be liberal democratic government.
The author of this chapter is moving on well-traveled roads in his relatively brief examination of the centuries of the Renaissance. He offers no revolutionary ideas on the era, but the information he does present, and the style in which he presents it, add up to a satisfying if not necessarily fascinating overview of the period.
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