Humanism and the Renaissance involved similar revivals of classical learning, an elevation of the individual, and a belief in the worth of human thought over authority, whether the latter be the authority of a political body or a church. The essence of humanism is found in the works produced during the Renaissance by writers, artists, and sculptors as they structured their works with humanistic values in mind. At the same time, these ideas began at the end of the Medieval period as Italy was moving into the Renaissance, and many of these aspects of the humanist spirit are apparent in the writings of Machiavelli and those of Christine de Pizan (also spelled Pisan). Machiavelli suggested the supremacy of the leader, the Prince, and differentiated politics based on secular outcomes from those based on theological principles. Christine de Pizan can be considered an early feminist writer who suggested an expanded role for women in all social classes and who indicated the way women should behave to achieve an exalted position. One element that connects the two writers is that much of their work combines the theoretical with the fully practical. Thus, while Machiavelli talks directly to the Prince and tells him how to rule, Christine de Pizan speaks directly to women and tells them not only how to behave but also how to run a household, raise children, select fashions, and so on. Machiavelli remains far better known than Christine, but both provide insight into the age in which they lived.
The development of humanism in the Renaissance involved a shift in how people thought, and this occurred at the same time that the horizons of the West were expanding, be they geographical, mental, social, economic, or political:
Concurrent with these advances was an important psychological development in which the European character, beginning in the peculiar political and cultural atmosphere of Renaissance Italy, underwent a unique and po...