But his major concern is the “Development of the Indi-
vidual” (Part 2)—including, briefl y, women—and the
“Discovery of the World and of Man” (Part 4). Clearly
Burckhardt’s work continues the narrative of perfec-
tion encoded within the narrative of the development
of medieval into Renaissance culture. His argument
focuses on the development of man (as opposed to
woman): “Man became a spiritual individual, and rec-
ognized himself as such” (121). Such individuality led
to the discovery of new worlds and to the development
of “artists who created new and perfect works in all
branches of the arts, and who also made the greatest
impression as men” (125). Burckhardt also claims that
the Renaissance allowed upper-class women to be edu-
cated the same as men and to be “regarded as equal to
men” (280), though he mitigates this view by stating
that “women had no thought of the public; their func-
tion was to infl uence distinguished men, and to mod-
erate male impulse and caprice” (281).
The Renaissance man was no longer a person sub-
merged in familial, political, and religious loyalties; he
was now an individual unfettered by state or religious
loyalties, able to reveal personal preferences for an
educated life guided by classical writings. He could, if
he wished, use the example of classical literature to
become a writer, use newly rediscovered classical stat-
ues or theories on perspective to become an artist, or
use his newly developed confi dence as an individual to
become an explorer. While many of the ideas outlined
here are certainly true, the extreme focus on the indi-
vidual—specifi cally the upper-class male individual—
by scholars like Burckhardt present a very one-sided
view of an extremely complex period in European his-
tory. That is why many scholars of the English Renais-
sance prefer to use the term early modern to refer to
their period of study.
First to question the traditional view of the Renais-
sance were Marxist and feminist critics. The Marxists
pointed out that Burckhardt was simply following the
“great man” theory of history, a reading that focused
on the deeds and accomplishments of upper-class
men: the discoveries of Christopher Columbus and Sir
Francis Drake; the art of Leonardo da Vinci or
Michaelangelo; the writings of Dante or PETRARCH.
Marxists wished to investigate the histories of labor
and laborers, especially as they related to the “class
struggle” and its economic effect on society. Feminist
scholars such as Joan Kelly-Gadol, concerned with
Burckhardt’s focus on upper-class men, pointed out
that the development of the Renaissance state also led
to the development of the concepts of “public” and
“private,” where women were usually relegated to the
“private” (or home) space and were not permitted a
role in “public” society.
Once Marxist and feminist critics began to question
the use of the term Renaissance as an all-encompassing
marker of a very important period of English cultural
history, other critics followed, notably New Histori-
cists and Cultural Materialists. These critics pointed
out that the period from about 1500 to 1699 was cer-
tainly a high point in the development of English lan-
guage and literature, producing such writers as SIR
THOMAS WYATT, SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, EDMUND SPENSER,
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Ben Jonson, John Donne, Sir
Francis Bacon, the translators of the King James Bible,
and so on. The development of a vital, national litera-
ture is only one aspect of this dramatic change, how-
ever. Consistent and successful English attacks on
Spanish treasure ships returning home from the new
world as well as the later defeat of the SPANISH ARMADA
gave England the power and reputation to control the
seas. Further increases in the English wool trade led to
the beginning of English dominance of world trade—
in Europe, the New World, and India. The small coun-
try with a previously feudal/agricultural economy was
changing to a capitalist/imperialist one. Such a change
led to both fabulous increases in wealth for some citi-
zens and descent into grinding poverty for others. Eng-
land’s embrace of the Protestant Reformation led not
only to the dissolution of the monasteries—and a con-
sequent restructuring of the social order—but also to a
restructuring of government at home and political rela-
tionships abroad. ELIZABETH I’s rule also seemed to
allow more questioning of the role of women within
this rapidly changing society.
The use of the term early modern, then, suggests that
the user will be more open to considering the vast
array of changes undergone by England in the period
formerly referred to strictly as the English Renaissance.
This is not to deny that critics who use the term earlyEARLY MODERN V. RENAISSANCE 157