When Did the Renaissance Begin? Clarifying the Timeline

The Renaissance was a profound cultural transformation in Europe spanning roughly the 14th to 17th centuries. It did not start in the 1300s (14th century) as a sudden event. Instead:

• Late 13th / early 14th century: Proto-Renaissance in Italy (Giotto, Dante, Petrarch).
• 15th century (Quattrocento): Early Renaissance flourishes in Florence (Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio).
• 16th century (Cinquecento): High Renaissance (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael) and spread northward.
• 17th century: Late Renaissance / Mannerism transitions to Baroque.

Thus, the movement's roots are in the late 1200s/early 1300s, but its peak influence occurred in the 1400s–1500s.