No period has been more discussed, dissected and argued over than the Renaissance, and every age has reconstructed it in its own image. Today's emphasis is on its complexity - the way ideas, politics, religion, society, art and science depended upon and affected one another.

The Renaissance Complete does away with watertight divisions by means of a lucid, innovatory system of cross-references and brings the image to centre stage.

The fascinating range of topics covered includes the revival of classical learning, the printing press, the rise of the nation-state, philosophy and the role of women. The scope is all-embracing: Italy, France, Spain, Britain, Germany and the northern countries; courts and patrons, painters and sculptors, churchmen and traders, men, women and children.

Over 1,000 illustrations are carefully focused on over 100 key topics, subject-matter taking precedence over art history. An impressive information resource provides biographies, timelines, bibliography, a gazetteer of museums and galleries and an illustrated glossary.