The beginnings of modernity have been debated and traced back to either the fifteenth-century Italian Renaissance or the twelfth-century Medieval Ages. The argument for the Italian Renaissance is associated with Jacob Burckhardt, an art historian, and Paul O. Kristeller, a scholar on the humanist movement. The argument for the Medieval Ages is associated with the historians R.W. Southern and Johan Huizinga. Both sides provide strong arguments regarding their positions, but Southern and Huizinga provide a less biased and more thorough explanation as to why the origins of the modern world can be found in the High Middle Ages. Southern’s work is a response to Burckhardt and other authors who glorify the Renaissance. Huizinga takes a similar route and responds to Burckhardt, but he responds sporadically and even makes obvious references that tie back to Burckhardt, or he mentions Burckhardt by name. …show more content…
Southern’s main responses to Burckhardt’s chapters encompass the developments in education and religion that led to Europe’s world dominance. Southern emphasizes that going back to a religious pre-Germanic past leads to a resurgence of rationalism. Also, Southern highlights the importance of education by explaining that there was a flowering of students that were “prepared to go anywhere for the sake of learning.” Huizinga claims that there is nothing novel in the Italian Renaissance; the modern spirit was already in Europe by the Late Medieval Period. Huizinga further explains that there was only a change in fashion, which points out that the Italian Renaissance did not have a huge impact on future societies if the changes were purely