1. The culture of the Renaissance was pioneered by Italian scholars and artists.
2. Humanism was at the core of Renaissance culture. Humanism was an intellectual and educational movement that used the Classical culture of Greece and Rome as a source of the wisdom to choose the right path in life and the eloquence to persuade others to choose it as well.
3. The visual arts came to most vividly represent Humanism. Art and artists gained a new status among the elite.
4. In the last quarter of the fifteenth century Humanism came to the north, where the culture of the times emphasized chivalry, the cult of decay, and piety.
5. The papacy suffered a major schism and growing unpopularity. It was able to overcome its institutional weakness, but its unpopularity and the steady rise of lay piety and mysticism contributed to the renewal of open dissent.
