Renaissance is a period in European history , from the 14th to the 17th century, regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and Modern history . It started as a cultural movement in Italy in the Late Medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe, marking the beginning of the Early Modern Age . The Renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period . Beginning in Italy, and spreading to the rest of Europe by the 16th century, its influence was felt in literature, politics, philosophy, science, religion, and other aspects of intellectual inquiry. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study.