Renaissance and Humanism from the Central–East European Point of View – Methodological Approaches

This volume shows the panorama of the contemporary studies of the Polish Renaissance, presented here in the Italian and transalpine context, taking into consideration its characteristics. An important aspect of this volume is the specification of the research needs and the definition of new directions of studies and their methodology. A large, multiethnic and multireligious state, which was Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth (Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów) shaped its modern identity in the sixteenth century. This period gave rise to the flowering of literature and art, creating the Golden Age of Polish culture. The ideas of Renaissance humanism proved to be vitally attractive for the domestic elites and contributed to the creation of the foundations of the political system of the Commonwealth, becoming its pride—a republic with an elected king, where both passive and active electoral rights were vested in the entire Gentry Nation. The Latin Culture of the Renaissance became also an integra