Is the Middle Ages, Medieval, and Renaissance all words for the same time period?
This is a tricky one. The Renaissance used to be considered a distinct period, apart from the Middle Ages/Medieval period. However, over the last 40 or so years, historians have become increasingly unwilling to define the Renaissance as a ‘period’ – it’s now considered more as a ‘cultural movement’ that occurred during the Middle Ages. So many of its characteristics were medieval phenomena and the notion that there was a ‘rebirth’ is now considered almost as ‘propaganda’ from the people who were living during the Renaissance, particularly those from Florence. Short story: Traditional view is that the Renaissance was a separate period from the Middle Ages, modern view is that it was an aspect of the Middle Ages.
