>What new ways of thinking and new forms of cultural expression were developed during the Renaissance? Chapter 12 examines the emergence of a new culture in southern Europe. The fourteenth century witnessed remarkable changes in Italian intellectual, artistic, and cultural life. Artists and writers thought that they were living in a new golden age, but not until the sixteenth century was this change given the label we use today — the Renaissance, derived from the French word for “rebirth.” That word was first used by art historian Giorgio Vasari (1511–1574) to describe the art of “rare men of genius.” Through their works, Vasari judged, the glory of the classical past had been reborn after centuries of darkness. Over time, the word’s meaning was broadened to include many aspects of life during that period. The new attitude had a slow diffusion out of Italy, and thus the Renaissance “happened” at different times in different parts of Europe. The Renaissance was a movement, not a time period.