In the traditional view, the Renaissance was understood as a historical age that followed the Middle Ages and preceded the Reformation.

The Italian Renaissance of the 15th century represented a reconnection of the west with classical antiquity, the absorption of knowledge—particularly mathematics—from Arabic, the focus on the importance of living well in the present (e.g. Renaissance humanism), and an explosion of the dissemination of knowledge brought on by printing. In addition the creation of new techniques in art, poetry, and architecture led in turn to a radical change in the style and substance of the arts and letters. The Italian Renaissance was often labeled as the beginning of the "modern" epoch.

Present day historians are skeptical about excessive claims for the modernity of the Renaissance, viewing the Renaissance as a cultural program or movement based on humanism and the classics rather than an entire historical age. The alternative views about this concept are discussed below.