Paradoxes of Inequality in Renaissance Italy

Download or read book Paradoxes of Inequality in Renaissance Italy written by Samuel K. Cohn, Jr. and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-08-05 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Element explores the longest spell that can be computed from quantifiable fiscal records when the gap between rich and poor narrowed. It was the post-Black-Death century, c. 1375 to c. 1475. Paradoxically, with economic equality and prosperity on the rise, peasants, artisans and shopkeepers suffered losses in political representation and status within cultural spheres. Threatened by growing economic equality after the Black Death, elites preserved and then enhanced their political, social, and cultural distinction predominantly through noneconomic means and within political and cultural spheres. By investigating the interactions between three 'elements'-economics, politics, and culture-this Element presents new facets in the emergence of early Renaissance society in Italy.