The city of Florence, Italy, was an industrial and banking center during the Renaissance and was known for its production of wool. The city-state had an oligarch-republican government and all legislation had to be approved by two assemblies. Starting in 1434 Florence was ruled by a group of rich families and civic humanism became popular within the Florentine culture during the era. To get into political office, you had to be received for eligibility. Girolamo Savonarola was an influential figure there, and preached against corruption and the loss of morality in the Church.

Also republican, the northern city of Venice was a hub of trade, shipbuilding, and commerce. By the 16th century, Venice had become a rich industrial center as well. Venice’s ships were built and owned by the government, and the city had a large Byzantine influence rather than a western one. Built on an island, Venice had to be expanded due to its growth. 

North central Italy was home to the major medieval city of Milan, which was Italy’s strongest land-based city with the power of trade and manufacturing. Exceedingly wealthy, Milan was often fought over by France and the Holy Roman Empire. The city was ruled by influential families, notably the Visconti family. Gian Galeazzo Visconti expanded the power of Milan to Tuscany and even to Florence before his death in 1402. In 1494, King Charles VIII of France was successful in taking Naples from Spain. France also gained Pisa, Florence, and Rome, but only before French troops succumbed to disease. Undeterred, France would continue to try to get a foothold in Italy in the coming years. 

Louis XI of France (r. 1461-1483) was committed to centralizing his country, so he sought to take power from all local leaders such as barons, dukes, bishops, and princes. Led by his brother Charles, a force of 500 nobles revolted against him in 1465, forcing the king to give Charles control over Normandy. Louis soon regained Normandy and accomplished his goal of centralizing France by the end of his reign. King Charles VIII (r. 1483-1498) dreamed of recapturing Jerusalem, but instead made a claim on the Italian city of Naples, where the people welcomed him as ruler. However, Charles left Naples after an alliance of nations compelled him to flee, and he died soon after in 1498. 

The French crown passed to Charles’s nephew, Louis XII (r. 1498-1515). Under Louis’s reign, there was tremendous prosperity, reduced taxation, and a stamping out of corruption. Louis attempted to invade Italy multiple times, but none of these wars yielded much of anything for France.

In 1422, King Henry V of England passed away, and his 9-month-old son Henry VI was crowned king. Thirty years into his reign, King Henry VI was impelled to resign after losing his sanity and regents plunged England into debt after the loss in the Hundred Years War. This caused two houses to fight over the English crown: the House of Lancaster and the House of York, sparking the War of the Roses (1455-1487).

Henry Tudor of Lancaster was victorious over Richard III of York and took the English throne as King Henry VII. He also married Elizabeth of York, Richard’s sister, uniting the two houses. Henry VII increased taxes but based it on class and kept expenses lower than income. He restored order and helped to make England stable again after years of conflict.

In the mid 14th century, the Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death, spread from Central Asia to Southern Europe via Italian merchant ships. Every region of Europe was ravished by this horrible plague, which killed every kind of people, not discriminating against class or status. This marked the end of the Church’s complete dominance over Western culture, because some people believed that God had abandoned them in a time of crisis. 

Boccaccio wrote “Decameron” about the effect the Black Death had on the ordinary people of Europe. Composed in the form of a short story, the book is about a group of 10 people who escaped to a secluded villa to hide from the disease. In the book, the group of people eventually fell into debauchery, but because they’ve lost hope they think they are going to die.

Boccaccio wrote that the plague killed hundreds of thousands and nothing hampered its progress, turning society upside down and causing people to abandon their moral norms. He explained that castles were abandoned, fields were left uncultivated, and whole families died out. 

In Florence, Italy, a group of 10 people fled the city and traveled to the country to escape the plague. Once they arrived at a villa in the countryside, one of the members of the group, Pampinea, said they needed to defend themselves from outsiders and let no one else in. Making an abandoned castle their new home, the group set up their own rules and government. 

They told each other stories to pass the time. Another member of the group, Pamfilo, told a story about a man who lied to a friar on his deathbed. The man deceived the monk and told him that he was a saint, causing people to praise the fraudulent man after his death even though he was wicked. Pamfilo ended the story by advising listeners to be careful not to mistake enemies of God as your friend.