Inventing the Renaissance

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1. sdenton4Sep 2026
   Allow me to make a small recommendation for the "best related work": Ada Palmer's 'Inventing the Renaissance.'

   It's a fantastic work of complex history, told with the tools of science fiction and fantasy writing. But it remains a high quality academic work: the tools are used to unravel the telling of a gay and complicated topic, but you still get the vastness.

   If you like ACOUP, it should be right up your alley.

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2. themadturkAug 2026
   It's good to read Ada Palmer's Inventing The Renaissance, because understanding whatever the Renaissance is (and Palmer says it is many different things), you need to understand the Middle Ages, since the Renaissance started with the fallout of Middle-Ages Christianity's love of Aristotle and ended with the beginning of real science.

   Plus it's a fun book.

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3. ssttooSep 2026
   There’s not even a need for armed men on horseback. The lord/patron is your protector against overly draconian laws where just about everything is punishable by death. Lose the patron and next time you e.g. look at the neighbors’ wife, you get to be shorter by a head for entertainment of the folks with a patron. Some of these patron’d folk might have killed somebody last week for which they get to spent time with a priest working on the salvation of their soul and no further punishment.

   Source: Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer

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4. RendelloSep 2026
   Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer [1].

   I don't tend to be great at finishing (or starting) books, and this is a big one. I've also never had any interest in Medieval or Renaissance history, for me it's been a black hole between the fall of Rome and the modern age.

   But recently I saw some Youtube videos of Ada, and her enthusiasm is totally infectious [2]. She's fun and paints these vivid pictures of Florence and renaissance Europe that are incredible, absurd, and relatable, which makes sense since given she's also an accomplished sci-fi writer. She also reminds me of one of my favourite high school teachers. So I ordered the book right away.

   The book is in the same tone as her videos, so it won't be for everyone, but I've really been enjoying it and now I'm fascinated by Renaissance Italy, Machiavelli, merchant republics, etc.

   1. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo246135...

   2. (My favourite example) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68p3jVQQdFk

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